Goodbye 2011!

Happy New Years Eve!!!!

I have to say, not working Thanksgiving, Christmas AND New Years has just been weird. Awesome, but weird! I haven't had all holidays off since I was in college...and that seems like way too long ago!

In the past, Jon and I have done a variety of things to ring in the new year. We've gone to black tie formal parties, crazy huge parties, house parties, and even GameWorks (which was AWESOME!). But this year we have something much quieter planned.

We have some best friends in town staying with us and we have the most perfect day/night ahead of us! We've created an entire smorgashborg of food that would last a small army a week, but I'm pretty sure we'll have no problems polishing it off between this afternoon and tomorrow morning! And some festive cocktails will go perfectly with all the food goodness!

And then there's the Kinect which may counteract at least a few of the calories! Zumba, dance central, adventures, and sports...Oh yeah, it's gonna be awesome!

So I'm raising my martini glass to a great new year! Whatever you do tonight to ring in the new year, I hope you have a fun and safe time!

8 Memories of Christmas 2011

I love the Christmas season. Or maybe I just love days off over the holidays. But either way, this Christmas was no exception.

Tonight I am back at home, in my own bed, not believing how FAST it all went! I can't believe that Christmas is over!

It's true that 3 days in the PICU can seem like an eternity. Literally, AN ETERNITY!!! And yet 5 days at the parents house over the holidays is over in the blink of an eye.

But now that I'm home, Jonny and I are watching one last Christmas movie while eating some pizza. And it's given me time to think about what made this Christmas so special and so much fun.

And the overly stuffed feeling that I got after all the pizza tonight got me thinking about how much I truly need that "new years resolution diet" sooner rather than later...but I digress.

For now, I leave you with a few of my favorite 2011 Christmas memories:

1.) Matinee movies in the middle of the week! And if you haven't seen Mission Impossible III, you definitely have to! So great!

2.) Living in the most comfy sweatpants EVER for almost the entire trip!! You know, the ones that are snuggly and can even double as cozy socks!

**Oh, and playing footsie with my man : )

3.) Putting together a really hard puzzle...definitely not one of my favorite activities, but definitely a sense of accomplishment once it's done! Look at the determination of my mom!!

4.) All day bonfires. Oh I love the smell, the sounds, and the sight of bonfires. But I love sitting around it, laughing and chatting with my family even more!

5.) Going to the best thrift store ever...and coming home with 2 bags full of amazing new clothes, home decor items, and these awesome boots. Grand total: $35! Love it!

*These babies were all of $3...oh yeah!

6.) Christmas tree photo shoots that take way too long b/c Jonny just cracks me up! Oh I love that man!

7.) The endless amounts of peanut butter fudge, snicker doodles, coconut cookie bars, lemon bars, caramel, and other amazing Christmas treats. OK- I guess it wasn't "endless" b/c we certainly devoured them ALL!!! So quickly in fact, there wasn't time to take any pics! But YUMMMMM were they good!!

8.) And just being able to relax and chill with my family. To watch Christmas movies, to enjoy the extra cup of coffee or Friendship tea in the morning, to sing the occasional Christmas carol via Skype with family who couldn't be there, and just laugh a lot. This is what the holidays are all about to me.

And this was what made this year so special to me.

I hope you all had a great Christmas and are enjoying the last week of 2011. What made your holiday special this year?

Merry Christmas!

The past few days I had every intention writing a pre-holiday post since I've been pretty MIA this week. But detailing my last few days of total and complete relaxation at my parents house would have been pretty boring. It's been SO nice to just sit and chat, have all day bonfires, catch up on some reading, and get in GREAT "hills of Georgia" workouts!

It has been a MUCH needed break after working 3 crazy days in a row in the PICU and getting 4 hours of sleep before a super early morning flight! Perhaps more on that later....or maybe I'll just completely forget about those work days!

But today I am going to thoroughly enjoy Christmas Day with my man and my parents! Ja and G you are VERY missed!!

I hope you have a fun, relaxing, family-filled day as well!!

Have a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Christmas Brunch

Today was my 6th annual Christmas brunch! I began this tradition the first year I started in the PICU order to get to know some co-workers better...and just have some great food with friends!

It was such a hit, that I've done it every year since! And today was no exception! Usually, I invite about 20 people and only about 4-6 can come because the holidays are just a crazy time for people!

But today there were actually 12 of us! It was a full house...and loads of fun!

I had every intention of taking pics of all the food and cute little decorations that came along, but completely got caught up in all of the cooking, chatting, and laughing. So, no pictures this year : ( But here's one from last year, just to prove how much fun we can have! I'm pretty sure we were practicing our "smeyes-ing"...ha!

I guess the lack of picture taking is completely appropriate b/c there seems to be a lot of "getting caught up" lately!

We've been so busy this year we didn't set up a Christmas tree. Or Christmas decorations for that matter. Unless you count the 2 Christmas candles and snowmen salt and pepper shakers that were set out this week, which I kinda don't!

But I just turned up the Christmas music, turned on my "Christmas Cheer," brought out the mimosas, and called it a day!

In the end, it worked out fine. I tried a few new recipes which did not disappoint. And used a few of my mom's tried and true recipes which are always crowd pleasers.

Sausage balls are one of the "must haves" every year, and while they turned out great, they were a bit different this year. Since I've worked the past few days, and got off super late last night, my amazing hubby said he'd help me get stuff ready.

So I gave him the Sausage Ball duty. I realize now, this may have not been the best dish to pass along. Sausage balls are usually bite sized meat, biscuit and cheese deliciousness. Bite size generally being the key word...ok, maybe deliciousness is. But bite size is also key!

But when you give this responsibility to a man, things get taken to epic proportions. Maybe it's because there's the word "balls" in there and the mans ego just defaults to LARGE. Or maybe my "bite sized" means something very different than Jon's apparent stuff-your-entire-face-full "bite sized." Whatever the explanation, these things were HUGE!!

And so huge, that no fewer than 3 people made comments about them! Which again, with the word balls thrown in makes for some hilarious brunch humor!

So despite being a crazy time of year and having a lack of "time" lately, this was a breath of friend-filled fresh air that I needed!

So thank you friends for making the 6th Annual Christmas brunch a hit!! And thank you amazing husband for bringing your balls...ahem, your sausage....umm, the Sausage Balls. They were delicious! (yes, I'm aware the "ahem" "ummm" game could continue....)

*Here's the one picture I managed to snag with my phone- Jonny and his prized *sausage* balls : ) Merry Christmas Brunch!

If an Adult said it, it would be outrageous...but from a Kid it's Cute!

There are SO many reasons that I chose to work in pediatrics as opposed to the many other options out there.

