Happy Fall

Well, Emily, you've inspired me to change my blog...again. This layout is for the fall. It's not perfect yet; I still have some tweaking to do, but I wanted to get it up tonight.

My Trip To CT & NY: The Good & The Bad

Tuesday: I was due to work last Tuesday before my flight to NY. I went in and got called a little after 10. My friend who was watching Colin called to tell me that he was running a little fever and that he had a rash all over his body. Great. I left work and made an appointment to see the pediatrician at 11:45. Didn't leave the pedi.'s office until 12:30.
I had to leave for the airport by 3:00. After a slight turn around and some traffic, I made it to the airport 1 hr & 15 mins before my flight was to take off. I decided to check in at the desk instead of curbside, just b/c I feel that my luggage is safer that way. At the counter, the lady told me that I was early enough to catch the flight right before the one that I was scheduled to take, and that was pretty empty. So, I was all excited about the earlier flight, but didn't realize that they would be boarding that flight in about 10-15 mins...and I hadn't even been through security yet. I was moving like a mad woman to get through security and get to the gate. I did make it in time, and was very pleased to see that I got an entire row to myself, the row next, behind & in front of me were all empty as well. Well, good thing that the plane was almost empty...Colin was horrible. Granted, he was teething, and ended up cutting 3 teeth that night, but the flight was just terrible. He cried for the first hour, then fell asleep. Right as he was falling asleep, he pooped...but there was not a chance that I was going to wake him up to change his diaper, so the plane smelled like poop the whole way. Then, he woke up about 30 mins before we landed, and cried until we got off of the plane. Some lady was frustrated (understandably), and tried to make me feel like I didn't know what I was doing as a mother, but it was 11:30 pm, and I had had a really long day, so I didn't feel like arguing with her. I met up with my mom and Sammy and we drove into Connecticut. We stayed at a hotel about 30 mins away from my aunt's house (where my grandmother lives). Colin didn't want to sleep. Bad night for us.

Wednesday: We woke up pretty early and hit the road for my aunt's house. I think that we for there by about 10ish. I got to eat breakfast at Dunkin' Donuts, a northeast favorite. We lazied about for the rest of the day. It was very pleasant and relaxing. My grandmother looked great! I was so surprised. I got to eat dinner with 2 of my cousins, and play with my aunt's 4 dogs and 8 cats!

Thursday: My mom & Sammy went back to NY, and I stayed with Nanny. We went out shopping, and had a blast! Just like old times, only a tad bit slower. Nanny did great, and I was very surprised at her stamina. We ate breakfast at a quaint diner, and lunch at Friendly's. Friendly's was something that I missed about the northeast, but after eating there this time, it just didn't seem as good as I remembered. After we got back, I took Colin outside to play in a leaf pile, and got a few cute pics of him. Autumn in the northeast is so beautiful! I never appreciated it while I was there, and now I can say that I miss the leaves changing colors and falling off of the trees. Colin loved playing in the leaves!

Friday: We woke up early and I drove Nanny's car to New York. We got there around 10. The drive really wasn't as bad as I was thinking it would be. We met up with mom & Sammy at the hotel, and Courtney came around 11. It was supposed to be a surprise that Colin & I were there, but she didn't really act all that surprised. I think she knew. She claims not to have known, but I think she did. We did some shopping for the rest of the day.

Saturday: Court & I drove to New Paltz to pick up one of her friends. Miguel went to SUNY New Paltz, so I got him a t-shirt and jacket. What a pretty little town! I met up with my favorite cousin Patty for dinner. After Colin & Rachael went to bed, we started preparing food for Rachael's birthday party the next day.

Sunday: Colin & I spent the morning in the hotel room with Nanny while mom and Court decorated the hall for the birthday party. The birthday party was fun! My cousins from Long Island came. I hadn't seen them in years! I also saw family from my biological father's side, and I saw my biological father or the first time since my wedding. Awkward to say the least. Rachael looked beautiful, and had so much fun eating cake!

