BUNCH O' BIRTHDAYS!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BURDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BURDAY DEAR PAPA, AUSTIN, GRAMA MEHMEN, ALEXANDRA, AUNT TERRI, & MRS. DAHL..........HAPPY BURDAY TO YOU!!!!!

PAPA N' THE KIDDO'S
MISS-O HELPING PAPA OPEN THE CARDS!

MARIN TOOK A GIFT HOSTAGE FOR AWHILE BUT IS WILLING TO GIVE IT BACK TO PAPA!

PAPA GETTING ALL KINDS OF HELP OPENING HIS GIFTS.

I LIKE YOU AND I LOVE YOU AUSTIN! LOVE, AUNT JANA-BANANA!

THIS BOY GETS EXCITED ABOUT AN EMPTY ROLL OF TOILET PAPER! AUNT PAULA HAD WRAPPED BATTERIES IN IT! hEE-hEE!

SINGING HAPPY BIRTHDAY WHILE AUSTIN DOES A LITTLE HAPPY DANCE! REMINDS ME A BIT OF HIS FATHER!

OPENING GIFTS ALWAYS ATTRACTS THE KIDS; HERE'S COUSINS; JACOB, EMMA, AND O WATCHING ON WITH SUSPENSE!

COOL COUSINS!

Burnt Out!

I think I hit the teacher low!

Ugh! I need a break!

I can not look at another single medication. I can not quiz about another single medication. I can not wait for another student scrambling through their papers to tell me about the medications. (especially when in my head I'm thinking; IT"S A BETA-BLOCKER! COME ON! but smiling politely and patiently as they tell me.)

Correcting careplans after careplans and evaluations after evaluations on my own time, not on the clock......working more time than I need to and spending valuable family time on work that I have to take home........now I'm on the other side of the fence.....maybe I'll be just fine as a cardiac nurse.

Maybe I'm just burnt out or maybe I'm finally coming off of my teacher high.......but my patience is running thin, thin, thin....

I wonder if there is a Nursing Diagnosis for that? Ineffective Instructor Coping related to reduction of patience as evidenced by; headaches after every clinical, rise of blood pressure when there is a list of medications and a student in sight, and complaining about it on the blog! I better get a hold of the NANDA corporation to give them my new NANDA......yes, this may be over your head; it's nurse language...but I feel much better!

Little Gobblers

Saturday was make and take a craft at the library. The whole fam went and C-man and Miss-O made turkey crafts, we also like to read books and play with their cool toys there.

Gobble, Gobble!
Miss-O's turkey.....she first said that a turkey says cockadoodle-doo, but we've got her saying gobble now!

Cut, Paste, and Color!

Doing the finishing touches!

We had to take a picture of Miss-O in her cousin Jaydin's outfit......I remember when Jady was this small and wearing this outfit and now she's all grown up.....

Moments like these.......

It's moments like the one that I had tonight that is rewarding as a nurse. This moment that I had tonight takes away all the stressors that nursing may bring, or all the ungrateful patients that I care for....it just swipes everything away and makes it the reason why nursing is the career I choose.

A sweet lady patient of mine, tonight was surrounded with family. They took a little break and her sweet husband (of probably 50+ years) said that he was heading home and he felt like she was in good hands.....aaahh, that was sweet of him to say.

I went into check on her during my hourly rounds to see if she was having any pain....so far nothing.....but she was restless.......I did my IV clearing and then situated her nasal cannula back on her nose and then held her hand.......I told her that she seemed restless........she nodded.....I asked if I could do anything for her and she answered in her post-status stroke, garbled speech, "pray for me." I asked her if I could do the universal "Our Father" and she nodded.....through it all she nodded and embraced every word that came out of my mouth and then I added that may the Lord embrace her in his arms and provide her peace and comfort.

She nodded. It's not very frequent that I get this intimate spiritual help for my patients....a simple prayer is all she needed and I was ready to give her anything she needed.......you know we take care of body and mind quite a bit and in that order....only rarely do we care for spirit and I was so honored to help my sweet patient.

Oh, how I do pray that the Lord will be with her all the way during her journey. And oh, how I'm so grateful that the Lord pointed me towards the career of Nursing. I've always had a big heart and now I can practice my compassion as much as I want.......

Excitement in the Air!

There is some excitement in the air....it all started yesterday when we found out that something is on the loose. C-man has identified it as a small, white, hard thing. It wiggles and jiggles and feels funny when he touches it. Now this small, white thing has been around for 5 years but only yesterday C-man noticed it is on the loose.......have you guessed what it is?????????

His tooth!

He is so ecstatic about this, he even talked to the cross-guard yesterday about it! He has called up people on the phone and is excited to tell his gym and music teachers today.....Mrs. Dahl already knows about it. (It happened in math yesterday!)

He can't stop wiggling it with his finger or his tongue or even his teeth! He ate apple slices this morning and was sure his tooth was coming out.......not yet!

Well, we'll keep you updated.....because there is much excitement yet to come when it does come out! I'm hoping he'll lose it before his dentist appt. on the 24th......that'll be a fun dentist visit!




(He was five months when the bottom front right tooth erupted, and now he is 5yrs and 5 months and that same tooth is the one that is loose......interesting!)

The Winner is.......

Honey Medium Blonde!

Do you see it?the blonde? I don't....it doesn't look like the woman's hair on the box! I'm a red head! I've always wanted to be since my kids are.....but their hair is beautiful strawberry blonde......mine....well, it looks like hydrogen peroxide induced red!!! It'll wash away.....Paul is being so nice and supporting and says he doesn't see any red....C-man is at least honest....Mom, I see orange in your hair! I'm okay with it and know that it is semi-permanent and will wash out in time........

what I've learned from home coloring

• I'm not allergic to the chemicals because I took the test
• the strand test does not matter
• this is a fast way to color your hair
• where was my beverage, my scalp massage and my fun talk with my stylist?
• your hair color will not look like the box's picture
• thank goodness I used a semi-permanent
• I do have resistant grays who will not color no matter what (stinkers!)
• vaseline around the scalp does help with it not to stain.
• I may go to cost cutters next time
• or I will work extra hours for some extra spending on my hair next time......