The only other type of nursing that I considered was labor and delivery and/or the post-partum unit. And while I LOVED every minute of my nursing internship in a mother/baby unit, I just couldn't see myself doing it for the rest of my life. Mostly, I knew that eventually I wanted to go back to school, and becoming a midwife was just not appealing to me.

So I chose pediatrics instead.

And almost weekly (almost!) I am reminded why I am so glad I chose kids, and not adults.

Don't get me wrong, we still have to deal with adults on a daily basis. Kids do have parents after all!

But, kids make SO much better patients! Adults tend to be big babies. Babies on the other hand, are not big babies when it comes to healing. Kids are resilient. They consistently amaze me.

And kids seriously say the cutest things! They certainly say things that adults could never get away with!

Here are just a few things that I have heard recently:

*A 3 year old girl who was in SVT (AKA: heart arrythmia where the heart beats very fast)- "Ohhh, it feels so funny. My heart is Beeping very fast!" And then she proceded to tell me to "feel it" and placed my hand on her chest! Despite profusely sweating, she was giggling the entire time. Most adults would be freaking out!

*A 4 year old little boy said that I could call him "Super Dylan" (name completely changed!) instead of just Dylan because the surgeon made him that way! When I looked confused, he pointed to his sutures and said, "See, he gave me supers....so I'm Super Dylan!"

*Then there's the little boy who called farting "Spoodle-ing"- I'm not even sure how to spell that! But he'd giggle and say "Haa...I spoodled!" Where did he get THAT!?

*And finally, the 4 year old boy who had a foley catheter taken out a few hours prior said that his "weiner hurt really bad." Which really isn't all that funny by itself...I'm sure his weiner did kinda hurt! But when it was proceeded by, "Mommy can you hold it?" really made me laugh!

Ohh kids....gotta love 'em!

At least I do....and that's why I can say I love my job so much!

A good logo

Everybody knows that when you create a company, you must have a logo. A good, catchy logo that everyone will remember you when they look at it.

So what kind of man sat down at his desk after creating a stellar company, and settled on this logo????

Does anyone else see anything just slightly inappropriate about this???

I can't be the only one!

Yeah, I see it every day at work. And not once over the last 6 years have I not laughed when passing it!

It's on all of our vent covers and plastic coverings for other respiratory equipment.

I'm not sure how this relates to respiratory anything.

Well.....

OK not going there!

Anyways, note to self when I create that great nursing company. Have someone edit my logo so I don't come up with something ridiculous like this that will debut in every little sick child's room across the US!

This is why I'm not a "Home Improvement" blogger

Ugh-

So about 2 years ago, I bought a huge framed cavas print at a thrift store for about 10 bucks. Not only was it a great find, but I had this amazing blog post in mind when I purchased it. I not only would be a great nurse, but stellar at the home decorating game!

And then it just sat in my garage, b/c who was I kidding...I was working full time and in grad school! There was NO time for things like painting...or home decorating!

But, I recently pulled the big boy out of the garage, and remembered why I was so excited about it in the first place!

You see, the canvas was painted a 'la 1984 when pastel colors were all the rage, and flowers were so in! And not just flat painted flowers, but the almost 3-D kind...the paint was coming off the canvas!

*I'm SOOOO mad that I forgot to take a picture of this beauty prior to giving it a face lift! Just imagine lovely teals, pastel blue, and pastel pink flowers...all over! Oh, and with a sparkly gold frame...no lie!

But I had big plans for this canvas. Major plans in fact!

For those of you that have been to our house, you know we have 19 foot ceilings in our living room. And that comes with a LOT of wall space. Space that needs some wall love.

And this was where my big ole thrift store framed canvas came into play. Except I didn't really take into account that I'm the worst painter ever. It's no lie...you'll see in just a bit!

I'm not sure why this didn't come to mind before, but I can create all these majestical things in my head....but what comes out looks like this:

That's my attempt at an "L" and then some branches.

Told ya! Worst. Painter. EVER!

My 3 year old niece drew me a picture a few weeks ago that looked better than this. And I wish I could blame my bad phone picture, or the lighting, but the whole weird grafitti look is actually how it turned out.

Mainly b/c once I started painting, I realized I couldn't, well, paint!! So I busted out the good 'ole can of spray paint from the garage to hide the "imperfections"...AKA: the entire painting!

So now I'm back to square 1. Which means I am going to re-paint the entire canvas a neutral color that I started with. Then, I'll go to Hobby Lobby and buy a nice big stencil pattern that I can use to create some sort of geometric shape or the like.

I can't mess that up....can I???

Guess I should just stick with nursing, b/c clearly painting is not in my future! But, since it's had me laughing (and slightly getting mad b/c I HATE not being good at things!), I thought I'd share.

I can't have you thinking all this PICU nurse does is nursing. All day...every day! Although from the looks of it, I'm thinking that's exactly what I SHOULD do!

Sticker Charts

Do you remember when you were in kindergarten and the teacher had tons of sticker charts strewn throughout the classroom?

Yeah, I loved those!

In fact, I still do. So much so that I brought them back in the PICU. And these bad boys work!

It's so funny to see what kids will do to get a sticker on the chart. And ultimately the prize that they get at the end once they get a certain amount of stickers.

I've used them for a teenage boy who didn't want to eat. I've used them for a 5 year old girl who never wanted her physical therapy. I've used them for a feisty little man who had a horrible temper.

But most recently, my sticker charts were used for my boy that I've been caring for off and on for the 2 1/2 years. Unfortunately for him, more "on" than "off."

We were really trying to get this kiddo out of the PICU and right back home where he belongs! So we set up a sticker chart. If he made it 21 days without having any desats or "events" then he got to go home.

Yes, I'm aware...this isn't a very fair sticker chart! It's not HIS fault if his lung collapses (AGAIN!) and he starts having frequent desats.

But, it was a pretty decoration for his door. So we stuck with it!

And finally, yesterday, despite being 43 stickers over his goal (yeah this 3 year old is an overachiever!), I was able to send him home!

Ohhh, what a day of mixed emotions!!!! I was SOOOO excited that I got to send him home, where he really should be!

But, my goodness, this admission was 8 months! And the 2 admissions before that were 6 months each. Throw in a bunch of shorter admissions, and I've taken care of this little guy for a majority of his life.

And I've loved it! So there was a little piece of me that was sad that he won't be there when I work on Friday. And more, I think that I realized that this was probably the last time I will ever take care of him as his nurse.

Now I have no idea where my career is taking me, but most likely I won't be a staff nurse for much longer. And hopefully he won't be back before I am officially working as a nurse practitioner.

So there was definitely some sadness there.

But he's home, and that makes me very happy!

