Changes

Lots of changes, exciting and life changing, are happening around here, because in typical Loprinzi fashion we never do just one huge life event at a time.

March 26 sweet little J girl took her first steps.  Little miss thang held onto the door frame and then busted out 5 steps in a row, in a way that made me wonder if she has been doing so for a while now. Girlfriend just had that look of confidence.

K has taken to potty training.  R encouraged him to wear undies one day, and since little bro thinks R is super awesome, he said sure. After 2 days of leaky pants he figured out that little detail of bladder control, and now we are golden.  He is pretty much a rockstar.

I accepted a job offer on a mother/baby floor, part time nights.  I went to explain this to R and was told by R "you are going to become nocturnal, I knowed that cause I discussed it with daddy already." I start soon and am so excited for the change.

Yesterday I interviewed for a nurse practitioner/MSN program, got my acceptance letter today. Nothing like quick turn around.  So now to contemplate actually attempting to do this...graduate school, part time RN, wife to my amazing Mr., and mama to three beauties...

My sista J and mom are here, and I have loved them to bits.  The evening run (me), and painfully slow jog (Paul) that we have done the past 4 nights together has been nothing short of amazingness.  Quality time is my love language, and goodness I am soaking it all up!

And in 10 hrs P and I will head out house hunting. 

Golly, lots of changes!   Such an exciting time!

Give me an E - for $50

Her name is Jovie, not Jovi.

But according to the State of Oregon, she is Jovi.  In order to make her Jovie, we have to fork out some money, because apparently typing one single letter is just crazy expensive.  Give me an "e" for $50 please.

Seriously! 

Having to pay $50 to the state of Oregon for them to correctly spell J's name on her birth certificate, plus having to pay a notary for us to sign the form to do so, plus obtaining medical records with the correct spelling is...VERY annoying.

 Note to all parents - purchase your child's birth certificate WAY before their first birthday to make sure the person who submitted the information did so correctly.  That way if there is an error, you don't have to eat up the cost, or gather paperwork - the state deals with the hospital directly if your child is less than a year old and the mistake is realized.  Unfortunatly for us, we out her name was spelled incorrectly 4 days after her first birthday, which probably adds to the irritation a bit.

Huge pain in my butt.

But that e at the end of her first name, oh it is worth the headache, and the money.

Someday it'll be a funny story to tell her that her "e" cost $50.

lovely weather

It has been in the 80s lately, so we've been doing what should be done in 80 degree weather.

Having water balloon fights

 and wearing yellow hairbows - sister pulled out one the second I put it in. 

There have been Croc-ed out little boy feet

 and dirty little boy bare feet.

and a Sunday family trip to the park, with three littles that loved the swings

 and a daddy who tried to get smooches in the middle of the swing-fest.

 His shirt said it all that day- he was the big brother, the swing pusher, and the run-around, and goodness his big brother-ness just makes me melt and want a gazillion babies.  He loves his siblings, yes he does!

 But this 3 kid deal, it is a balancing act.  We are getting the rhythm of it down.  I almost feel like I can fathom the park solo without a mishap, almost.  Like I can almost keep an eye on a clumsy 2.5 year old, and a rowdy 5 year old, and a not quite walking, puts everything in her mouth 1 year old. 

And just as I am feeling steady on my feet, like I can do it, watch three precious littles safely, one of them crashes and burns.

 I know it is a rite of passage, an entrance into boyhood of sorts.  But I hate it, when they get hurt.  Alas his bloody nose stopped bleeding, checked it over to make sure it wasn't broken, my heart went back to normal sinus rhythm, and I realized that it is just some skinned up body parts - hands, knees, forhead, and nose, the first of many - hopefully though the last of skinned up faces. 

 This motherhood thing, goodness it is lovely, and tough, and wonderful.  So busy kissing bumps and bruises, and praising a 2 year old for doing 2 year old things like -

Putting on "his" own shoes (one of R's one of his) "wook, mom, WOOK, I did it!"

and learning to use the toilet - he is a rockstar so far.  I am simply amazed.  Perhaps I am way more low key this time around, but goodness he is doing SO well!

And teaching him letters, and numbers, and songs, and such.  He accurately told me each letter in the word Louisville after he spotted this on a morning walk -

"dis is O, see mom, and N.O.T., Oh wetters, I like wetters!"

 I love the weather, and I love them.  So much.

Jovie-O

I know, not the most dainty facial expression for a little lady, but when she does it...SO funny! What can I say, Girlfriend only has brothers.

Jovie's famous AHHHHH face take 1 -

and 2 - she looks so angry here, I promise she isn't.

and 3 -

and 4 (and maybe my favorite so far)

and 5 -

and 6

and I am sure there will be more to come, cause sister knows when she is funny.

