25 Random Things

I did this on my facebook and thought it would be a good post to post here to give you few faithful blog checkers something to read to reward you for checking my blog. (If you're on my facebook, you will see I did make some changes, so read again anyhow).

1. I have a bad habit of making sure the dishes are completely rinsed off and free of food before they are put into the dishwasher. I'm not really sure why I don't just wash them.
2. My second nephew was born on Saturday! Welcome to the world, Elijah Luke.
3. When it gets cooler out here, I can feel a change in my skin: mostly my hands get VERY dry and feel all weird and gritty.
   
4. I have a scar on the right side of my upper lip. I was bitten by my dog.
5. Grace's middle name is spelled like this: ELISABETH
6. Nate's name was almost Cole. We couldn't decide, and just said that when we first saw him we'd see what he looked like more. He looked like a Nathan.
7. My birthday is in a week. I cannot even believe I am in my 30's much less going to be 32.
8. My husband is the best hubby, like, ever!
9. We will be celebrating 7 years of marriage next month. Here's to 70 more, babe!! <3
10. One of my favorite shows on TV is called "Deliver Me" about three OB/GYN docs in southern California. I love this show. I want to be an OB nurse!
11. I didn't go to college right out of high school for many reasons: I didn't get into the ONE school I applied to, I was never really encouraged to go to college, I wasn't guided into applying to more than one college (or ever the community college for that matter), I wasn't guided into applying for financial aid to help pay for college, I thought I couldn't afford college, etc. Now, looking back, I'm glad I didn't go. I may not be where I am today if I had. I probably wouldn't have gotten all A's and B's in college either if I had gone 13 years ago!
12. I will start the nursing program in either August of this year or next January- just not sure which one I am applying to, yet. (More-than-likely, its going to be January, though).
    
13. I trust my husband completely. He's one of the few good guys out there. And he's mine! :)
14. Sometimes I think about having more kids.
15. I don't like to cook dinner.
16. I hate cockroaches. I really, really hate them.
17. I'm glad I don't see cockroaches in my house.
18. I really want a puppy. And a flat screen TV.
19. Grace's birthday is 9/12. My birthday is 2/8. Ray's birthday is 7/4. If you add Ray's birth month to my birth month (7+2) you get Grace's birth month (9). If you add my birth day to Ray's birth day (8+4), you will also get Grace's birth day (12). Cool huh?
20. I get WAY better grades in college than I did in high school, go figure.
21. I am VERY afraid of not doing well in nursing school, thanks to all the horror stories I've heard about the program at my school, and also because I constantly doubt my academic abilities on a pretty much daily basis.
22. My middle name is Marisa
23. I am exactly 5 feet tall.
24. My husband is 6'5"
25. His arm is as long as my leg, sadly.

Scary

The other day, Nate gave us quite a scare. He had his first MAJOR fall at the park. We go to this park quite often so the kids are really familiar with the whole playground and have gotten good at climbing and jumping and running and playing on it. Well, the other day Ray took the kids to the park while I was home studying and they were all running around playing. We still don't know the exact cause of the fall, but Grace and Nate were attempting to climb down a ladder about 6 feet-ish high up in the air from one of the platforms on the playground. Grace may have bumped into Nate or she might not have, we're not sure, but somehow, Nate took a tumble about 6 feet down off the ladder. Apparently it was so scary that quite a few people came over to see how he was doing while Ray was taking care of him. I obviously didn't see it, but I am glad I didn't. I would have been an emotional basket case seeing my little buddy fall that much. Ray was close, but unfortunately not close enough as he tried to make it there in time to break the fall. The good news is my little guy is a strong little booger and he didn't even get a scratch! Thank goodness. That was quite a little scare.

My Kids

I remember vividly, at various ages, not being able to wait until I was older. When I was 7 I couldn't wait to be 8. When I was 15 I couldn't wait to be 16. When I was 20, I couldn't wait to be 21......24 I wanted to be 25. That's where it stopped. Ha! I never wanted to be anything higher than 25. Well anyway, I think that's normal with every kid. They always want to be older. Well, all of them except for mine! I have no idea why. Grace has said various times she does not want to be older. Today, I asked Nate what he wants to be when he grows up. I asked if he wanted to be a fire fighter. No, he told me. I asked him if he wanted to be a police office. Again, he said no. Then he said, "I don't want to get bigger. I want to stay little." It was so cute the expression he had on his face as he said it. I think they realize that when you are bigger you aren't with your parents anymore, and that is kind of scary to a little kid. It's cute of them to think, right now, that they want to stay with us forever. I know in about 6 years there will be a way different feeling for my almost teen (YIKES!!!) daughter who will then want nothing to do with her parents. But for now I will bask in the fact that they want me always closeby and that they want to stay little forever. I wish I could keep them little forever, too.