And the sticker chart proved to be awesome once again as well! So rock on sticker charts!!!

I'm beginning to think they may be helpful in real life (yes, there is a real life outside the PICU!). Perhaps it would motivate me more to drink more water each day, go to the gym more regularly, or get more home improvement projects done.

Hey, if a pedicure or new pair of shoes is the reward at the end, I'm pretty sure I could rack up those stickers real quick!!! Whoa, there really is power in those stickers!

What would you "sticker chart"? And more fun, what would your prize be at the end of your sticker chart!?!?

Baby Love

Umm, so I'm aware that it's only 9 am, and my shift just started 2 hours ago, but I'm pretty sure I'm gonna love my day today!

Days like this never happen, so when they do, I just want to savor every minute of it.

My assignment today??? On a Saturday no less!?

I have one 2 week old little guy who is just waiting to go home!

YUP!!!!

He's a (now) healthy little dude in the cutest, little soft jammies. Who just wants to be held. ALL day long!

Yes please!!

And so I will be holding this healthy little bundle of cuteness until this evening when his parents can come pick him up.

I'm not sure what I did to get this assignment, but things are looking good today!

Hope you have an equally good and snuggly Saturday!

Pajama Fancy

Working in the PICU that I do, it's not uncommon to see parents come in late at night with the craziest things on! Or in some cases, a crazy little amount of things on!

Oh who am I kidding....these people come at any point of the day or night wearing these things!

We frequently get younger parents that live in sweatpants with words on the butt. It can be quite interesting seeing the things that are spelled out on the bums of some of these pants! And for whatever reason these butt word pants are always paired with a super skimpy, one size too small, spaghetti strap tank top! Nice!

Then there's the parents that come in wearing a dirty t-shirt and jeans with holes all over them...and not the stylish ones! And then they stay in this lovely outfit the entire stay. Even when that's a week! And even when we offer scrubs...because they stink! Gross!

But this week, we had a mom come in wearing pajamas like I have never seen. Maybe its because we don't see the "high society" people quite as often as I thought. Or maybe it's because most people have better sense than to wear this get-up to a PICU.

Either way, this mom was fully decked out in silk pajamas: silk pajama pants with a silk pajama tank lined with lace, and a floor length silk robe. All in a wonderful gold, blues and greens paisley pattern. Her hair was what I would call "perfectly coiffed" if I knew what the word "coiffed" meant. Oh, and instead of slipping on tennis shoes or flip flops like most people keep near the door, she put on her plush slippers.

Her entire pajama outfit probably cost more than what I spend in an entire year on my wardrobe. *Yes, I'm aware this is slightly cheating, since I mostly just thrift! But still!!!

I didn't even know people wore this stuff to bed! Or kept it handy enough so when their daughter has a medical emergency in the middle of the night they would be good to go! But this woman did...does!

And let me just tell you the looks that this mom got. From other patients, families, and even staff!

Now in all fairness, I'm sure there was some snickering when the patient came in at 3 am. But at 3pm when the mom was still wearing these beauties despite being brought a posh rolling bag of clothes, it was an all out snicker-fest!

And I have to say, I was one of them! I mean, really!?!? It made me want to bring her child's medications on a silver platter. Or pure gold. Or whatever the really fancy people get served on!

But I just brought them in my gloved hand like I normally do. Real classy, yes I'm aware.

Hey, what can I say...I'm a nurse. I'm here to serve! And the fact that my clientelle may range from having "Juicy" butt sweatpants to fancy schmancy silk is besides the point!

What I think the point is...or should be...is both the juicy and the silky keep us laughing. And really, at the end of a long 12 1/2 hours shift, what more could you ask for!?!?

What I will NOT be doing today

The day after thanksgiving holds many traditions for many people.

I would NOT be one of these people. In fact, there are more things that I will NOT be doing today than things I will actually be doing!

For example, I will not be doing this:

I wasn't lying when I said that I was going to eat my weight in all things potatoes yesterday! And my scale wouldn't even be able to say "Help"- standing on it today would probably squash the life out of it!

I will also not be one of these crazies:

I don't understand all you people out there that stand in line for hours, camping out for a camera...or a toy...or anything for that matter! But if you were up in the wee hours this morning being one of "those people" I hope you scored some great things!

And finally, I will not be making my house look like this:

Partly because I don't have a fireplace (oh so sad!). And partly because I don't like teddy bears...or stuffed animals for that matter (yes, what kind of kid nurse doesn't like these things!?).

But mostly because I think the day after thanksgiving should be reserved for sleeping in, drinking that extra cup of morning coffee, eating biscuits with tomato gravy (again, with zero regard for the scale!), staying in the pj's for a long time, playing games, and maybe taking a nice long walk in the sunshine.

With all of the things that I will NOT be doing today, this list seems like a perfect day to me!

What will you be doing...or NOT doing....today???

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Once again, this PICU nurse gets Thanksgiving off thanks to my "Year of Jubilee" which I think I have referenced in about 17 posts, so I won't bore you with it again!!!

There is seriously nothing better than not having to work on a holiday. Can I get a "what, what!?" from the other medical professionals out there!?

So this Thanksgiving, I will eat my weight in things that have the word "potato" in them, laugh with my family, drink some good wine, and just enjoy the time off while reflecting on the things that I am grateful for.

*Quality time with my family

*Extra snuggle time in the mornings with my man

*Nursing my hot cup of java in an oversized mug

*My mom's mashed potatoes....these are serious folks!

*Laughing HARD late into the night with my sister, hubby and brother in-law

*A great glass of cabernet

*My 2 incredible boot finds recently at the thrift store

*Comfy clothes

*Pretty earrings

*Best friends that you don't have to "try" with

*Football

*Great interval workouts

*Christmas music on the radio during long road trips to grammys

*A fall candle that makes my house smell SO yummy (thank you CL!!)

*Sparkling water

What are you grateful for this year!?

I hope you enjoy your holiday, with family, friends, laughter and good food this year! Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Just another reason

As if I needed another reason to love my job, here's another!

It's not very often that we get to take care of kids that are "well" enough to do things like sit up in bed or talk to us or draw pictures.

But this little cutie was able to do all of the above....and HOW MUCH FUN!!!

And just in case it wasn't clear who the picher (ahem, picture) belongs to, this was also included on the back:

Awww, thank you super cute PICU patient! You make days like today just fly by. And it's days like today that make the days where we don't sit down at all, don't pee, and barely scarf down a snack seem just a bit more bearable.

Order Entry

When I was in grad school....

*wow- I say that like I've been done for 20 years. It's been 2 months people!

Anways, when I was in grad school, one of the things they teach you is how to enter orders into the computer system.