Happy dance

I came home from work yesterday at 8:30pm, my kitchen was chaos...balls, cars, cheerios, raisins, refrigerator magnets, stickers, a purple crayon, some ants from the Ants in the Pants game, sand tracked in from the sand table that is outside, and a few puzzle pieces - all on the floor.  Seriously.  I commented to P that someday, when our house is quiet, clean, and childless we'll miss this.  Because I have a Mr. who loves me unconditionally and understands exhaustion, I decided to be super classy.  I walked right past the mess, not even hesitating to do anything about it, and headed to take a shower, then slipped right into bed.  It is always a bummer to wake up to a mess when 3 high energy kids are ramped up and ready for the day.  So I did what any mom of three kids would do, I said I had a dollar.  In just 2 short minutes that floor was spick and span.  R informed me that he is just 6 dollars away from earning enough money to buy Kung Fu Panda 2 - though by the time he earns those 6 dollars over the next couple of days, I'm sure he'll of changed his mind on the purchase he'll make. 

We headed out to Costco after that, and an older gentleman said something about how much energy our little boys have.  P and I just smiled at eachother noticing Ryk as he was skip-hopping down the aisle, Kip running, and our little lady bouncing in the shopping cart seat.  Yep, our little loves, identical to their high energy parents.

As the babies nap, R and I were busy filling up water balloons.  It is going to be 80 today!  We filled up enough water balloons to 1)make my fingers sore and 2) soak the entire bathroom - what idiot fills up water balloons in the bathroom anyway, it is soggy business.  I suppose it is a win-win situation, a trashcan full of water balloons ready for two certain little boys to have fun after nap/quiet time and a clean bathroom.  My sweet R, watched as I filled em' up, his little giggle as the water would spray the mirror was the perfect background noise for such a task.  Pandora on my phone was playing Rumor has it by Adele, and R sang along  as "boober has it" and said that I listen to silly songs that talk about boobs.  Today, yes, I like it, and we still have so much left.

I have the next 5 days off in a row, and as happy as I am about that, I think my kids are even more excited.  This lovely spring like weather promises picnics at the park, and a trip to the zoo.

And in the next 7 days we have very anticipated visitors coming!  P told R today at Costco, that Nana and Jen weren't actually going to come - something about "they lost their tickets."  His poor little face looked so sad, I quickly told him P was just joking.  Who pulls that sorta prank on a little guy?  Sheesh!

thoughts of a working mom

I like to see this, something about it just makes me smile. 

(I don't like to particularly see the red antibiotic bottles - one for each little boy, whose ear infections seem to finally be on the mend!) 

A fridge full of little kid cups lined up in a row, ready for the 6 little hands who start the day off running despite the two tired daddy eyes looking back at them.  As I'm 2 hours into my work day, I think about my sweet family at home, 7-8am, I picture him in the kitchen, dishing out the milk and breakfast, wishing just a fraction of the early morning energy the 3 littles possess could magically transfer into his body.  Alas, it can't, so I do this easy task.  It makes me feel like a mom when I don't get to be one that day.

 I like to be a RN, I do.  I just LOVE to be a mama.  Finding that balance between being a working and stay at home mom has been a struggle.  But thanks to an amazing, understanding boss I am looking forward to the switch to working part time, very soon.  My kids can't wait, and my Mr. can't either!  It has been something we have been hoping for, and I am so excited that things are falling into place for us!  I can already imagine the fun activities I'll put my energetic kids in, the opportunity for more family filled days!

So until that part time position becomes available, I survive being away from my little at home.  I know I'm doing good work, I'm valued, and I feel it.  It still doesn't make it easy being away from the loves of my life.  So while I'm at work sometimes I sneak in my phone and quickly sift through my photos.  I love seeing -

the pictures that Kip takes, a little photographer in the works.  And piggy tails on my baby girl.

 The way Sister loves to rummage through my make up bag, and the way she has bed head and rocks it.  Little lady is cute as pie (whatever that means).

 How Jov dances around when she wants her lights plugged in, and how Kip constantly pulls the petals off said lights, and puts them back on again about a hundred times each day.  Lights with flower petals = not my idea, but genius, and one of the greatest gifts...ever.  

 Babies at bathtime...sigh, if only they stayed little forever.  

The little boy who writes his name, and is so proud "cause you know I got some pretty tricky letters in my name mom, my teacher even told me that!"  And goodness how big does my R look?!   

Afternoon dual nap time that allows for some special mommy Ryk time.  He'd want you to know the yellow is his, blue one is for Kip, and the pink one is for J - "cause she is a girl and likes girly colors, and not the smell of farts."  Not sure how the smell of farts has anything to do with color selection...

So this switch to part time...goodness it is welcomed, and we can't wait!

Penny pinching

We were nickle and dime-ing our way through life the past few months, all in hopes to stock pile our savings account.  Just as our savings account grew, so did our random fluke expenses.

