Here's what we're up to this week

Todd, Lauren, Hunter and one of Hunter's friends went to Great America. Hunter is off with his buddy so he's not in the pictureLauren, Gavin and I went to a birthday party at the bank on Wednesday night. The bank where the kids have their savings accounts always has fun stuff for the kids. We last went to a reptile show. Their haunted house is better than something the jaycee's would put on! They have the "Dog days of summer" where people bring their dogs and have a pet parade and there are all different vendors there with stuff for your pet. In December we go see Santa. They have movie nights- all kinds of stuff, and it's all free! Everytime the kids make a deposit they get "Oxford bucks"- play money that they can save and buy toys from a mini toy store in the bank. Most of their money goes into their savings account and then they still get to buy a toy so it's a win-win situation. Gavin loved the ball pit in the "tiny tots" area. Granted he was the largest kid in there!
Lauren played jumbo basketball among other things
"My Three Sons"

Remember that show? We joke that Lauren is a boy trapped in a girl's body because she loves bugs, dinosaurs. . . you name it.

Not your 9-5 job but I LOVE it!!

In the words of Albert Einstein:

"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."

. . . and I witness the miracle of birth everyday. I LOVE my new job as a labor and delivery nurse. It is AMAZING! Since I've been a mother/baby nurse already they're kind of teaching me backwards. First I'm learning the babies. Then next week I'll learn OR- for c-sections, twins, etc. THEN I'll learn the labor process and delivering babies. Right now, my job goes like this:

The labor nurse calls me on a cell phone and informs me of an impending birth.

I meet her in the room (either the labor room or the operating room if it's a c-section). I immediately attach the suction tubing, the oxygen, get my vitamin K injection ready (all newborns are given a vitamin K shot in their leg to help with clotting), then I prepare my erythromycin to wipe across their eyes- that prevents any infections from bacteria they came in contact with on their way out.

Then we wait. And wait. And wait.

Soon the air fills with excitment as the doctor announces the sex of the baby, cuts the umbilical cord and almost literally, throws the baby to me where I vigorously wipe the baby dry. (they're born with blood, fluid, vernix (a cheesy like stuff to protect their skin from acid in the amniotic fluid) all over them. As I wipe the baby, he should be pinking up (he's born blue or kind of gray) If he's not pinking up I may have to put the oxygen mask on his face or wave it by- depending on how long it's taking. This is when we assign those "apgar" scores. The babies are given a number 1-10 at one minute of life, then again at 5 minutes of life. They're judged based on their color, their muscle tone, their heart rate, their respirations and their reflexes. When the doctor cuts the umbilical cord and the baby takes his first breath of life, he often sucks down lots of fluid- if his lung sounds are gunky (I'll spare medical terms for ya :0) then I suction him by threading a small tube (again, I'll spare medical terms :0) down his throat and suctioning up all the "crap". C-section babies are especially gunky because they're not squeezed threw the birth canal on the way out.

After I've determind the baby is in no imminent danger I give him his shot in his leg, smear the medicine across his eyes, weigh him, measure his length and continue his assessment. I won't bore you with all the details but there's an exam called "Dubowitz" that we have to complete to determine the exact gestational age of the newborn. Here, I just googled "Dubowitz" and found this:

Dubowitz exam

The Dubowitz scale is a standardized scale for the estimation of newborn gestational age by neurological examination. The full exam is very extensive and scores 33 specific responses in four major areas: habituation (reponse to repetitive light and sound stimuli), movement and tone, reflexes, and neurobehavioral items. See also Ballard scale.


Then I put a little diaper on, his hat, and I wrap him up and hand him to either mom or dad. It's usually dad because mom's still getting repaired. Can you believe I am the one who hands the baby to his dad for the first time-and I tell him "congratulations".