Chilly

Yay, I'm so happy its chilly outside. Today, I went to bring Grace over to Elizabeth's (she takes her to school on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings) and when I walked outside, I could see my breath!!! How wonderful is that? I LOVE it!!! Today is a great day. Yippee! Here's a screenshot of weather.com. I think I may frame it, lol.

My Son

Three year olds tend to say the darnedest things sometimes. My son is no exception. Last night before bed, I told him, "Nate, you need to go right to sleep, okay? Say, 'Yes, mommy, I will go right to sleep.'" He then says, "Yes, mommy, I will go right to sleep."

A little while later, after he had been making noises and obviously not going to sleep, Ray went in to tell him to go to bed. He says to Nate, "I thought you said you were going right to sleep." Nate, being the ever-so-clever three year old that he is, says, "Yeah, I told that to mommy."

Sigh. Three year olds. Can't live with them, can't live without them.

Week One Update- I Forgot.....

I forgot to include my weight loss results for week one yesterday in my post. I am down 4 lbs, and thats including eating about 3 puddings the night before for some throat comfort. I haven't been eating much these last few days, so I'm sure the lack of food may negatively affect my results for this week. Last week I was trying hard to make sure I ate every 3 hours or so, and I haven't been doing that since I've been sick. We'll see how this week goes. I won't sweat it. I'm sick, and as long as I don't gain, that will be fine. I'd really like to get exercising, but as of right now I just don't have the energy, and plus I would probably hack up a lung if I got even remotely out of breath.

I'm still sick, but the kids seem better, thank goodness. Nate hasn't had a fever since yesterday evening, and Grace has been fever-free since Sunday evening. Grace went back to school today, so I will see if she's still feeling well after school later when I pick her up.

That's all for now, folks. Thanks to Ray's mom who is on her way over now to bring me medicine and chicken noodle soup. She's my hero! And she cooked us dinner the other night, too. Ain't she awesome?

Sick Update

Grace seems to be better. She had not had a fever all day yesterday, then yesterday evening she started running one again and looking like she did on Saturday. We kept her home from school because of the fever she had last night, but she hasn't had any fever sin

I, on the other hand, have definitely gotten sick. I don't know what this is, but its not good. This is the sickest I think I've been in a long time, and last night Ray even said he's never seen me this bad. I've been running a low fever, but I feel the fever, you know, when you feel feverish-feeling very hot inside my body, while the outside is very cold. I have chills and shivers, then I have sweats. My head aches mostly all the time, my body aches, I have absolutely NO energy, and I am very tired, yet I can't sleep very well. I have a horrible cough. Whatever it is, I wish it would go away.

On top of that, now my little Nate started running a fever. Poor thing. I feel bad for the kids, because if they feel anywhere close to what I feel, I know it must be hard for their little bodies . Their temperatures have been higher than mine, but I know my body fights things pretty hard, and I rarely ever get fevers. Mine has been around 2ish degrees higher than normal, while the kids have been around 3ish higher than normal. Anyway, I hope this is the end of it for Grace, and I hope that Nate feels better soon, too. As for me, I hope I feel better soon as well. Its hard to just lay around all the time and not do anything at all. We have a great week of weather coming and I'd love to take the kids to the park- if we're better of course.

And Ray has been the best husband anyone could have. He's been such a big help to me, I don't know what I would have done without him. Unfortunately, he will have to go to work tomorrow, so I am REALLY hoping I'm better then.

Gracie-Lu

My little Gracie-Lu is sick. Not sure what's going on exactly, but she started running a fever yesterday evening. She looked sick, too. She didn't really have any symptoms except that she had a headache, she "said" she coughed, but I never heard her, and she said her throat hurt her, but that was only for like 10 minutes. It stopped hurting and hasn't hurt since. Today, she still has a fever, and the fever keeps coming back. She looks pitiful, ate only half a slice of toast and its almost 1:30pm- by now she's normally had quite a bit to eat. She hasn't moved off the couch, except for once where she laid on the living room floor, and then got back up onto the couch. She even took a nap this morning.