The random money suckers lately have been

• Our fried motherboard - and no, this is not in reference to me, however P may disagree somedays, it is our computer.  Apparently having a surge protector isn't enough around these parts.  Each power surge brought on by this erratic KY weather has slowly, but surely killed our computer.  At first I was more worried about my treasured pictures being gone forever - my babies pictures from the year 2011 just...gone.  But thanks to the geeks, whom we paid way too much, my pictures are safe and secure on an external hard drive now.  I know, many probably think that we could have just gone without a computer for a while, but having a professor as a husband, a functional computer at home is a must.  Actually I take that back, some professors might not need a computer at home for work related needs, but my Mr., well he is rather prolific in his research.
• The boys and their ears, double ear infections for both of them right now.  And these darn ears can't ever start to hurt on a Mon-Fri sort of schedule.  Of course the pain and fever always begins when the pediatrician isn't open or is booked, which means a long, long wait at urgent care...and more greens leaving our wallet.  But mama has to keep her babies healthy and painfree, so urgent care and penny pinching it is!
• My random foot issue.  A swollen foot requiring three trips to see a doctor, which I felt absolutely ridiculous about - but being a RN (running around on my feet 3 days a week for 12 hours straight) and a mama of 3 busy littles I need my foot to not hurt like mad and fit inside a shoe.  My final trip about my foot was a 2am ER visit (swelling, redness, pain, and red streaks on my foot = get to see a Dr. immediately).  Funny how seeing 3 doctors I got 3 different diagnosis, and each time the current Dr. said well we now what isn't wrong with it.  A pain pill and antibiotics seemed to be the cure.  I don't even want to see the medical bills, I am hoping that my health insurance is kind, and gentle, and understanding that we are this.close to being ready to buy a house...

 Because we are Loprinzis though, we continue pushing through.  Only now instead of nickle and dime-ing our way through life, we have resorted to penny pinching.  Given the recent tornado devastation around our area, I'd say penny pinching is a good place to be.  With our best efforts I think we might just have ourselves a savings account strong enough to put a down payment on a home, our first home...March 30th is the big day we have set out to house hunt with our realtor.

***

and my kids, oh how I love them.  A few phone pictures, since our computer is on the fritz.

 Paul's office door, now complete with kid hand prints and Kiplin slobber.

 Just exploring the locker room at Paul's work...

 Smoothie date.

Tornados

I was at work, he was home, holed up in the cement corner of the basement with our three littles.

The tornado sirens blaring, a noise unfamiliar to me.

As I quickly moved to get my 5 patients into the halls, away from windows, I thought about my precious family at home.

I hate being away from them, I hate it even more in severe weather. 

I called him, telling him the warning was in effect, that he needed to grab a candle and get in the basement.  He was annoyed that "everything wasn't already ready for this."

I thought it was - flashlights, warm clothes, heavy blankets to cover up with, snacks, extra batteries - but I'm knew at this tornado preparation stuff.  But next time, I'll be ready, or at least I'll have everything ready for my family should I be working - candles, battery powered radio.


As soon as the winds and hail passed the hospital, I quickly texted P - "it looks like it is going to turn, the strong storm, it looks like we are lucky!"


Just 20 miles away - not so lucky.

Tornados suck.

The pictures of the destruction left behind, the hail the size of pool balls, towns just destroyed - left us speechless.

So thankful today, for this creaky, old, rental house that gets on our nerves.

One thing is certain - we will have a basement in our upcoming new home - which we'll start searching for this month!






 

Fearful

Lately I have been fearful.

Fearful of these damn tornados, why did we have to pick to live in a state with tornados?  I asked my coworkers if they were fearful of them, thinking that maybe it is just the "I'm new to this sort of natural disaster worry."  I was hoping that this fear would diminish just like the fear of the natural disasters we faced when living in Oregon - you know, volcano eruptions, earthquakes, and tsunamis.  But I'm told by KY natives that the fear is always there, and when tornado season comes having a weather radio is a must...and even with one there are many sleepless nights because of the fear that those darn weather radios won't work.  I don't understand why it isn't just a standard for homes in tornado prone areas to have bedrooms built in basements, leaving the living space for the 2nd story of homes...That way if a tornado strikes during sleeping hours, at least people are sleeping in the safest part of the home.  My biggest worry is that my babies will be tucked in bed sleeping upstairs, or that I'll be away from them and won't be able to keep them safe, or that they'll be at school...sigh.  So I'll put that on my dream home list someday - should we make KY our permanent residence - bedrooms to be built in the basement!

Fear that I'm not giving my kids enough.  Enough time, love, patience, learning, discipline, attention.  I just want to do right by them, every moment of everyday.  Sigh.

Fearful that we will pick the wrong location to purchase a home.

Fearful of choosing the wrong job.  Fearful of screwing up at work.

Fearful that we will send our kids to the wrong schools.  Fearful that I have a school aged child to send to school this upcoming August - how in the heck did that happen?!

It sucks, being a grown up sometimes.  So many choices, and with that, so many worries.

and I sound neurotic.  I feel neurotic lately. 



But this is just a season, and soon enough tornado season will pass, and we'll have made these hard to decide life decisions and...

it will get better.