Not exactly your desk job. I've learned that in labor and delivery when we're busy- we're really busy and when we're not, we're not. There's no in between. I'm also learning there's no lolly gagging around. I have to be aware of every minute and every detail. As the doctor's tossing the baby to me, the labor nurse is yelling out the time of birth which I have to note. Then she'll yet out the time the placenta was delivered, which I also have to note. The doctor will yet out what kind of laceration the mom has- which I have to note. And whether he's using stitches, steri strips or staples to repair her- which I also have to note. All while I'm completing the above with the baby. So there's a lot going on and a lot to do. I am THRIVING on the adrenaline! I learned yesterday that when there are twins, the first one comes out healthy and strong - and the second one has the trouble. I witnessed a beautiful boy being born and then when they tossed him to me, he had cleft palate. I've seen a baby stuck (called "shoulder dystocia"), and I've seen a new little premature girl get whisked away to the neonatal intensive care unit). Among the many many normal deliveries- all in just this past week!

So that's "a day at the office" for me :0) I wanted to share it with you because I think it soooooooo exciting. This is a small window of everything I'll be learning. Once I get the babies learned, then I'll learn to be a circulating nurse in the OR and then I'll learn labor- from beginning to end. And you get to hear all about it!! :0)

Hunter's off to highschool!

It literally seems like just yesterday that I dropped off my beautiful, blond haired, blue eyed boy to kindergarten. As I went to get out of the car to walk him up to the door he reached out his tender little hand and said "no, mom. I can do it myself". Now that sweet little boy has grown into a strapping young lad bound for highschool who delights in the typical teenage stuff. . . rock n' roll, video games, doritoes, attempts at wearing his pants sagging down (no way!!) but also relishes in the good old days of fishing, catching frogs, hiking- all that outdoor stuff that we love to do. One day soon I suppose he'll want to stop hanging out with mom and dad but I am savoring every minute that I still have my firstborn close at hand. Yet, it is so nice to have a toddler in the house again- oh, how Gavin amuses us with his toddler antics :0) Hunter was such a good big brother yesterday as he taught Gavin how to hold his fishing pole and shared in the joy of catching frogs by the pond. And Gavin LOVES his big brother sooooo much! We're looking forward to the fall when we can cheer for our favorite quarterback (or whatever position he'll play- quarterback's the only football term I know!) He'll be going to Oswego East High School- go Wolves!!

Here's the 4 of us at Hunter's graduation ceremony. I had a box of tissue handy certain that I'd be wiping away a tear or two- but I held strong and did good as we sat and listened through 250 names!

Top 10 reasons I don't have time to write the top "10 things you don't know about me"

While I have so much fun reading everyone's emails and blogs about the top 10 or 20 or so "things you don't know about me", I've taken the liberty to compose a message of the top ten reasons I don't have time to create such a list. No one really has the time for many things. It's about making time. And while I try to make time to report more on my blog, life's little events just keep popping up. Here are a few of the things I'm busy with these days. . .

Reason #1: potty training a 2 year old is very time consuming!

Reason #2: building dinosaur apartments with Gavin
Reason #3: Guitar Hero battles with Hunter
Reason #4: taking Lauren "frog catching"
Reason #6: filling out certificates for all the kids that participated in the art program
Reason #7: reviewing all my labor and delivery notes from nursing school!! Do you know "Leopold's Manuever" is???

Reason #8: Getting ready to honor my 13 year old as he graduates 8th grade- yikes! (that also includes running to Sports Authority to get cleats and a girdle for football camp that already starts next week!)

Reason #9: Rushing to get Lauren's badges all sewed on her vest before the bridging into girlscouts Monday night ( that won't be too bad with the new sewing machine I got for my birthday- I'd post a picture of it but. . . . see below. . . .

and Reason #10: this is a relatively new reason: gotta go figure out why blogger stopped uploading my pictures and what "could not upload due to an internal error" could mean?

See how these things pop up? Kudos to Todd for figuring out why our oven stopped working and then fixing the problem! Hooray!