Some order entries simply require the click of a button because the order is already in the computer system as part of an "order set."

Other orders require the provider to actually type in what they want.

Which is where problems like this can happen:

Apparently this resident didn't read what he wrote. Or he read it and didn't think anything was wrong with it. Which is a much bigger problem!

Now for those non-medical people out there, "PO" essentially means "by mouth"...AKA: to eat or drink.

*Here is where my hubby is going back to the picture to re-read...and then get's it...and then scruntches up his face which makes me laugh. Every time! Love it!

Now that everyone is up to date....can we all say "EWWWWWWWWWWW!!!" Lets NOT make our patient drink their urine output as replacement!!

Thank you!

And to make matters funnier, the nurse taking care of this patient went to the resident and said, "You know, the patient is just NOT being cooperative. No matter what I do, I cannot get her to drink her urine output! Should I put an NG down to feed it to her?"

The resident didn't think it was funny.

But all the nurses did. And really that's all that matters!

Oh I love my job!

11*11*11

Ohhhh! 11 has always been my favorite number! I don't say "lucky" b/c I don't know that I've ever really won anything with 11 in it!

But it's definitely been my favorite. And it was my soccer # all the way until college.

So Happy 11-11-11 to you all!

I will be celebrating 80's style for a friends birthday. Because clearly a day like today requires a throwback to the 80's : ) It will be filled with crimpy hair, lots of makeup, off the shoulder shirts, and even leg warmers!

I think it's safe to say we all are hoping the 'stash is NEVER coming back!!! And I think it's also probably safe to say that it's a good thing it's 2011 b/c clearly I only have one picture face in the 80's!

Dance Central Baby!!

80's: "Like, this girl is like, totally awesome!"

11-11-11: My bestie....my BFF : )

So Happy 80's style 11/11/11 to you! How will you be celebrating this momentous day!?

Oh....not so momentous to everyone? Alright, well happy Friday anyways! Like Totally!!

Freedom!!!

SO many people the past few months have asked me what it feels like to be done with school!

In fact, I pretty much feel like every conversation at work starts with "Soooo....how's being done with school!?"

Which I don't mind, b/c I love being done! Like, REALLY love it!!!

It feels like freedom!! Which reminds me of this: Only I'm a nurse, not a warrior. And people would be concerned for my health if I painted my face blue...blue is NOT our favorite color in the PICU! And I'd probably get fired if I swung around a metal stick at the patients. But you get the point!

*On a total side note, I love how in this picture everyone is trying to be so manly and warrior-esque...except the smaller man in the lower right corner who's just smiling away! Apparently he didn't get the memo! He's more like "Look at me mom, I made the movie!" Ohh, or how sad if this IS his best manly warrior-esque face!

Wow- totally digressing!

Anyways, back to the "How does it feel to be done with school?" question. That is the easy one.

The question that ALWAYS follows is "So what are you going to do now?"

To which I want to reply:

-Nothing...I'm going to do nothing. And I like it!
-Umm, just stay in this PICU forever, b/c I love it!
-Go home and drink a glass a wine...and not think about what I am going to do!
-I have no idea!!!

So you can see the theme above. It's almost as if I pretend I don't need to/want to find a new job as a nurse practitioner, then I won't have to do it.

But someday, I will start looking.

Just not this week. Because really, I love where I am at. And because I won this. So who wants to be the newbie at a hospital and get stuck working ALL the holidays when I don't have to!?!?

Glad you agree with me!

So here's to some more procrastination (which goes against EVERYTHING I have EVER believed in up until this point in my life!). What have you been putting off lately!?

Awful vs Awesome

Last Friday I went to a Nursing Leadership conference on top of working my 3 shifts that week. Instead of just telling you about it, I've decided to do a breakdown of the awful and the awesome...because there were plenty of both!

Awful: Being in the car for an hour and a half to get there...and 2 1/2 hours to get home!
Awesome: Now knowing by heart every single word to Moves Like Jagger, Party Rock Anthem, and Rolling in the Deep because I heard them about 7 times each!

Awful: Making the weirdest, most awkward face as I was standing to be announced as the recipient of the Pinnacle Nurse Leader award from my institution...and holding it for the entire 6 minutes that other names were being read!
Awesome: The fact that I won the Pinnacle Nurse Leader award- score for putting something really good on my APN resume!

Awful: Steamed carrots for lunch...ugh, no matter how many times I try to like them, I just can't!
Awesome: The rest of the lunch- great salad and cheese platter, some really awesome yellow stuff that I want to call polenta but nobody really knew what it was, and chicken
REALLY Awesome: The dessert plate! Whoa mama this one was incredible!!
Awful: Having our table assigned to be in the back...by the nurses that are chatty. And the one's that are apparently hard of hearing b/c they kept saying "What did he say!?" And the ones that despite 2 reminders still did not put their phones on vibrate- no I don't want to "Get Jiggy With It" right now...maybe later.
Not quite Awful, but not Awesome either: The fact that the keynote speaker was a physician...at a NURSING leadership conference, really!?!?
Awesome: The fact that the physician giving the keynote speech kept saying he never could have done his job without his nursing and nurse practitioner colleagues. Yes this is OH.SO.TRUE! Brownie points for that!

Awful: Not getting paid for my 4 hours of drive time...yes, sorry, this again. It was dreadful!
Awesome: Getting paid for 4 hours of eating great food, getting an award, and listening to one speech.

Awful: Having an uber awkward introduction to the Chief Nursing Executive who I met/had conversations with the entire shuttle ride to the conference from our hospital...we sat right next to each other. Why neither of us didn't interrupt the person and say, "Yes, not only have we met, but we know what we had for dinner last night, our favorite vacation spots, and what our weekend plans are" is beyond me!
Awesome: Having the Chief Nursing Exec ask what my plans were in regards to finding an APN job, and her telling me she would make sure that I got a great job in an area that I want!

Awful: The fact that as much as I want to be a "nurturer," that word only applies to me in the PICU...because I kill every plant (and most animals, unfortunately) that find their way into my house.
Awesome: The fact that I won the gorgeous centerpiece- a beautiful stainless steel pot that matches our kitchen housing an orchid. Not that orchids are hard to keep alive or anything! Still, this was totally awesome! I almost jumped out of my chair fist pumping and screaming "Oh Yeah Baby!"...but luckily, refrained!

So there ya have it. That was the Nursing Leadership Conference in a nutshell...both the awful and the awesome!

What has been awful and awesome for you lately!?

Do I have a sign that reads....

"PLEASE TRIPLE ME EVERY TIME I WORK" plastered on my forehead!?

In bright red letters?

And in 7 different languages so ALL people can read it!?