So, I'm not really sure what's going on with her......just keep her in your prayers. And I think I may be getting something, too. I've had a headache, which isn't whats making think I'm getting sick (but Grace has been complaining of her head hurting, so who knows), but I feel my chest getting tight, and I feel the way I feel in the beginning stages of a nasty cough. Ugh. Anyway, I'm more concerned with Grace, poor thing. Here's a pic of how she looked just a little while ago, just so you can see what I mean by "pitiful".

Love you Gracie-Lu. Hope you feel better soon!

What Do You Do?

What do you do when your two kids share a room and one wants a night light on because they're scared of the dark, while the other wants it off because the shadows scare them?

Oh yeah, and how do you get your three year old to go right to bed without calling you in 15 times every night after putting him to bed?

I need answers people! :)

Must.Resist.Cocoa.Rice.Krispies

Today is day 1. My start over day. The day I've chosen to re-embark on a journey I set out so long ago to finish. Here I am, starting over for the 100th time. But I am here. I'm ready (I think) and so we begin.

I made it to about 10:00am and then found myself staring at a box of cereal assortments, which included Apple Jacks, Fruit Loops and Cocoa Rice Krispies. Being the chocolate lover that I am, I only found myself drawn to the Cocoa Rice Krispies more than the others. I REALLY wanted to pour myself a nice big bowl and eat away. But I didn't. I resisted. I told myself that I really wouldn't be doing my body justice by eating it. I made some eggs instead with a one slice of Ezekiel bread. A nice little balance of protein and carbs, and much better fuel than sugary cereal.

Another Year....

Another year has gone by and man, that was really fast! But as the new year begins, what better time to recommit to my weight loss endeavor that has sadly fallen by the wayside. I'm not quite sure what happened exactly, or when, but I've fallen WAY off track and I really need to get back on it. I embarrassingly have to admit that I have gained back almost 26 lbs of the 36 I had lost. I guess its not as bad as gaining back ALL 36 lbs, as a friend encouragingly made me aware of. But the fact is I need to get back on the ball, and I need my blog to help me remain accountable to that. So there. Blog readers of America, or at least the 3.6 people that read this, you are my accountability. I will blog, you will read and hopefully this train won't get derailed any more.

I know that I can't do this alone, and that I really need the Lord's help, fully and completely. I know that unless I rely totally on Him, I will not succeed. I know I still have to do the work, and it won't be easy, but He will be there with me every step of the way and will be my source of strength.

Happy New Year

Happy new year, everyone. I am going to post a longer blog post, but due to computer issues, we only have one computer right at the moment, and Ray needs his back. Therefore, I don't have time to blog right now. Check back later today, or tomorrow, for a longer blog post. Hope you're having a great start to 2009!

Also, real quick, I will be starting a blog, currently titled, "Misadventures of a Pre-Nursing Student" that will be a blog solely for school stuff (later to be titled "Misadventures of a Nursing Student"). It may, at times, contain graphic talk of science-related things that may or may not be of interest to some. So this is an advanced warning. Mostly its just going to be a way for me to talk about school and for venting purposes. School starts Monday, January 5th, so check there soon!

Happy Birthday, Peanut

Today is my little peanut, my baby, my little guy's birthday. He is now 3. I can't even begin to tell you how strange it seems to me that he is now 3. It really doesn't seem that long ago that he was just born and here he is now so big and so full of energy and life. It's a bittersweet day, really. He's getting so big and has grown so much yet I'm a little sad the years are going by so quickly.

Happy Birthday, Nate. I love you more and more everyday. Watching you grow and learn has been a joy and I can't wait to see what the next 3 years brings (well, I CAN wait, but since I know time will go fast, I am excited to watch you grow even more).

Below is a picture of Nate in the hospital in a stocking the hospital put him in when we first got to see him after I was out of recovery (since it was around Christmas time.) Below that is a picture we took of Nate in that very same stocking. Crazy!!