Lauren's artwork on the web

Anyone who knows Lauren knows she has a knack for art- since the tender age of 3 she has been amazing audiences alike with her unique talent. She draws pictures with the most amazing details and her imagination is displayed in her work. I'll never forget her kindergarten teacher telling us "Lauren's artwork is not typical of a kindergartner", and now it's that very talent that makes her popular with her peers. The first thing kids say when they meet me on a field trip or whatever is, "Lauren draws really good". Now you can see for yourself one of her art projects that was chosen by her art teacher to be displayed online! It's not a drawing but something she worked on in class. The online picture does not do it justice but go check it out!

www.artsonia.com/Lauren3800

I'll find my other two favorite drawings and share them with you but right now Gavin is competing with the computer for my attention!

We're Back! Hooray!

Pics to come soon! We've had a problem with our security certificate or whatever and haven't been able to access certain websites- blogger being one and I don't know how we've gotten by without Club Penguin! Our neighbor Max will be excited- he and Lauren meet up on Webkinz or Club Penguin and they sit and play- while they're on the phone-while they can see each other through the window from across the street. It's kinda cute. Poor Max only knew that Lauren "couldn't play Club Penguin" but he didn't know why. He came over with a prepaid membership card for her so they can play! We're just getting ready for summer! 8 days of school left! Hunter's on his 8th grade trip to Springfield today- I'm so excited for him. I got out my album and showed him pictures of my trip- it seems like yesterday!

We'll be back in full swing so keep checking back!

My VERY BEST friend- EVER!

I'll explain in a minute why I'm sticking my neck out like that. . . :0)

So one must give credit when one is due right? Well I haven't read my comments yet but JULIE (that's my BEST friend Julie up there) called to give me a heads up that she wasn't very happy about my referring to her as "my other girlfriend" (right now she's mad at me because of course I know she was just kidding. . .) Then seriously, when I reflect back and look at all my past posts they're all kids, kids, kids. . . nowhere do I mention another very special person in life- someone who is just as important as all those kiddos- someone I couldn't live without! (and I mean it) This is my very best friend in the whole world, Julie Party-- (the "party"s the important part-hee hee- love ya!) Anyway, there's something to be said for "quality over quantity". In just these past couple of years this girl has come to know me even more so than some of my friends that I've known for years. She has cried with me when it hurt so bad and we have laughed until we pee'd our pants- many many MANY times! She brings me Dunkin Donuts turtle mocha cappacino's exactly when I need one, and Dr. Pepper's even when I don't! The day I took my boards I was stressing out so bad and who shows up at my door with a biggie Dr. Pepper? Julie P. Who was there the countless times I was ready to give up on nursing school, when I said "I guess this isn't for me?" Julie P. Who skipped through the parking lot and sang "we studied, we worked, we're gonna be a nurse. We're gonna pass this test and allllllll the rest" Julie P. (I'm dying right now LOL!) We can be the biggest dorks together- the most professional together- the studiest little book worms- the biggest goofballs- We have seen all sides of each other- in and out- no secrets. We've poured out our hearts and souls and we've slapped each other around. We've been angry with each other and we've been so proud of each other. All under the security "because we can". Because no matter what... we're gonna walk away and know that we'll be back. My friend Tina got me a tree for our backyard as a graduation gift. Along with it she spoke of how it was a sturdy tree, can withstand all the elements- comparing it much to our friendship. Sadly, despite all the water,care and attention, my poor tree died. Oddly enough, I haven't talked to Tina for a year. Trees die. Friendships die (even after 30 years) and new one's are made. And Julie's friendship has truly been an honor and a blessing. They say God puts people in our lives for a reason. I believe I was given Julie for a reason. Here's to my best friend ever- who not only took over the "best friend responsibilities" (panicking before a party, etc) just as well- but even better- and those were some mighty shoes to fill!!

P.S. The reason I'm sticking my neck out is because the saying goes "if you reach out your neck it hides your double chin"- so I thought I'd give it a try! :0) hey- gotta love me!