April 2014

Every Spring we love attending the Round Rock Express games.  We usually sit on the lawn and let the run around. Often times they'll have fireworks or a concert after the game. It's really fun. 

Even Cecil had a good time. 

This particular time they had Bob Schneider in concert. He's a famous Austin native musician. Jeff and I first heard of him right after we moved here. We took the kids to the zoo and some random lady gave us his CD. She was appalled that we didn't know who he was. Jeff and I have loved him ever since. We all really enjoyed the concert. 

Jillian needed some help with homework one day so I sent Ce to see if he could help. 

Fern Bluff has a huge fundraiser in the Spring, called The Bobcat Bash. It was quite the shindig. They had all sorts of booths, games, music, attractions, etc. etc. The girls loved everything! Coco's favorite thing was the real firetruck. 

I finally transferred my nursing license. Now it's time to decide what to do: work, or claim retirement. 

I planned a little neighborhood egg hunt the Friday before Easter. We had a pretty good turn out and we all had fun chatting and letting the kids run around. 

Here we are Easter morning at church. Our church is held at 8 am for all of 2014. We are lucky if we get seats in the foyer.

We got four little chicks for Easter. I've been missing having hen's and fresh eggs and the girls have really been wanting pets. These little chicks were so cute. 

The girls named them Peggy, Rosie, Alice, and Red.  Rosie was the runt of the group. She was a Silky and had hair feet. Alice was the giant and kinda ruled the roost. 

Instead of having a big Easter dinner, I wanted to go enjoy nature. We planned a potluck picnic and invited Stan and the Rattray's. We went to McKinney Fall's.  It was beautiful. We ate yummy food, then hiked and biked around. 

We ended up at the Upper Falls. There was a cliff to jump off that Stan and Sara did. Everyone else wadded around a bit.

We ended the outing with desert and few games, such as Red Rover. We will definitely be back. 

The girls were invited to a birthday party that had pony rides. As much as Jillian loves horses, she gets so timid around them. Camille was brave as could be and rode them over and over. 

Everyone is still all over Cecil all the time. He is really a patient little baby. 

Camille had a field trip and I was able to meet them for lunch at a park. I wish I could be more involved at the school, but it's really too hard with the two babies at home. Camille was thrilled to see me there and we had a fun time. 

I've always been drawn to yoga and as I get older with a more hectic life I feel like I need it even more. This was a "stop drop and yoga" challenge from social media. Cecil looks like he'll catch me if I fall

live and let die

 i've been picking up more hours at my old hospital. the one i worked at as a new nurse. the one i learned how to start iv's in any vein including the neck, knuckle, and toe. the one that i saw my first "code" aka dead person we are trying to bring back to life. the one that i saw my first dead baby. she was three months old, the prettiest little hispanic baby you've ever seen. full head of thick dark hair. long black eyelashes. beautiful. dead. we couldn't save her. the mother couldn't bring herself to hold the baby let alone even go into the room. i stayed with the lifeless baby in my arms...i just couldn't leave the tiny body alone in the big dark room. i held her until it was time for her to go the morgue. many experiences i've had at this hospital are imprinted into my mind and spirit never to leave me.

the other day i was at this hospital on my lunch break. (i like to step off the floor and get away for 30 mins to take a deep breath and re-group when i can.) in the cafeteria there is a juke-box. i love juke-boxes. it reminds of the pizza hut in fallon. good memories. anyway, i found and played the song live and let die. great song.

i have quite the commute from work to home. 40 minutes on a good day. my stereo in the car is out. these two factors leave me plenty of time to ponder.

this hospital i've been at lately has an incredibly high level of acuity as i'm sure you've already presumed. it's not uncommon to participate in more than two codes per shift and have three other patients that are close to coding. this particular day that i played the song i had really sick patients.

i guess my point to all this rambling is this: are you prepared to live? are you prepared to die? more, are you prepared to see your loved ones die? are you helping your loved ones live? what extent would you want me to work on saving your life if it came down to it? i have a friend that has told me multiple times to save him at all costs. really, you want to live on a ventilator that breathes for you for the rest of your life?

for the record: if i'm brain dead let me go. if i'm on a vent longer than one month without improvment let me go. if my legs were severed off and i'll never Zumba again save me.

some advice: don't take life for granted. it can be gone in an instant. i see it daily when i'm at work. an instant.

more advice: live and let die. if your grandpa is dying and he is 90 and lived a good life, let him go and don't make a scene. if it's your spouse and he's young and healthy, then you can make a scene while i'm  working on saving his life.

remember: death is a part of this life. live great until it comes then go gracefully.

p.s. excuse the randomness. written after 11 hours of helping heal sicko's at the hospital.
p.s. at some point, hopefully soon, i will post of all our happenings at the end of 2009 and all the fun we've had as of late.

i am a nurse.

well, it's back to the grind. it is currently 1:04 am on sunday morning and i am sitting at a computer at the hospital awaiting orders from the doctor for a couple of my patients. it's been a pleasant night despite the bad omen and my nervousness of coming back to work after a nearly 10 month leave.
the emergency room can get pretty rowdy sometimes.
as i was driving to work i noted the full moon as if it was pointing the way back to the hospital, all the while laughing because full moon nights are when all the crazies come out.
i was never really superstitious until i started working in the er. no joke... full moons and when a storm is rolling in summon the weirdos and the difficult patients to come out and visit.
oh the stories i can tell.
but, tonight.
not bad at all.
if the other nurses read this now they would hate me.
that's another thing about the er. if things are going well, you can't talk about it or else it will change. change fast and change bad it does.
i'm not going to worry about it now though because lucky me gets to go home early tonight. when they called and needed help i said okay if i can do an eight hour instead of a twelve. (four hours might not sound like a lot but if you've been up all day, and then worked through the night...getting off at 3 am is much better than getting off at 7 am). i just wasn't quite ready to commit to the whole shift my first night back (especially on a full moon).
anyway, if by me mentioning it and the power of the moon brings chaos to the er i will be gone in 1.5 hours. (unless they ask me to stay. i can't say no very easily).
so, tonight.
a good night in the er.
saved one life for sure by the immediate action of me and few other talented hands.
good for us.
better for him.
hopefully, treated other lives for the improvement of their health.
i am a wife first, mother above else, sister, daughter, and friend always.
but tonight...
tonight, i am a nurse.