Monday: Another hectic day. I drove Nanny and her car back to CT. Mom and Sammy followed. We then turned around and they drove me to Queens, NY to the airport so I could head on home! Colin was much better on this flight. He slept almost the whole trip, waking up about 30 mins before landing. Thank God that he was good this time b/c the flight was packed full!

While we were there we had some family portraits taken. We got a nice generations photo with my grandmother, mother, sister, niece, Colin, & myself. I'm glad that we got it b/c in all honesty, this was probably the last time that all of us will be together at the same time (until heaven). As soon as I get them back I'll post the pics.

All in all, I had a great visit with my family, but I'm so happy to be home. I missed Miguel like crazy, and I know that Colin missed him too! It is so true that there is no place like home.

I'm Back...

I have all of my photos up on smugmug, and I'll be posting about my trip shortly!

Off to NY I Go!

Tomorrow, that is.

I work until 3, then I have to come home, get Colin, get the car packed and get to the airport to take off at 7.

Colin was still running fever today, and was very fussy. I am so thankful that Miguel stayed home to help me take care of him. He was soo difficult today, and I definitely needed the help.

I tried putting Colin down for bed at 8 (his normal bed time). He normally goes to sleep right away with minimal or no fussing...but not tonight. Tonight he SCREAMED until 9. Miguel tried holding him for a bit. He was fine, but the second that he laid him back in his bed he screamed again. We let him cry for a little bit more, then it was my turn to do the same. He was fin while I was holding him, but the minute that I put him down, he screamed some more. It's now 9:10, and he is still screaming. If this goes on all night, and I don't get any sleep, I'll have to call in to work tomorrow, which I don't want to do.

Please pray for a good night for all of us, and for traveling mercies tomorrow.

Poor Colin

My poor Colin has been running a fever all day while I was at work. Miguel kept it controlled with Tylenol. It didn't get any higher than 100.5. When I got home from work I took it again, and it was 100.6. I put him down for a nap, and he slept for a little over 3 hours. I finally had to go in to wake him up, and he was steaming hot. I took his temperature again and this time it was 102. More Tylenol and a few sippy cups of pedialyte later, he is feeling better at a comfortable 99.6.

I think it's him teething. I posted that he cut his third tooth the other day, and I looked into his mouth last night, and it looks like 3 more are coming in on the top. I didn't even get to see the bottom. Poor kid, he's getting all of his teeth within like 2 months, and multiple coming in at the same time.

My New Toy

Today I got the new iPOD Touch. It's really cool, but the thing that I like most about it is that it has WI-FI. That will be helpful during my trip to NY b/c I'm not bringing my laptop.

Thrird Tooth!

Colin cut his third tooth today. I knew it was coming b/c he had been pretty fussy for a few days. I think the 4th is on it's way too....

Colin at the Park

Colin, myself and Whitney went to the park after the Kolb girls left our house. He had fun on the swings, but was a little scared of the slide.

Colin's Day with the Kolb Girls

I had the pleasure of watching 2 of the Kolb girls today. Colin had so much fun playing with them. I was surprised at how easily things went with 3 kids!

Emergency Nurses Week

This week is Emergency Nurses Week, and today is Emergency Nurses Day!
I hope that all of my ER RN friends have a great week!


Some ER humor. Some sick, some funny, but all true!

• Discussing dismemberment over a gourmet meal seems perfectly normal to you…

• You have the bladder capacity of five people...

• Your idea of a good time is a full arrest at shift change...

• You find humor in other people's stupidity...

• You believe in aerial spraying of Prozac...

• You have your weekends off planned for a year in advance...

• You automatically assume the patient is a drug seeker when presented with the complaint of migraine, lower back pain, chronic myalgia (choose one of the above), a list of numerous allergies to meds (except Demerol).

• You encourage an obnoxious patient to sign out AMA so you don't have to deal with them any longer...

• You have discovered a new condition that you call "hypo-xanax-emia"...

• You believe that the government should require a permit to reproduce...

• You debate which is worse, spaghetti and meatballs or pizza and beer, while performing gastric lavage...

• You plan your dinner break while lavaging an overdose patient...

• You believe that unspeakable evils will befall you if the phrase "wow, it's really quiet" is uttered...

