New scrap layouts!

Well, I got busy this weekend (hell it has done nothing but rain and flood here, so what else was I supposed to do?) I finished quite a few pages, and thought I would share some with all of you. Whatchya think? I have definately become addicted....any spare time I can grab you will find me scrapping! I have fallen in love with a local store "Wiggles and Giggles" they have the best supplies around!

Sunday Six!

This week: Summertime....beaches, ice cream trucks...what does summer mean to you. Brought to us as always by the talented Kelly, answers are provided by Matthew (5yrs, 5 months). Let us know if you played!

1. What does summer solstice mean?
~~Phhhttttt, is that the hard one? What is it? Like its summer, all the time?

2. What do you like best about summer?
~~Like, I like playing basketball, that is my favorite sport and some golf and hockey.
(What's with the like's am I raising a little valley girl??)

3. Is summer always hot?
~~Not exactly, it stays hot for a little bit.

4. What do you do during the summer?
~~Like you lay stuff and you go to Anastastia's birthday

5. Which do you like best, summer, winter, spring or fall?
~~Ummm, uhhhh, I like snow days-winter that's my favorite!

6. What do you not like about summer?
~~I don't like my Dad giving me spankings in summer (WTH?)

That's it....didya play? Didya?

School's Out For Summer!

Matthew's last day of school was today. It was bittersweet to have him end preschool, knowing he will be in full day kindergarten Monday through Friday next year. It was also sad to leave his teachers, who have been so wonderful to him. Daddy took him to his last day, as Mommy had to work. It kinda makes me upset that they didn't do a preschool graduation or anything, but oh well. I had hubby grab a couple of shots for me. Here they are:

Matthew (blonde) and his buddy Sam!

Matthew and Mrs. R

Matthew and Mrs. C

A big thank you to his fabulous teachers....they were the best!

~~~~~

Fav Summertime Salad Recipe

This is my all time fav summer recipe....alright, I make it at least once a month year round. Lately, once a week!

Weird Coleslaw

1 package chicken Ramen Noodles--uncooked
1/3 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1/4 cup Sugar
1/4 cup oil (can use Canola, Veggie, or even Olive Oil)
8 oz package Broccoli Coleslaw Mix OR 12-16 oz Regular Coleslaw Mix (I prefer regular)
1/2 cup sliced almonds or sunflower seeds (great with a mix of both)
1/2-1 cup dried sweetened cranberries

1. Combine Flavor Packet from soup mix with Vinegar, oil and sugar and MIX well (works best to do ahead of time as it takes a while to blend)

2. Break up Ramen Noodles, Add to slaw, toss with sauce, garnish with Nuts and Cranberries.
Mix well.

3. Regrigerate at least 10 minutes before serving.

Even the picky boy eater here likes it! I take it to work for lunch all the time as it has the protein in it from the nuts and the cranberries are a little bonus pick me up (in fact have it ready to go right now for a 12 hour shift!)

~~~~

On a sad note, today is Matthew's last day of preschool. I am saddened that this school doesn't do a preschool graduation or anything. I am sending the camera to school with hubby to take some pics with the teachers and his favorite classmates....we shall see whether it actually gets done. He isn't too handy with the digital camera....easier to let me do all the picture taking I guess! Have a great day!

Way Back Wednesday~Summertime Baby

Well, this is my first every WBW post, so hopefully it isn't too dorky! And if it is....well zip it, it'll get better! LOL. WBW is brought to us by the beautiful, talented, never-ending-source-of-topics The Kept Woman, so let her know (and me) if you played! As usual Blogger is being a bitch and wouldn't let me post these pics in the order I wanted, so they are in some funky ass order that makes NO SENSE at all....sorry! Here goes:


This is Matthew and Daddy building a sandcastle in Westlerly, Rhode Island in Augst 2004. We always have a good time at the beach house...big part of our summers!
This is Daddy and Matthew at Elizabeth Park...the countries largest free rose garden. And let me just say it is BE-U-TI-FUL! Matthew just had fun running around all the cool mazes...we enjoyed the scenery. Going back this weekend we hope as the roses are at peak!
This is Matthew's first trip to the park....he is about 5 months old. Winter babies miss out on a lot in their first few months....I think we had so much snow that year that he went outside very few times. New England winters are a bitch.
This is Henry and I on our wedding day...August 26, 2000 (look at me trying to hide that 5 month baby bump with flowers....oops, give it up babe!)
This is Matthew's first trip to the beach house in 2001. He was 8 months old and enjoyed the house much more than the ocean I must say! Don't you just love what sun block does to his hair! Too cute.
This is Matthew at the beach once again....This is August 2004. This is the first trip where he enjoyed the whole experience....the sun, the sand, the water, everything! What a good time.