Tagged

I was tagged, yet again. I don't mind these really, but I never have people to tag back to, at least in the blogger world. So anyway here's how it works:

1) Link to the person who tagged you.
2) Post the rules on your blog.
3.) Write 6 random things about yourself.
4) Tag 6 people at the end of your post and link to them.
5) Let each person know they have been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6) Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

I was tagged by my twin sister, Wendi

So six random things . . .

1. I was a major tomboy growing up. I always hung out with the boys playing army or GI Joe. I climbed trees and played in forts. I don't know if there just weren't any girls in my neighborhood or what, but I was a tomboy.
2. I had my top front teeth chipped when I was 8 or 9 in the pool by a boy who thought it would be fun to jump on my head as he was jumping into the pool. I didn't have it fixed until I was a sophmore or junior in high school, and until then I never smiled with my mouth open. I wish I knew who that boy was, I could have sent him my dentist bill from last year!
3. When I was in first grade, I had liked a third grade boy who was the son of my moms friend. One day, he and his friend were horsing around and the friend threw sand at him. So in his defense, I grabbed some sand and threw it at the friend. The boy thought that was pretty dumb and I didn't get any points for attempting to stick up for him. Now, I didn't realize kids this young "liked" other kids. Obviously its not the same as when you like someone in high school, but still.....is this something I really need to be worrying about soon? Oh dear.
4. I am terrified I will flunk out of nursing school- that is when I am finally in nursing school. Ray assures me this will not happen, but I tell him that if I was only able to manage a B in my Anatomy and Physiology lecture class, then I will surely flunk out. A nurse should get better than a B in A&P, right?
5. We just put up our Christmas tree tonight. Sad, isn't it? We are late for everything it seems.
6. I LOVE LOVE LOVE to open the windows when the weather is nice out. I don't know what it is exactly, but if the weather is cool enough to where you can open the windows and it feels cool enough inside the house, I feel the need to do it. If I don't it drives me crazy! I honestly don't know why. I can have all the blinds open and the AC on set to 70, but it just feels so different to open the windows and let the fresh air in. Today was one of those days. It just makes me feel at peace. Weird.
   

So now I am tagging the following: Tara, Carla, Brandi, Tessa

Sorry

It may have seemed as if I had abandoned my blog, but I assure you that I have not. Things have been crazy here, as usual. And they're only going to get even crazier until mid-December. Here's why:

• I have a quiz this Monday night 11/24
• Thanksgiving is Thursday 11/27
• I have a wedding to attend 11/28
  
• I have my final in that same class as the quiz on Monday 12/1 (but the good news is this class is now over FOREVER! Yay!)
  
• I have a power point presentation in my other class on Wed 12/3
• I have to take Grace to a ballet dress rehearsal for a condensed Nutcracker performance that she is in on Fri 12/5
• Saturday 12/6 Grace has her first of five performances
• Sunday 12/7 Grace has the second performance. Then she's going to my moms to make cookies (they do this every Christmas time). Then dinner at my mom's
• Wed 12/10 I have my very last test in my A&P lecture class, then this class is over for good. Thank goodness!
• Thursday 12/11 Grace has her Christmas Program at school
• Friday 12/12 Grace has her third performance for the Nutcracker
• Saturday 12/13 Grace has the last two Nutcracker performances
• Sunday 12/14-Wed 12/17 We will be at Disney (shhhh! the kids don't know yet!)
• Then we're back home with family in town and then its Christmas

See, I told you I'd be busy! 3 tests in 3 weeks, sigh! But the end will be fun. I'm really looking forward to Disney.

And what is my blog without mention of weather. It has been ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL here this week. I have no idea what happened, but we've had a front over us the entire week with lows in the 40's a couple of nights! I wish it would be in the 40's every night, but hey, I'm not going to complain. I must say though, that we haven't had weather like this in a very long time. Usually, the fronts come through and last only a couple of days, then disappear and then maybe another front will come thru in a few days after. I only had one pair of pants for Grace for school because of how the fronts usually work here. But not this week. I had to wash those pants a few times!! I guess I should go pick up another pair jut in case! And to top it off, it looks like we have another front just in time for Thanksgiving! It always helps the holidays to feel more "holidayish" when its cooler out! Who wants to sweat on Thanksgiving and Christmas?? (Ok, nevermind, I know someone out there is wanting to!).

So thats my catch up blog. Please come back and check in again. I will blog again, eventually. =)