I must, b/c two out of the 3 shifts that I worked this week I was tripled. And the third shift I had meetings, so it doesn't really count.

I know I mentioned being tripled on my Halloween post. But it happened again yesterday.

And being tripled on a Saturday in the PICU is never a good sign. In fact, you can pretty much sum up your entire day once you get that assignment.
I'm not going to rant. In fact, I'm going to keep this post short. So that I can savor every single minute of the fact that I'm NOT back at work today! Hallelujah!

But I will say that having the three patients I had yesterday meant that I did not eat until 4:15pm, did not pee until approximately 5:15 pm, and while I did drink about 100 oz of water, it was consumed between the hours of 4 and 7 pm.

Talk about peeing every 10 minutes. But I was SOO thirsty. From all my hard work.

So today, I will not think about work (anymore!) Instead, I will get my church on, and then come home and do absolutely nothing more than relax with my man. And eat some great food. Probably enough to make up for a lack of food yesterday : )

Relaxing + My Man + Great (and lot!) Food

Now that's a triple I can smile about!

Nursing Advice of the Week

I know that I said in this post that I don't generally give out advice regarding adults. But I want to take that back.

Are take-backs allowed!?

Umm, it's my blog so I'm saying yes. Who needs to follow the rules anyways!

So back to my advice. I suggest you listen to it carefully and take it to heart. If not followed precisely, you may find yourself in a PICU.

Well, ok, not a PICU....you're too old for that. But you would if you weren't an adult.

So here it goes:

If you find yourself at your gym after a great workout where you lifted weights until your muscles couldn't lift anymore and you incorporated cardio until you thought your heart would pop out of your chest, well first of all good for you. But second of all, if you are planning on taking a shower at said gym, take GREAT caution.

You see, when your muscles are fatigued, like really fatigued, they tend to shake. And shaking muscles do not tend to mix well with standing on one leg in a gym shower while trying to shave the other. With flip flops on. And a slippery (eww!) floor.

In fact, you may even slip in that (eww!) slippery shower! And on the way down, you may try to reach for the only thing available....the shower handle.

The shower handle that apparently isn't fixated onto the wall but controls the temperature of the water by turning about 60 degrees in either direction. And in the direction that you are currently falling it turns it bitterly cold.

As the handle didn't slow down your fall, you think perhaps the flimsy plastic shower curtain will. But nope, that will just rip out of the 2 rings that it was barely attached to on one side. At least you didn't rip it out entirely!

But this leaves you hitting your shin on the pseudo-4 inch step that separates the shower from the outside walkway (WHY do they have these anyways...the water still pours out of the shower into the hall drain!?).

And as your hands hit the floor (EWW!) you think, YUP that most definitely hurt!

But even worse, the woman in the next shower (who of course is like 70 and overweight and SO not afraid to show her neked body!) opens her shower curtain to make sure I was ok.

Well, I'm naked looking up at your nakedness. I'm also cold b/c there's frigid water pouring over me right now. My shin is banged up. And my whole body is shaking relentlessly from that blasted workout I just finished!

I've never been better! *Ahem* I mean, YOU have never been better!

Oh, but it does get better. As you quickly try to stand up again and get back into your shower stall (and hoping the elderly large naked woman will also do the same!), there is a very large, very disgusting BLACK hairball stuck to your left shoulder.

You may or may not have very not black hair. Perhaps very blonde hair!

This is clearly NOT your hair! Which will promptly initiate your gag reflex. Big time.

But the thought of the lady next door thinking that you've actually hit your head really hard and are now vomiting (which would require medical attention!) makes it go away as quickly as it came!

So you finish the shower and make your way out of that gym with one bruised shin and one majorly sore, shaking body. Which is obviously not fun!

So there's my nursing advice for the day. Don't work out so hard you can't stop the muscle convulsions should you need to balance on one leg while shaving the other in the stall of a gym shower which will lead you to fall and mess yourself up in more ways than one!

This story- which CLEARLY has never happened to me! And most definitely NOT this week!- should be your fair warning to keep you out of the PICU.

Or the adult version of the same.

And if there were an embarrassment ICU, well, it would keep you out of there as well!

But if you do find yourself there, you can pop your head in and say hi to me : )

What have you done to warrant an admission to embarrassment ICU? Please don't leave me here alone!

***If you want to try this amazing workout that caused this debacle (which she would not condone I'm sure...this is ALL on me!), you can check it out here. This woman is NO joke. She's a nurse too, and she'll kick your booty!

Even the best of them need a bit of WD-40!

I'm pretty sure if you've read this blog for any amount of time that it is clear I love my job.

I LOVE my job!

One of the reasons is that when people come together in the PICU we work like a well oiled machine. Our team of PICU doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists and nursing assistants just know our role and responsibility and make things happen. It's quite magical : )

Sometimes though, this "well oiled machine" needs a bit of WD-40!

I was reading another nursing blog the other day (you can check it out here) and her post reminded me of times that just make you think, seriously!?

Exhibit A (yes, you can call me Magnum, R.N. today!): Respiratory therapist is doing a breathing treatment in the patients room. She apparently calls out for the nurse (that's me) twice. Loudly. So loudly in fact that a physician walking by asks if everything is ok. When she says "No, I just need the nurse" the physician walks into another patient room where I was doing something important. I'm told the therapist really needs me next door. Upon rushing in there, she tells me "The patient has a poopy diaper. I mean REALLY poopy!!"

SERIOUSLY!?!? You take me away from doing legit patient stuff to TELL me there is a poopy diaper!? Since when am I the only one qualified to change poopy diapers. Last time I check there is all of the diaper stuff at the end of the bed.

And nowhere in my job description does it spell out that I am a diaper changing champion (though I am that good!). Thanks for letting me know. As soon as I'm done making sure the kid next door is breathing appropriately, I'll get right on that poopy diaper!

Exhibit B: Anesthesia brings my patient in from the OR. In order to get them out of the room the quickest, we have to take a temp and tell them what it is. Then they leave, which is nice...really folks, there's only so much space in these patient rooms! Upon taking the temp, I state that it's 35.4C- well gee, there's a surprise. A patient coming from the OR is cold!

The anesthesiologist says, "Wow, this patient needs warming!" Thanks! Good thing you got your big doctor degree, b/c I would never have figured that one out with only my nursing degree!

So I tell him "The warming blankets are right outside the room to the left. Right next to the sink. In the metal warming cabinet." I also threw in "Or we have warming lamps in our equipment room" for good measure, but figured he wouldn't have a clue how to meander over there.

After a few minutes while I'm still getting the patient settled, the anesthesiologist who disappeared for a bit comes back in the room. He looks at the patient and says "Why is this patient not being warmed!?"