• You threaten to strangle anyone who even starts to say the "q" word when the ER is even remotely calm...

• Your diet consists of food that has gone through more processing than most computers...

• You believe chocolate is a food group...

• You take it as a compliment when someone calls you dirty name...

• You say to yourself "great veins" when looking at complete strangers...

• You refer to someone in severe respiratory distress as a "smurf"...

• You have ever wanted to hold a seminar entitled "Suicide...Doing It Right"...

• You have ever had to leave a patient's room before you begin to laugh uncontrollably...

• You have ever referred to the E.R. Doc or triage nurse as a "shit magnet"...

• You think that caffeine should be available in I.V. form...

• You have ever restrained someone and it was not a sexual experience...

• Your most common assessment question is "what changed today to make it an emergency after 6 (hours, days, weeks, months, years)?"...

• You have witnessed the charge nurse muttering down the hallway "who's in charge of this mess anyway?"...

• You believe the waiting room should be equipped with a Valium fountain...

• You want lab to order a "dumb shit profile"...

• You are totally astounded when someone from a nursing home is understandable...

• You have been exposed to so many x-rays that you consider radiation a form of birth control...

• You have ever had a patient look you straight in the eye and say "I have no idea how that got stuck in there"...

• You know the phone number to the local Detox Center by heart...

• You have ever had a patient say, "but I'm not pregnant; I can't be pregnant; How can I be having a baby"...

• You have ever had a patient control his seizures when offered some food...

• Your bladder expands to the same size as a Winnebago's water tank...

• Your immune system is so well developed that it has been known to attack squirrels in the backyard...

• You get an almost irresistible urge to stand and wolf your food even in the nicest restaurants...

• Your idea of fine dining is anywhere you can sit down to eat...

• You have a special shrine in your home to the inventor of Haldol...

• You have recurring nightmares about being knocked to the floor and run over by a portable x-ray machine...

• Your nursing shoes have been seized and quarantined by the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta.

• You've been chipping away at your BSN for longer than most people take for a Ph.D....

• Your idea of thawing the holiday turkey consists of an IV and warmed saline (the holiday turkey you usually see has arms instead of wings and is sauced instead of basted)...

• You have every referred to subcutaneous air as "Rice Krispies"...

• You have thought OD instead of BBQ when asked to get the Charcoal...

• You always try to schedule days off around phases of the moon...

• You think that Prom tickets should have coupons good for one free gastric lavage

• Your alcoholically challenged patients know you by your first name, and can point to "their room"...

• You've ever hung a "banana bag", "yellow jello", or a "rally pack" for an etohlic...

• You believe things would go much quicker if everyone would just get a head CT, Roc and Doxy, narcan, D50, ativan, and a loading dose of Dilantin at the ED entrance..

• You believe that the sight of a full moon can ruin a perfectly good day...

• You find yourself avoiding an unhealthy looking "COPD"er in the grocery store in fear that he'll drop near you and you will have to do CPR on your day off...

• Your family members have to have a fever of at least 105 or be missing a limb with active bleeding in order to receive your sympathy...

Shindig

The Shindig was a blast! All of the hard work and preparation paid off! The band played awesome, the line dancing was fun (even though I couldn't get it), the food was yummy, and we had tons of guests! I was taking pictures of the event, but my head was killing me...migraine. So, I didn't get as many photos as I would've liked.

The only bad thing was that they weren't expecting that many people to show up, and ran out of food. Over 150 people more than expected came! Praise God! What a ministry this event has turned out to be!

I ended up with a migraine. It was actually the worst one that I've ever had. It started at 2:00 pm in the afternoon, and by the time that the Shindig started it was full blown. I had taken my medicine (twice), but it didn't help...at all. Finally, I told Miguel that I needed to go home, and that I was thinking about going to the ER to get some pain medicine to help. We drove separate cars there, and now I needed to drive from Crowley, home with a migraine. I saw nauseous, and dry heaved a few times. I ended up driving home with my sunglasses on at 11:00 pm. It was horrible. The headache finally went away around 4:00 am...so I got up at 6:00 and went to work!