driving me crazy

While I was getting my BSN we had a huge assignment of checking out our city we lived in and figuring out the quirks that could be of health care concern.  Then we had to write up this honking paper about what is happening, and what we, as health care providers could/would do to make a difference.  For Corvallis my biggest issues I came up with were the pollution from the smokestacks, and the runoff of farm yuck into the river.  When briefly thinking about my new city, so far I am annoyed by...

1) the lack of sidewalks around here, and 2) the non-existent bike lanes.  These two complaints of mine might contribute to the reason Kentucky is part of the stroke belt...just saying.  Additionally the freeways are minimally marked with speed limit signs.  Perhaps the reason that cars zoom by me as I am driving 65-70mph (which is 10-15mph OVER the speed limit in most places), yes I speed, so very guilty.   

I have noticed helmets are NOT required by law, evidenced by the motorcycle riders who apparently want a traumatic brain injury (at best) if they ever get in an accident.  Bicyclist also almost never wear helmets.  Perhaps it is the RN in me, or the fact that my grandpa has shown me his head saving helmet after he was in a motorcycle wreck, but either way, helmet non-use just irks me.   

In addition, I will touch on this crazy road which intersects the street we live on.  The traffic signals determine how the road functions depending on the time of day.  Two thin yellow lines are the only thing that separate oncoming vehicles going 40+mph. There are no bike lanes, and sidewalks are hard to come by...and when there ARE sidewalks, I don't want to use them since there are cars going 40+mph that I could touch if I just extended my arm out.  So, so different than Oregon.  P and I both hate this road, and thus usually try alternate routes if available. 

 See this black car, it is parked in a traffic lane - which can only be done during certain hours.  My first time driving this road I had no idea what was going on.  The traffic signals confused me.  I realized, as I almost gave myself whiplash slamming on my brakes to avoid crashing into a parked car, what the signals were for...

• big red X = oncoming traffic lanes
• signal not in use = lane closed - cars WILL be parked!
• green arrow = drive in this lane
• white turning arrows = use as turning lane only.

See this picture below was during the morning, when I was on my way to work (rush hour), so the road now is fully in use, and has a signal for turning.

This was a time during the middle of the day, when one of the lanes was closed.  The green arrow is the lane Paul was driving in, the lane to the right of our car was closed - cars were parked in this lane.  During rush hour, the big box with the red X (oncoming traffic) will open only as a turning lane (has white turning arrows during this time), where cars driving either direction can use to turn. 

Hopefully soon, we will leave this "city" life behind, and have more country roads...

siblings...

Back to school

I am sitting here, exhausted from a 13.5 hour work day, and thinking I should really stop this blogging non-sense and get to bed, I work tomorrow. 

Being a floor nurse is crazy exhausting, and since I'm not going to be 26 years old forever I need to know what I am going to do when my body decides that taking care of 5 high acquity patients is not feasible.  My legs, goodness they are so, so sore.  And so it is official...

I'm going back to school.

Yes, because apparently I love chaos.

As much as I thought I'd be content with my BSN, just one year later I am getting geared up for the application process for my MSN.  If this girls gotta work, well than darn it I might as well make something doing it!  Thanks to Dr. P-Love, one of my classes each term will be free - spouses of faculty can enroll in one graduate course a term...and the hospital I work for will also fork out some money each year as well.  So as long as I do it smart, I'll get my MSN for - free. 

and that rocks.

Sour and sweet

Today, well I don't like today.

The only thing worse than having a sick baby, is having to leave her at home with someone else while you go to work :(.  Poor girl!

 But this guy, he was feeling terrible yesterday and today he is back to his rowdy little self.

Thank goodness mommy got done early! Now I have the 24 hour crud and feel even more terrible sweet J didn't have her mama today.

I have never been one who wanted to be mediocre at anything, and right now I find myself doing just that.  mediocre mother.  mediocre nurse.  mediocre wife.

and this is the making of a sour post, so I'll stop and try to stop my sour attitude as well. 

I'll post about last Saturday.  It was a sweet Saturday.  A Saturday of savoring every second with my sweet family.

I love the way he does crazy things with his tongue when he is concentrating. 

I don't love how quickly he is growing up on me.  4.5 years old is fun.  He is transforming into this little human.  Mastering all sorts of skills and amazing me with how quickly he learns.  Just 2 weeks ago when he would climb this ladder, he would quickly bust through the last 3 to get to the top of the platform - clearly afraid of heights. 

 

Today, he stopped at the top and posed with his dimple smile.  Just 2 weeks and he has mastered his fear of heights.

I love this picture, his little eye and dimple peeking through.

airplanes flying above were the center of attention.

I love watching them play together. 

 Some days they really seem connected at the hip...

Hello happiness.  There isn't anything better than sunshine, and  a picnic bench full of the ones you love the most.

and being able to leave behind the mess that littles make is also a perk...we are going to make some squirrels or birds happy, fat, and/or sick.

 

self timer camera shot, good thing it focused on the picnic table...

I love the way she looks at him, and the tender way she reaches up to touch his face...she is such a little lover our Jovie Reese. 