To which I say, "Umm, I gave you perfectly good directions to find the warming blankets. Everyone in the room currently has hands on the patient and is actively involved in care. When you walked out I thought you were getting the blankets."

He walked out of the room looking a bit sheepish.

Two minutes later, a near-by nurse walked into our room carrying a big bundle of warming blankets. I looked at her dumbfounded! Apparently Mr Anesthesiologist went into the hall and told the nurse that I was in need of blankets. He never came back in!

SERIOUSLY!?

Exhibit C: A resident walks into a patient room (oh wow- this could take about 100 different directions, and have equally as many punchlines!). Anyways, the resident walks into the room VERY early in the morning to do her assessment. She un-swaddles the baby that I just got back to sleep after master-swaddling, rocking, and "shushing" back to sleep. The baby of course cries. Scratch that...he screams! And with that, the resident completes her exam and she walks out.

It's then that she tells me, "Umm, your baby is crying. A lot."

Ya Think!?!?

Upon entering the room the patient is flailing around in the crib. With his diaper hanging on by one velcro snap. He is definitely not bundled, and the blanket whereabouts are even yet to be determined! What in the world did this resident DO during the exam!?

And yet, instead of following the motto of Leaving Things As You Find Them (or Better, as my mom always taught me. Or maybe that was Girl Scouts. Either way, its important!) the resident just walks away.

Thanks! Because I didn't seriously just spend 18 minutes trying to get this kid quiet and back to sleep. And because you didn't just ramshackle his entire world in a matter of 2 minutes which will now take approximately 47 minutes to pull back together!

*Unfortunately this resident story could be told in about 25 different ways probably by every nurse that ever lived, replacing the word "resident" with "fellow" "attending" or any doctor for that matter! I have about 30 of my own!

SERIOUSLY!?!?

But every great machine needs greased every once and while, right? Certainly, the PICU is no exception.

Once that WD-40 is sprayed on, things begin to move a lot smoother. So is true with the PICU....give us a good dose of nursing calling it like it is and coordinating optimal patient care (b/c really that is the oil in the PICU), and we can go right back into our routine!

What a fine "machine" we are : )

Happy Halloween!!!

Happy Halloween!!!!

I hope that you have a fun and safe Halloween this year!!

I celebrated in the PICU with the little ones today. And while most people don't like working on holidays, I actually love working this one!

While our census is way high right along with our acuity now, we still have some kiddos that were able to dress up!! I wish I could post pictures, but that would be violating hippa...blah, blah!

But we had quite the assortment: a Sponge Bob, a prisoner (ohh, so sad...a Prisoner of the PICU"), several princesses, and a skeleton.

We also had a few staff members dress up which I fully intended to post pics, but of course the day was CRA-ZAZY!!

In the period of 12 hours I had five different patients. This included being "tripled" (having 3 patients at once) which is just not common in our PICU b/c most of the times the kids are way to sick, admitting one patient from the OR, admitting one pt from the ER, and discharging a little princess home to go trick or treating!

So nevertheless, there was zero opportunity for photo ops- except one that I got passed along.How cute is this t-shirt!!?? Love it!

Had you seen a pic of ME today, you would have seen my ingenious creativity in costume design. I was a full fledge.....

Nurse!

Yes, I know! So creative! But I must say I pulled off the part superbly : )

What did you dress up as?? Or were you working through the holiday as well!?! Either way, I hope that you have a happy, spooky, and fun Halloween!!

Another thing I love

I love my job. I say it all the time. When parents of patients ask why I drove almost 3 hours each day to get to and from work, I tell them it's because I truly love what I do!

And I feel so lucky for being able to say that. Because really, how many people out there look forward to going into work each day!?

Don't get me wrong...there are many days that the alarm just seems to go off way too early.

Or days that I walk into a room that looks like it should belong into a circus with all the pumps and machines which makes me nervous! But a good dose of healthy fear of what we do gets us through our job. When a PICU nurse becomes too "comfortable" it can be a scary time!

But back to my love of my job. I seriously love working with kids. I love making a difference in their life. Impacting not just the health of a child, but the overall well-being of an entire family.

And I especially love that once I clock out, I can leave the job behind. I don't have any paper work or responsibilities once I'm home.

Which really leaves me time to do other things that I love. Once of these things is trying to come up with healthy recipes for Jon and I to enjoy. And let me tell you, I found another one that will become a staple for us this fall and winter so I thought I'd share it...we've already made this twice in 2 weeks! That's substantial for us!

Plus, it makes enough leftovers so I can take it to work the next day and have tons of nurses stare longingly at my lunch! No lean-cuisine here...just some delicious, healthy soup!!!

*Note: I don't measure things most times, so you'll just have to bear with my recipe! But, I adapted this from a few different mexican meatball soups that I found online so you could find exact measurements if you want.

Crock-pot Mexican Meatball Soup

-In a crock pot, mix chicken stock or broth to fill about 3/4 of the way. Add in one can of black beans, frozen corn to your liking, one can of Rotel or another "mexican" flavored spicy tomatoes, a few splashes of lime juice, a few diced up jalapenos, a dash of salt and a dash of pepper. Cook for 2 hours on low.

-To make the meatballs, take ground turkey or ground beef (we used lean ground turkey to be a bit healthier) and add fresh cilantro, salt, pepper, and hot pepper flakes. Form into 1-2 in balls. Place in broiler for about 4-6 minutes (or until outside starts to brown). Once browned, place in crockpot with the rest of the soup and turn to high for about an hour.

-Once the soup is done, make a plate of "fixins" to put on top. We used tortilla chips, avacado, sharp cheddar cheese and fresh cilatro. -Serve with a glass of spicy red wine and enjoy....YUM!!!

The only unfortunate thing about the leftovers at work is the glass of red wine is not included. But it still tastes awesome!

Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

And Down She Goes!

I don't often solicit unwanted advice. And I certainly don't solicit medical advice to adults.

For one, I don't work with adults. For two, I'm not licensed or credentialed to do so. And three, I just like kids better.

But this week I most certainly gave advice to an adult and felt no remorse about it!

The aunt of a patient came to visit around 1:30 pm. She came into the room next to me where I had been helping out most of the day. My patient wasn't very sick. This patient was.

The aunt looked a bit overwhelmed when she walked into the room, and I don't blame her. The patient is extremely sick with cancer, and is hooked up to a bunch of machines. The room just looks overwhelming from the outside.

About 3 minutes into the aunts visit, she started to look really flushed, and then pale. As she started to fan herself and say "It's so warm in here...."

I'm sure you can guess where this is going. Down she goes!!!

