Attack of the fire hose

Look at this face..... does this look like a face that would be anything but a challenge? He is the most funny, crazy, unpredictable little guy I know. I never know what to expect with him. This causes both rage and extreme joy.

Tonight we were getting Jake ready for bed. PJ's on- check, teeth brushed- check. Now it is time to go potty. Jake has recently started standing up to pee, and doing very well at it. Tonight however....he aimed A LOT too high. I mean we are talking the back of the lid to the top of the toilet. When Colby and I both saw this, we shouted at him to "aim, at the water". What did this little angel face decide to do I ask you? You guessed it...just let go. Have you ever seen a fire hose get turned on and the pressure swings it around the room at random locations? Yep this is how it went down. The toilet, Jake, my hands, the floor all soaked in pee. I do think that he got a few drops in the toilet though. What does he say in response? "He-He. I peed on the toilet."

At least he is never dull.

Devon's Star Twin

The Actor portraying Phillip Seymour Hoffman.........

Devon James Miller

Preschool Jake

Today was the big day...1st day of Preschool. Yesterday, Jake told me that he didn't want to go to school. He told me this several times.

I asked him -"why don't you want to go to school, you were so excited before?"

Jake replied- "you said that if I went to school, you would cry...I don't want you to cry. dats why I don't wanna go to school."

Me- "awe buddy, I won't cry because I'm sad, just because I'm happy."

Jake- "No, I don't want you to cry."

Me-"Ok, I won't"

and I did ok...my eyes did well up, but I fought them back. I didn't want him to be upset that I cried.

Here is Jake doing an unprompted pose...I think he is mimicking "Sid the Science Kid" I'm not sure, but he looked cute doing it.

Of course he had to bring Woody. Jake made sure that Woody stayed in his backpack until after school.
Yep, Jake and Pixar have an agreement. Jake loves every movie they make and he will love their toys best.

When I went to pick him up, I asked the teacher how he did. She said that he was great, but at the very end, he didn't want to sit on the carpet like the other kids. She said that he told her "I'm just frustrated that I don't want to sit on the carpet"

This is why I am waiting until just past his 6th birthday to start Kindergarten. Just imagine how it would be if he were 5 for 3 weeks and starting school...yikes!

Someday she'll laugh...until then I will

It seems like just yesterday that Victoria stood in front of my parents house before she headed off to Kindergarten at Sacred Heart.

It is hard to remember her as such a little girl. She was so sweet and innocent. I remember that I didn't even cry this day. I had expected that I would, but the excitement that Victoria had made me excited for her. I remember I sat in the car before leaving and just smiled thinking of all she had to look forward to.
Today, she left for High School.....and even though she is so excited, I find myself with my eyes welling up. She will be going to college in 4 short years! She is at the beginning of such a great adventure, and I am at the beginning of having to start letting her go(at snail's pace of course).
It sounds so cliche, but it has gone by in a blurr. I am going to make a point to remember as much as I can.
Starting today!!! Here is a great memory for Victoria's first day of High School! Even though the USD 231 website listed 183rd terr and Spruce as her bus stop, it apparently is not. After 25 min of waiting at that stop (and seeing the bus turn down our very own street) Victoria walked back into our house (mad as hell) missing the bus. I called to find out that they switched it closer to our house (2 doors down) but failed to inform us. So, laughing at her the whole way, I had to drive her to her 1st day at Gardner-Edgerton High School. To top it off, we only made it 5 min before school started. I eventually got her to laugh too, I told her the only thing she had control over changing here was her response to it. If she laughs then it is a funny event not a bad event. Someday, she too will find it as humorous as I do. It isn't every day that your 'too cool for school' 14 year old misses the bus on her first day. Love you Victoria, I can't wait to see what other memories you make during your time at GEHS.

I'm blessed to be a woman

I just finished reading one of the best books I have read in a while. Funny thing is, I would have never chosen to read this book on my own. I just finished a bible study for the summer "Slightly Bad Girls of the Bible". The study is about a few of the Patriarch Women in Genesis. Sarah, Haggar, Rebecca, Leah, and Rachel. During the study, the girls mentioned that they loved another book that was about Leah and Rachel. The Red Tent by Anita Diamant is a novel based on the story of Dinah, daughter of Jacob and Leah. It is more than just the story of Dinah though. This book tells of life in early biblical time. It tells of the bonds of sisterhood, motherhood, and the blessings of being a woman. The red tent itself is the tent that all women go to during their menstrual cycle. This is also the place women go to give birth and to recover after. In truth, this is a sorority of women who are able to share their lives with one another. These women cherish each other, praise each other and take care of one another in times of crisis. If a women has a hard childbirth and is ill or doesn't make it, these women become each others wet nurses and they are all mothers to each others children. The story of Dinah and her mothers is very powerful in many ways. It is empowering as a woman, mother, sister, and daughter. I felt as though I had a new realization that women can be successful just being a woman. In this day and age we feel like we need to prove our worth as women, but this book reminded me that being a woman is proof enough of our success. I had a very real intrigue in reading this book, and truth be told it is a great reminder that the people in the bible are in fact human, and had human experiences. The bible has so many stories, but are so brief that we almost miss the purpose. My friend Cori and I were talking that it may sound like blasphemy, but if the bible were this detailed, it would be much more fun to read, and the message would be so much easier to understand. I can't wait to find more books that are similar to this one, I urge you to read it.

My little Wheezer

Saturday night I came home from work and Colby told me that Devon (who had been fighting a cold for a few days) was wheezing. I listened to him with my stethoscope and sure enough, what used to be upper airway congestion was now in his lungs. Even though I take care of kids who are sick and have breathing difficulty (as I had done all day), I called one of my best friends to confirm that I should in fact take him to CMH urgent care. You see us nurses have this inability to accurately and unbiasedly assess our own children. We have this fear that maybe we are over reacting and if we bring a non sick child to the ER/Urgent Care that we are jeopardizing our RN credibility. Of course this is silly, but true. Anyway Ashley who has a little girl with frequent breathing issues urged us to go. We got to CMH South at 9:20 and waited until our hair turned Grey. When the Dr finally came to see us at almost Midnight, she listened to Devon's chest and then said "Oh...he IS wheezing". Ugh...Yes, that is why we brought him here and it didn't just start, so I wonder what she had been told. We were rapidly given an Albuterol treatment (which Devon HATED) and had a chest x-ray. We were told that his x-ray "wasn't THAT bad" and given another treatment, shown how to use the inhaler/spacer and sent home. Only problem...he is still wheezing. If he were my patient at work, I would call the RT and have them give him another treatment. If only I had the same bag of tricks at home as I do at work. Devon is happy as seen in the photo, but he feels like crap. I am going to take him to our PCP tomorrow and figure out what to do next...unless he get worse overnight then it's back to ER .