Last but not least, this is one more wedding picture. It was such a beautiful August day we got so lucky. This is one of my fav pics....although you can still see the baby bump. Oh well, we were in love, engaged and oops along came baby...just move up the wedding and 6 years later we are still going strong (not to say like all married couples I know that we don't have problems of course!)

Well, that is the end of my FIRST WBW. Hope you enjoyed. I am digging out OLD pics today...you know of ME growing up, so hopefully each week it will get better!

Sunday Six!

Brought to us by the wonderful Kelly, this week is of course all about Father's Day. Answers are provided by Matthew (age 5 yrs, 5 months). Let me know if you played!

1. What is a father?
~~Your father is your mother's husband! (Holy Cow!)

2. Why do we have fathers?
~~Because you need one

3. What do father's do?
~~Word every time

4. How do you celebrate Father's Day?
~~Have to give your father a present

5. What have you learned from your father?
~~I learned that you have to give him a present on Father's Day,
is that correct?

6. Do you have any other names fo ryour father-if so what are they?
~~Henry (last name here), and that's it.

So, we are going to Max's Oyster Bar to celebrate Father's Day. Looking forward to some good food and good drink. Just hope it isn't as snooty as the last time I was there! Hope everyone has a great Father's Day!

Father's Day Art Project, Neuro Appt, Etc...

Matthew brought this home today....wrapped and everything as a Father's Day gift. He couldn't wait to have Henry open it, so begged him to unwrap it. What a cute frame and picture!

So, I went to the neuro today as a 4 week follow-up. First, after stating in my last post that my headaches were getting better, I ended up spending 6 hours in the ER Wednesday night getting all kinds of IV drugs to stop a ferocious migraine. It ended up taking 12mg of Dilaudid, Phenergan, Benadryl, Toradol, Depakane, DHE, and Decadron. Can we so omg? I went to bed at 10pm last night and slept until noon today. Geez, but at least the headache was gone!

So, anyway on to the neuro today. We are weaning off Zonegran and starting Depakote. Increasing the Elavil from 50mg to 75mg because since decreasing it I am not sleeping very well anymore, and sleep is an important part of migraine prevention. We are dumping the Tylenol #3, the Vicoden ES and the Amerge as rescue meds. Instead: Percocet and Fioricet. I will stay on the Neurontin 900mg three times a day and continue the Lexapro. I am amazed that neurologically I am still stable on all these meds. My APRN today expected me to spike over head first during some of the testing, but it seems the meds aren't affecting me like that. So, I began the wean of the Zonegran and took my first dose of Depakote a few minutes ago. Hopefully all will go well. And I follow-up with the Neuro himself in 4 more weeks.

I am hoping to pick up some extra hours next week, to make some extra money. Things have been really tight here for a month or so while my hours were constantly being cut due to having so few patients. I am craving a shopping trip to Wiggles and Giggles to get some great scrapping supplies. They also have 7 hour crop nights on Saturday and Sunday every week. For $17 bucks you can crop till you drop, get free pizza and soda, and of course use their cropping tools. They have awesome supplies you can buy while there too if you need something. They have a good website to keep you up to date on any new products (gotta run over there soon...just got an email that they have new Cars paper, embellishments, etc...and the boy loves Cars even though he hasn't seen the movie yet!).

I am so addicted to the James Blunt CD right now that I am surprised my CD changer in the car hasn't gone on strike. And why is it that whenever I pull up to a busload of kids, or a mom and her little ones, it never fails that James will blurt out "She could see in my eyes that I was FUCKING high". Boy have I gotten some looks....come on people Beautiful is like a fab song I didn't stick that part in, roll up your windows if you don't want to hear it! LOL. I am so hooked on Tears and Rain also! Oh and Wiseman. OK the whole damn CD. Ok, enough rambling for tonight. Hope all is well with all my blogging friends!

School's Almost Out! YIKES

Matthew made this for me at school yesterday. That's when it hit me that he only had a few days of school left.....his last day is June 22nd!! YIKES. What will we do all summer to keep him entertained? He is so into art, I guess I will be making trips to Jerry's Artarama and loading up on supplies. Hopefully I can get away without paints...five year olds don't exactly paint neatly. What a mess last time we attempted this!

I heard back from the first option on behavioral issues with Matthew (Help Me Grow). What a waste of time waiting for them to get back to me. It started with an intake person asking questions about what/why/who etc...to see if they could hook us up with some assistance. She said she would get back to me with a list of the best resources. Yeah right. The list included: Reading time at the local library, a music class at the community center, etc. How in the hell is that going to help me with his behavior? He already does things like that, I need something different. So, I have a call out to the local children's hospital. They have a behavioral counseling/parent training class. Hopefully this will be the right resource for us.