And let me tell ya. This lady passed out hard and fast!! She conked her head on the wood floor HARD! I was standing about 10 feet away and heard her head hit! Ouch!

I always say "go big or go home" but this is taking it to the extreme. OK, I guess I've never really said that, but it is a saying. So someone must've said it before. And I bet they were really smart!

But back to the Fainting Fun. So of course the aunt is unconscious, and another nurse pulls the code button. We need some help in here.

And in a not funny situation, we managed to laugh (after the fact of course!). As the nurse pushes the code button, all she kept saying was "We have to make sure everyone knows the code isn't for the patient...We have to make sure everyone knows who the code button is for!"

Now let me just tell you, there is a grown woman sprawled out, unconscious on the floor blocking the doorway. I'm pretty sure staff members running in the room will see pretty clearly that the patient is fine. But the lady on the floor, not so much!

Luckily, she woke up shortly after she fell, and was more embarrased than hurt.

Despite insisting that she was fine, we still hooked her up to a transport monitor to make sure her vitals were stable, and I grabbed a quick accucheck to see what her glucose was.

Only her glucose was SO low, it wouldn't even register on our machine.

Which was when the aunt said that she hadn't eaten since 3pm the day before. And she played competitive volleyball the night before. Oh, and one more little detail- she also went for a 6 mile run that morning!

So this was where my unsolicited advice came in. And I felt pretty confident that despite not having adult experience, this was warranted!

For the love, before coming into the PICU, please eat!

And if you are choosing to do the "no food and tons of exercise diet" please stay away from our PICU.

Because us PICU nurses like saving lives...but only the little kid-like ones : )

Busy, Busy!

Do you ever have times when you are so super busy and all you can think about is the time in the future when you will actually have some free time!? And then that time actually comes, and you wonder where in the world all that "free time" actually is!?

Yeah, that's happened to me!!

I must say that while school is done, I have wasted NO time in filling up my schedule with "stuff." And while the past 2 weeks of being "done" have been awesome, they certainly have kept me busy.

I'll take busy working out, busy catching up with friends, busy with lunch dates, and busy with hubby time over school busy any day though! So there are NO complaints here!!

And the PICU has manned up to its reputation and kept me busy over the last week!

One minute our census is low, we're "floating" to work on other floors, and the kids we do have in the PICU just don't really seem to need to be there!

If ever there was a perfect recipe for causing PICU nurses to complain, this is it!! We don't like to "float" to other units. The NICU is typically the place we go to most often, and while we share 3 letters (why do I have the strong urge to spell these 3 letters out to you...literally!?), we are WORLDS apart. And we like it that way!!

Sometimes, we have to go to the "floor" (AKA: not an ICU), and this is definitely a different world!!! When kids aren't in the PICU, they don't need things like breathing tubes or the really good pain meds...all of which keep them quiet! So the floors have lots of complaining kids, whining kids, bratty kids!!

HA- I just read that, and completely realize what it makes me sound like. But, it's the truth. And yes, I still LOVE children...even the talking, crying, sometimes screaming ones!

But lucky for me, it was not my turn to float this past week. I got the joy of watching the PICU go from 21 patients to 40 in what seemed like a matter of one night.

And the kids we're getting are SICK! Like, yes, you deserve this PICU admission sick!

All of this busy-ness caused me to have 3 assignments on one day, which is loads of fun! Makes floating to the NICU where you have 2 or 3 "feeder-grower" babies not so bad!

But I have to say, now that I'm done with school, I LOVE being busy in the PICU. Before, I wanted the "nice" assignments so that in my down time, I could get school work done. But now that there's no school work, I'm loving the busyness again!

Ahh, feels just like I'm a new grad again craving the hard assignments. The sick assignments. The ones where I don't sit down all day. Or drink water. Or pee. Yeah, this sounds really healthy! But it certainly makes the day go by so much faster!

And maybe tomorrow I'll even make time to tell ya about some of the busyness. Because there were some great PICU nuggets in there!

But now I'm off, to actually enjoy a non-busy night. Since Jonny isn't feeling well, we have grand plans for comfy pants, some wine and cheese, and catching up on our DVR. That sounds like a perfect, opposite of busy, evening to me!

Looky, Looky!!!

So is the saying "Looky, looky" creepy?!? I wasn't sure, so I just went with it!

But seriously, look what happens when you graduate from a masters program...

The wonderful husband gets you THIS:
He will also get you THIS....

but we're not going to talk about that!!!

OK, in all fairness, he got himself that. It just so happened to come at the same time...in the same box. At least that's his story!

But back to Mr. Vienna plus! Oh he is a marvelous contraption (apparently I've wondered back into the 1800's this morning). This bad boy really is awesome though. He allows me to WANT to wake up early! Just so I can go downstairs and do this....

Mmm, pumpkin spice latte (made by moi!) with my pumpkin spice candle and a good book. Now that's a great morning. And all while the man is still snoozing away upstairs! Yup, I am definitely a morning person. He is not.

And just thinking about all the money we'll save on latte runs b/c I can make my very OWN starbucks now is OH. SO. EXCITING!

It has also contributed to a problem I like to call "Shake That"...and yes, you have to sing the song while you're doing it! I have GOT to figure out how to tone down the amount of caffeine that goes into my daily latte b/c WHOA MAMA, I look like "New Nurse Nervous Nelly"!!!

It's gotta make parents feel right at home when my hands are trembling while trying to flush their IV. And my "Oh don't worry, I've been doing this for 6 years" doesn't really go very far apparently!

So if you have any tips on how to make a less caffeinated version of my fav fall drinks, please leave a comment....hint, hint my barista friends!

Oh, and in case you were wondering...the instruction manual for Mr. Vienna was fabulous. Not only did it NOT really explain how to use it, or how to appropriately caffeinate the drinks, it also gave you very helpful pictures such as this:
Not only should you not wipe it down with a cloth (what ARE you supposed to wipe it down with!?) you should also not let your baby who looks like they're up to no good crawl all over it! And put his bum right on on the steaming knob!

Although if you did, it would give this PICU nurse one good admission story to blog about! So do what you choose : )

It's Official!

i passed....






WHAT!?!?!?

Oh yeah, it's true....I Passed!!!

And I couldn't be HAPPIER about it! Can ya tell!!

So it's official! School is out. And now boards are OVER!!!!!!!!

I am officially, PICU Nurse, RN, MSN, AC-PNP!

Whoa baby! Not even sure what to do about that now! I think I'll just enjoy it for today and let the "thinking" start later.

My brain hurts because boards were NO joke!

The whole testing procedure was no joke! You walk into the room and have to surrender all personal belongings to a locker. Well, all personal belongings except for 2 forms of identification. Because clearly, a state issued ID with my picture and signature on it would not suffice!