Kiplin, he is our wild child.  He is screaming "um on daddy, um on!"  Apparently he wasn't walking across the field fast enough.

We found a park that we love, and we will frequent it more often, to run out some energy.

The way his hair sticks up while he runs outdoors is one of the cutest things in life.

and I will end with Ryk's "best smile ever"

Service excellence

Just spoke with the crabbiest secretary in my life.

Huge error on her part.

She works for the pediatrician I was suppose to take Jovie to for her well child appt today at 10am.

I called to get febrile Kip an appt.  She gave me some crazy line of only seeing one kid from a family for the first appt, to establish care for our whole family.   Since Jovie had an appt Kip couldn't be seen...um, is that nuts or what?!  I told her to just switch my kids then and I would reschedule the appt for j.  Apparently she can't switch a well child appt for a sick child appt.  I simply asked why, and she went mad, raising her voice telling me she just stated why.

Apparently she would benefit from a service excellence class...

You better believe I cancelled j's appt.

Which leaves them about 40 min to fill the appt.  And means 3 less cool kids that will not be choosing that practice as their primary health care provider.

So I went with a ped who is just 7 minutes away from our house, who a friend recommended.  Kip is being seen at 11.

And their secretary was amazing.

Sicklings

Went to work  to care for sicklings, and came home to...

A sick husband.  Poor guy works himself to sickness.  Good thing Dr. L has a RN by his side. 

A baby with a tooth, her first one, and yes it is just as exciting to me as it was when my first baby got his first tooth.  Though I am sure if you ask me that tomorrow after she has nursed all day, I won't be as excited about that little pearly white in her mouth.  Girlfriend does this crazy jaw clamp, I refer to her as "granny without her teeth" when she does this.  Now with that tooth, well it could be dangerous for me.

My Kippy looking terrible.  As soon as I stepped foot in the door, P said "he needs you, he just misses his mommy." Without even feeling his forehead I could tell littleman was sick, his eyes said it all.  103 degree fever, and lethargic as can be.  I hate to see my kids sick.  Scooped him up right then and didn't put him down until bedtime.  Poor guy.

My Rykiebear just enthusiastic to see me, and tell me about a new kid in his class who isn't his friend yet, but "he is cool cause he likes dinosaurs and his name is Charlie."

Tomorrow is my day off which I shall spend loving on sicklings of my own, and taking Jovie to her well child checkup (1 month late)...any guesses on her height and weight at 7 months?

switch-a-roo

 I have created a terrible sleeper.  It is my fault, and I take full responsibility.


Currently I am typing staring down at this...

 She has nursed herself to sleep.  She always nurses herself to sleep.  Instead of being a responsible parent, putting my baby in her crib while awake, forcing her to self-soothe and fall asleep, I nurse her.  Then when she does fall asleep, instead of carrying her up the stairs and putting her in her crib for a nap, I continue to type, and soak up this moment. 

Being a working mom makes me hold her close when I am home, not that I didn't when I was home all the time, but it just makes every single moment so valuable now.

and so she is a terrible sleeper if she isn't snuggled up next to me.

This is one of the reasons why Paul was SO worried about me starting night shift.  See he can't easily just nurse her back to sleep in the middle of the night, instead he'd be doing breastmilk bottle preparation. 

And so when I texted him yesterday of my "best day ever" news, he was ecstatic.

I was hired, a month ago, to work full time night shift.


We weren't thrilled but we were thankful for the job, the amazing benefits for our family, and that I was able to get this so quickly after we moved.

I was suppose to start night shift on September 27th. 

My manager told me yesterday that she is going to put me on day shift, and soon!

This makes my heart happy, and life a little more simple for my family.

So thankful!

perfectly imperfect

Lately it has been just a game of planning and preparing for the next day.  As much as I hate it, I know that this too shall pass.  I can never seem to stay caught up - on laundry, grocery shopping, or house work...but I'd rather it be that way than miss out on a moment to spend with my family (which is hard to come by lately). 
 
I have been working a 5 day work week lately, I am on orientation for my new job.  It is a hard adjustment.  It seems like every time I work 2 or 3 days in a row (6:45am-7:15pm), my kids change so much.  I leave for work when they are sleeping, and come home with they are sleeping, so I don't see them at all...and I don't like it.  I am hoping orientation doesn't last very long.  We are all ready for me to be working a 3 day work week!

Jovie is just 1 week shy of 7 months old.  She does this smile, it starts in her eyes, and finally lands on her lips...and it makes me melt.  Here is the photographic progression of her eye smile...

As you can see from her messy bib, she is finally getting into eating other things than just breastmilk. 

She rolls around the floor everywhere, and has recently started to army crawl her way into all sorts of trouble.  She is a mover, our Jovie.  She just moves so much I can't seem to fatten her up, it is so strange to see someone so petite move around the way she does. 

She loves to try and play with her big brothers toys.

Girlfriend has a car in those sneaky little hands, Sarge if you were wondering.  Ryk would tell you that it is specifically Sarge from Lightning McQueen's racing team from Cars 2.  You know, cause he has more than one Sarge - ashamed to admit it, though I can say his embarrassing collection comes from a variety of people.

and these 3, well it is just a treasure to be home with them.  I look forward to each day I get to spend with them.  Being a working mom is tough.