On the behavior issues: He is cleaning his room with a lot of persuasion, but he is cleaning it. It may take a day to convince him to do it, but eventually he gets it done. In the meantime, if his room is a mess: NO CARTOONS. This is the tough one...he tries to sneak it. I will be making dinner and he will sneak into my bedroom and turn on the cartoon network. So, small steps, small steps. We have once again enforced the banishment of the word HATE. We no longer allow it in our home. He has been on a hate spree lately...I hate you, I hate this/that/the other thing. I can't stand that word. I have told him it is ok to be angry and not like something, but we have better words to use than hate.

On the work front, things are improving slightly. They did major layoffs and fired some nurses that just weren't up to par. So, it is nice to once again be working with nurses who know their left from right and our patients seem to be on the winning end of this change. They have definately noticed the improvement already. I was considered a float on the unit, I wouldn't have the same assignment everyday, so my patients never new if I would be there the next day or on a different assignment. Well, one of my co-workers resigned and left, and I have been given her assignment. This is awesome news, as now I can provide the stability my patients need. As far as my patients are concered, when my unit manager told them yesterday I got lots of cheers and hugs and kisses. It is so nice to have a good bond with your patients. It makes the days work less like, well, work.

Migraine news: improving slightly on the new medications. I go back to the neuro tomorrow and we will probably have to adjust one of the meds a little as it keeps bottoming out my blood pressure.

Go give some love to my friend Kate. She just started her own blog to try to sort through her change in jobs. She is a teacher, so it was a hard decision to leave her students and accept a position closer to home and in a better school district. As she has said so many time....she loved her little gangsters and hoods. I think she is a fabulous teacher and this will be a good move from her....and it doesn't hurt that Matthew will be going to that school when (IF) he reaches middle school! Nothing like having your Godmother in the same school keeping an eye on you! Bwahaha. Poor kid. Congrats Kate....I know you will do a great job!

Sunday Six!

Brought to us by the lovely Kelly, this week is all about being busy. And as the last 2 weeks of school wrap up, we are certainly busy! Answers provided by Matthew, age 5 yrs 5 months.

1. What does it mean to be busy?

~~It means you have to work.

2. Who is busier Mommy or Daddy?

~~Daddy

3. Are you busy?

~~Yeah, sometimes when I clean my room, and sometimes you say good job!

4. What do you do when you are not busy?

~~You just do nothing, sit around doing nothing.

5. What do you forget to do when you are busy?

~~Clean your room

6. Can it be fun to be busy?

~~Yeah sometimes, yeah when it's a big mess it will take you a few minutes to clean it.

Can you tell we have been struggling with picking up our own messes lately? It seems I am making him obsessed with cleaning....YEAH. As long as that means less of a fight when it comes time to clean up each day! Have a good Sunday.

Sunday Six!

This week's Sunday Six, brought to us by Kelly, has questions thought up by her son Jack. So, let us and her know if you played. Here are Matthew's (age 5.4) answers:

1. Do you have a kitty?
~No

2. Why do bearas roar?
~Cuz they uh wanna eat people alive

3. Why do lollipops have sugar?
~because they always do cuz they are awesome

4. Why do girls wear earrings?
~Cuz boys don't

5. Why do girls have make up and all girl's stuff?
~cuz boys hates girl stuff

6. What is a box?
~Uh a box is what you put stuff in

There you have it, the world according to Matthew. Have a good Sunday.

Things I miss since moving across country...

I must be homesick because lately I keep thinking about all the things I miss the most since moving from Kansas to Connecticut in 1999. So, I thought if I listed them it might help. So, here goes:

1. My mom-who happens to be my best friend.
2. My stepdad-who can always make me laugh.
3. My brother Adam and SIL Jennifer.
4. My brother Michael-who just turned 16!
5. My dad and step-mother Kim.
6. My Grandpa Jim and Grandma Velda.
7. My Grandma Barb.
8. All my aunts and uncles...and there are A LOT of them!
9. All my cousins, and now there children too!
10. Dillards (we only have Filene's, so not the same!)
11. Sonic (yeah, I know...weird)
12. Wide open space
13. Nice big lakes
14. All my friends from high school
15. Strong thunderstorms...something so powerful about them
16. Brahm's
17. The ICU where I worked in Manhattan
18. K-State Football games
19. Going to the movies with my "little" brother
20. Hanging out with my parents
21. Pizza Hut Taco Pizza, they don't make it here
22. Hobby Lobby
23. My aunt Mary who is a hair dresser...can we say free haircuts and CHEAP highlights?
24. Seeing my cousins children grow up
25. The thought of not seeing my future neices/nephews grow up

OK, I guess that will do for now. I could go on and on. I hate being homesick. Don't get me wrong I love living on the east coast and could list dozens of reasons why, but those 25 reasons sometimes make me forget why I like it here!