Once everything was in the locker, it was made very clear that you could not take ANYTHING into the testing room at all! And just to ensure that there were no gummy worms, video games, or other such propaganda entering into the sacred testing zone, they had a wand-y thing like at the airport. And a pat down.

Yes, you heard me. There was a pat down.

I had to stand on a duct tape X on the floor when the testing lady asked me to "pat my pockets down" to ensure that there was nothing in them. I looked down at my outfit (boots, leggings, and a long button down shirt...all without pockets). After telling her I didn't have any, she finds these 2 pseudo pockets on my shirt.

Right on my....

YUP, right there!! AND she asked me to pat them!

At first I thought she was joking. But when I looked up she was as stern and serious as you can imagine!

So right there, standing on that little silver X, in front of others waiting for their personal pat down, I gave my ta-ta's a nice little pat down. 4 pats to be exact. Because apparently that's how many I thought would appropriately show that the only thing under those pockets were my lady lumps.

Wish I could say I enjoyed it.

What I can say is the guy next to me in line seemed to greatly enjoy it. In fact, his facial expression said "Dude, I SO need to take these tests more often!"

I, on the other hand, will not be taking these tests more often. Or ever again for that matter!

Because I'm done! Because I passed boards!! And because I can pat my lady lumps down in the comfort of my own home without an airport wand-y thing. Or a stern lady staring at me. Or a "boy-man" who is all too excited about it.

OK, so most likely the last part will be included in my home. But at least I will know the guy. And hey, ya can't fault him!

So these lady lumps and I (ahem, the new RN, MSN, AC-PNP) will be out celebrating tonight! But not too late, because the PICU calls early in the morning! Oh the adventurous life I lead! : )

A Doozy!!!

Yesterday work was quite the doozy!!! I think anytime the PICU knows that you're going to have a vacation, or a 3 day weekend, it wants to make sure you deserve it!

So I said, "Bring it PICU!"...and it did!!!

My morning started off caring for "my boy" who I've mentioned here and here- (poor guy has posts written back to the beginning of my blog!). Anyways, he decided he didn't want to wake up...or be arousable at all first thing in the morning. Nothing like a bit of a pick-me-up before all the coffee has been consumed all too early in the morning!

Once that was settled, my other patient was being discharged home. Not too shabby....until I learned they only speak Arabic. Not a WORD of English! Great!!

OK, actually them not speaking a WORD of English was a lie. For some reason they knew the words "donut" and "coffee!" So random! In my book, if you're going to know one word of English, coffee should definitely be it!

Donut? Maybe not! But, they kept offering me donuts, and I just kept trying to say "No thank you." Then after more probing (and practically pushing a french crueller in my face!) I put my hands on my stomach and then hips and wiggled a bit, trying to indicate, "nope, don't want the donut...trying to NOT gain 6 pounds this morning!!"

The dad laughed (in his hearty Arabic laugh of course!). So he either got my game of charades, or he thinks that I was doing some weird American "no thanks donut dance"! Either way, the crueller backed out of my face thank-goodness...that sweet gooey-ness almost didn't stand a chance!

I found myself trying to play charades with them all day, and even threw in a few words of Spanish in with my English. As if that would help us suddenly understand one another!

Once I got that girl outta there, I got a new one just as quickly!

She was a cutie. Her mom was not!

I have to constantly remind myself that these parents act crazy because their child is coming into the hospital really sick. That if I happened to pass them on the streets, they wouldn't grab my arm, or yell at me, or try to tell me I'm not doing my job.

They probably wouldn't do that!

But this mom was doing it all. I just stayed as patient as I could, and continued to care for the cutest little girl having a NASTY asthma attack.

My saving grace was this mom was Asian and had the thickest accent. So all her yelling was kinda funny. The way she said things anyways! And I figure, the things I didn't fully understand was probably a good thing!

What I want to tell parents sometimes is their crazy, frantic, arms waving in the air, yelling behavior is only taking me away from caring for their child. And in the grand scheme of PICU things, their child was not THAT sick! But they don't know this. So I just keep being patient.

Sometimes patience is the only thing that will get me through the shift. That and focus. I just focused (patiently) on my patient. The child one. Because sometimes the parent ones can just as easily become a second patient.

But now it's FRIDAY!!! And I don't have to work!! And I don't have to work for 3 whole days acutally!!! YEAH!!! So I am putting the PICU behind me (for now!).

What do I get to do?? Spend the next 3 days with the hubs! Spending some definite cuddle time with my man while we sleep in or stay in bed extra late catching up on our shows. And of course there will also be some soccer playing, some pumpkin patch'ing, some spending time with great friends and their cutest little twins (!!!), some football watching, and some great food! Now how's that for a great weekend!

But now I must go, b/c the best husband in the world just brought me breakfast! Mmm!!

See?? I've been telling you he's the BEST!!! Happy Friday!

Rainy Days

My day started like this:
Super rainy and overcast. And instead of getting down in the dumps, I was....

SOOOO excited because.....

I finally got to wear my NEW

Rainboots!!!!

I have been wanting a pair of these bad boys for a few years, and I finally found them!! Yes, I know, it's not like its hard to find rainboots. There everywhere. But I didn't want to pay more than $25 for a shoe that would be worn just a few times a year, and are more practical than a fashion statement!

So I didn't have to! There's this new amazing thrift store near my house that I can't get enough of. I have had a few amazing....AMAZING....finds lately! Most of them happen to be in the shoe department, but they are awesome! I may need to make a post of the other great finds b/c I'm just so excited about it!

And even better, the other day Jon brought up at a party the incredible riding boots that I got! Hello, the husband is bringing up my great finds! He's just excited about my thriftiness and I can't blame him! These boots are still selling in stores and online.
Their price: $199. My price: $7!!

With all the crazy rain days we get in the spring and fall, rainboots are just so practical. But, I haven't had the appropriate time to wear them.

Until today!

So I modeled them....(yes, I'm aware, I should stay away from modeling...and perhaps put some makeup on every once and awhile!)

And I did the rainboot dance...perhaps more than once! THIS I will NOT stay away from!!

What!?!? You've never heard of the rainboot dance!? Oh, you're SO missing out...it's fun! I promise!

Once I was all danced out, I went outside to brave the storm and walk to my chiropractor appointment. OK, that may have been a bit dramatic because the office is right across the street from me, and really, it wasn't storming...just heavy rain!

But nonetheless, I walked outside to brave the "heavy rain".....
Which had apparently gone away while I was busy doing my happy rainboot dance. Oh well! I kept them on, and was able to stay dry through my sloshy walk! Now that's what I'm talking about!