Kip loves life.  He is just always so very excited about everything.  He loves to share with Jovie, "here a go Jojie"  I will always tell Kip that he is so nice to share, so now he will share and then turn around and excitedly say "NICE!" with the hugest grin. 

These two little guys, they are crazy rowdy.  They feed off of each other, and well lets just say that having Ryk in preschool Mon, Wed, and Fri and soccer games Sat and Sun helps to minimize some of the crazy energy he has. 

A tiny Jovie foot.  She finally fits into her size 0-3 months size shoes.

Girlfriend sits up now, but only for moments at a time because she is just too busy to sit still.  Her hair is getting long and thick, and has a cute curl at the end...her brothers desperately need their hair cut, Kip has some crazy side burns going on!

Kip is a talking toddler.  His vocab has just exploded.  Today at lunch while eating strawberries - "ah-licious stawberries mommy, mmmmhhmmm!"  My least favorite phrase of his "ida want to!" (I don't want to) spoken with the appropriate high pitch fussy voice. 

Ryk loves school and soccer.  Our fridge is covered in his school work, and he is just so proud of himself.  Watching him on the soccer field was just so, amazing.  Such a reality check though, I cannot believe that he is old enough for recreational sports already.  Growing up too quick.

Paul goes to work everyday dressed in shirts that I manage to iron more wrinkles into.  I even bought the wrinkle-less shirts, but that would require actually getting them promptly out of the dryer and hanging them, and well, if you read my first paragraph you'd know that I am struggling with all things laundry related.  He continues to amaze me every day.  He never once complains about having to take care of the kids after his work day - getting them dinner, giving them baths, and putting them to bed - while I am at work.  He is superdad, and well I couldn't have a better guy!

I am just hanging on for dear life, awaiting my orientation at work to come to an end.  September 27th I start my normal night shift schedule (3 nights - 6:45pm-7:15am - a week), which will be super interesting to see how/if it is going to work for our family...

Grandparents day

Happy grandparents day to Nana, Papa, and Grandma from the Loprinzi kids!

soccer mom

So we've had the minivan for a while now, and no minivan is complete without a...

Soccer stud.

Who rocks bed head, don't judge it was a 10am game and we were on time, all 5 of us!  Our Ryk had his first soccer game today.

As soon as I find one of those netted soccer balls, I will be sure to replace the worn out scented tree currently hanging from my mirror, with it.  Then, and only then, will my soccer mom minivan be complete.  That is how my mom's soccer mom minivan was, and goodness her van was done right.  It might not have been the most beautiful van, but it was the one that all my friends wanted to carpool to the game in cause it rocked.  Screaming "shot gun" in a timely manner, was the way to earn the privilege of sitting in the front passenger seat of the carpool, well that and meeting the height/weight requirements.  Sitting in the "shot gun" was noteworthy for two reasons 1)you were able to control the music, and 2)you could incessantly thump that netted soccer ball back and forth, back and forth against the windshield and the palm of your hand.

Thankfully because of front seat rules that don't allow kids to ride until certain weight/height requirements are met - which will put R in the front seat when he is...um old enough to drive - I won't have to hear the constant thump, wack, thump, wack of the ball against the windshield.

*****

Goodness the dude is little, which P tells me I must not repetitively say...he is holding the blue soccer ball.



I had a permanent smile for the duration of the game.  And even though the coach might have needed to point him in the correct direction to run with the ball (he missed his first and only practice before the game- darn parents who work full time) he rocked.

I am one proud soccer mama. 

Little guy in red, running behind his taller teammate, with his tongue stuck out, that'd be our Ryk. 

and here he takes over the ball.  Such a stud!

His ginormous uniform makes me smile.  Our little #16, wearing the smallest shirt available.

Water break...

Ryker's almost goal. 

When walking away from the soccer field R told P, "I'm so sorry I didn't make a goal dad."  Later in the van R told me, "I didn't make a goal, but I tried my hardest, and that is all that matters."  That is right, little guy. 

 Kip had fun too, he is such an outdoor lover.  Jovie, well she is always happy when she is with her mama.  Kip and I ventured to the van, leaving the game a tad early for some "cackers."  We sat in the van, with the doors open as I was attempting to enjoy the mild fall 78 degree weather, which no longer requires the ac blasting full force for comfort.  HUGE mistake.  Two bees flew into the van, at the same time.  Kip was sitting in the passenger seat, eating his "cackers."  So I shut that door, to avoid him crashing to the pavement and to prevent more bees and ran over to the drivers side to attempt to get the bees out of the car.  Well a can of Pepsi was open, and sitting in the cup holder.  In my frenzy to save my babies from bee stings I hear Kip say "oh no."  I look over to find a Pepsi soaked 2 year old, he quickly says "sorry mommy" and I laugh, thankful that we always have a change of clothes in the car. 

Our tired guy with his soccer snacks.  He had his first ever Capri Sun!