People are truly amazing!

We recently went to dinner with another couple. We went to one of those great restaurants that fills you up on appetizers and then brings out the entree. Anyhow, as we were enjoying all the yummy pre-dinner food, my friend pulls a paper plate out of her purse and slaps it down on the table. I was so embarrassed. When the waitress got to the table and asked what the paper plate was for, my friend stated that she wanted to eat the appetizers and share the entree with her spouse. The waitress explained that even if she didn't order her own meal she'd still have to pay like $9.99 or so. My friend was pretty upset and it just made me think...people are truly amazing!

The weekend is over

Thank goodness the weekend is over. As a nurse, I'm not only taking care of my patients but I'm also supporting the families as well. Often, it's the families that can almost suck you dry. Not always...at times we have the most wonderful families that develop into your friends as well. Right now I'm just gonna be thankful for my time off and hopefully, enjoy my family.

Unfortunately, the 12-hour shifts kick my butt! I didn't get up until about 11am. I have great kids that know I'm in there if they need me, but are pretty good about letting me have some time to recuperate. After I got up we all headed to daddy's office and then went out for Japanese (which is the kid's ultimate favorite). Well, it's probably one of mine as well. They have two sauces for dipping: ginger and seafood. Personally, I don't like the ginger sauce and the seafood seems like some kind of Thousand Island that's better then the original. It's probably more fattening too, and chances are that's why I really like it so much. One of the chefs recently asked me (as I asked for a refill of seafood sauce) if I'd just like a straw. I just can't help it....it's too good.

Now I sit here, looking around the house, and thinking of all I should be getting done. It's about dinner time and I'm thinking that spaghetti should be yummy and easy. As for the house, there's always tomorrow!

The Hubby

So...
One 12 hour shift down, one to go! Too bad there's HIPAA and all that confidentiality stuff or I'd have some interesting stories about work today!

My hubby was at home all day with the kids. I called him on my way home just to visit and I ask the question, "What did you do today?". (There really was no expectation intended...I was asking what he and the kids did today). He starts telling me that he folded the rest of the towels, put them away. He also did one load of laundry, unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher. After that he cooked one pound of ground chuck and put it in the fridge. So, I'm thinking to myself "Wow! This is sweet!". When I walk in the house there are dirty dishes all over the kitchen counter. Two towels were laid in the middle of the living room floor where he let the kids have a "picnic" and watch I-Carley during dinner, and the towels were put away...but plenty of other stuff was all over the place. The other five pounds of hamburger still needed to be cooked.

I know that he did more today then a lot of men do and what I didn't write in the first paragraph is the rest of the day he played with the kids. He's a wonderful daddy in that he always makes times for our two little ones. It is not uncommon to see him playing Transformers, Star Wars, or with Legos. I've seen him play Barbies and I've watched him get his fingernails painted after having makeup put on his face.

I wrote in a previous post that he was out of town this last week. Jared and Joy were missing their daddy soooo much. Jared wrote a letter welcoming his daddy home. It's just too darn sweet and I have to share it! He is really a fantastic daddy...as this little note shows!












I also wanted to share something I do which has been so helpful when cooking and made things so much faster! I was talking about six pounds of ground meat earlier. I buy it in bulk, cut up an onion and then cook it all in a skillet. I buy quart size freezer bags as well as gallon size freezer bags. I divide the cooked meat in approximately one pound portions and put them in the quart size bags. I then place all of them in a gallon size bag and place them in the freezer. When I want to make spaghetti, chili, or any dish that takes cooked hamburger it's ready to go! Saves time and it's easy!

I'm pooped!

I'm pooped! My schedule got changed at work and somehow I wound up on every other day this week. Twelve hour shifts just bite, but when you add in the every other day thing...it just plain stinks! This is my weekend to work...thank goodness I only have to do every 4th weekend. I just started a six week schedule and I told my nurse manager that I was going to go part-time. I'll be sharing how that goes. We have to cut down big time and eating out will be for special occasions. It's my goal to eventually post recipes--especially those really fast yummy ones, or better yet, crockpot recipes. I'm to bed early tonight...keep your fingers crossed that the Intensive Care Unit is a peaceful place this weekend!

He's still my little boy...

My husband is out of town for the week and each of the kids gets to sleep with mommy one night. Joy, my five year old, got to keep me up a great deal of the night on Tuesday. How is it possible for such a tiny little body to take up so much of the bed?? My almost nine year old, Jared, gets to sleep with me tonight. He is growing so fast and is becoming such a little man. He is now embarassed to hold mom's hand in public. If I give him a hug or a dreaded and disgusting kiss, he wants to disappear. I keep telling myself that he secretly likes it...at least a little bit. Tonight reminded me that he is still my little boy, at least for a while longer. Not only is Jared filling daddy's vacated spot, but also Bernard, his Build-a-Bear monkey and every other stuffed animal he could find in his room. His half of the bed was lined with his coloful army of critters. He told me "Mommy, a boy needs his toys to sleep." So, off to bed I head...mommy, Jared, Bernard and the rest of our vibrant friends.

Memory Lane

One of my good friends introduced me to

scrapbooking. No telling how many hours I've spent staring at a set of pictures while arranging, rearranging, and arranging again. All of my friends fight to NOT sit next to me because somehow my supplies spread and swallow up the whole table. My pages have evolved over the years and where I once used only white backgrounds they are now a rainbow of colors. Eyelets, string, glue, Cricut, templates and more now seem mandatory. When I finish a page I want to be emotionally attached and feel proud of my accomplishment. Of course, there have been times when I have wished that I'd never started this very large endeavor. But I remind myself that my chidlren love to sit and look at all the pictures and that I have left them a legacy of sorts. Funny thing is, I don't really do it for them...I do it for me. As I go down memory lane looking at all the pictures of when they were so tiny, when they took their first step, or how they looked on their birthdays the nostalgia is overwhelming. I look at how young hubby and I were...not to mention how much thinner and I find myself being thankful for all that I have and how rich my life really is. It is so easy to get caught up in "everything else" going on that we forget to stop and cherish what we have. Sooo...do me and yourself a favor...go give your little ones a big hug (thought my eight year old would fight me) and be sure to tell the important people in your life how important they really are to you. You never know...it may be the last chance you have and you might just get warm fuzzies!

Beginnings

I’ve thought long and hard about talking about my life…might be cathartic. It seems like most people these days have a Facebook account and I’ve been reading everyone’s posts. Or I get those silly little “notes” that everyone is passing around and they tag you so you’ll fill it out as well. I frequently ask my husband if everyone is seriously this happy!! Of course, what if everyone was honest? I'm sure that most of us would be unpleasantly surprised to find that all is not what it seems in most people's lives. But honestly...I'm not a negative person. I'm not necessarily a half glass full kinda gal either. My mom always says that "You're just Elizabeth" and "What you see is what you get". In other words, there is basically no speed bump between my brain and my mouth. If possible, I think my mouth actually goes faster than my brain.

Anyhow, stay tuned. I'm sure that I have lots to say and now that I'm in my mid-30s I find I have more than enough life experiences to add to the mix.