Happy May!

Long time, no blog!

I can't believe it's already MAY! Time sure is flying, and our little boy is growing bigger and bigger each day. In 9 days he'll be 10 months old!!! I can't believe it! He has changed our lives for the better in so many ways, I'd be completely lost without him.

We are gearing up for our first plane ride and out of state family vacation! We leave Friday to go to Florida. We are going back to Fort Walton Beach, where we moved to Texas from. We miss the beach terribly, and all the amazing foods! So we are going to take a week and go spend some time together just the 3 of us :)

My wonderful mother-in-law is puppy-sitting for us while we're gone. We met her and Jessica last weekend and handed off the pups. I'm sure they're being spoiled rotten and loving every minute of it ;) Otis loves all the snuggles and Norms recliner chair, and Milo loves Norms garden! haha.

Jon has finished his semester and is going to take this next one off. He's been so busy with work that it's unreal. They just passed their CAP inspection, which apparently, is a huge deal. He's worked countless hours preparing for it, so i'm glad it's done!

I'm still working full time, keeping busy. It's so hard to be away from my munchkin but I'm thankful for a job and my wonderful patients. Here's a letter I received from a patient's family member a couple weeks ago...brought tears to my eyes.

This is why I do what I do...

Praying you all have a blessed month of May! Hopefully i'll be able to post some Florida pictures when we return!!! We love you all!

THANKFUL!

I saw this quote on pinterest that said,

"What if you woke up today with only the things you thanked God for yesterday?"

So many times I get caught up in the little things around me...even more so lately. I feel like I have so much on my plate (like most of us do) that a lot of days it brings me to a breaking point. But today, i'm choosing to be thankful for what I DO have, and not to worry about the things and thoughts that normally surround me.

I'm so incredibly thankful for the wonderful husband that I have. He has brought me through so much and truly makes me a better person. He pushes me to do my best in all that I do and supports me and helps me a long the way. He is my best friend that I just love to laugh with. He's my shoulder to cry on when I want to give up. He's my everything...best of all he is the most wonderful father to our beautiful baby boy.

Logan is the little light in our lives. I can't imagine a day without him. He has developed quite the personality and everything he does just brings a smile to my face. He has taught me what unconditional love truly means...after a long day, just having him to come home to makes everything better.

While it may seem silly to others, i am so thankful for our dogs. They are full of life and love and make our little family complete.

I'm thankful for our beautiful home that we all share together. It's the only home Logan has known and all of his firsts have happened here. It's a home we will never forget.

I'm thankful for our jobs. It's a tough economy these days, and while most mornings I dread crawling out of bed, i'm thankful I have a job to go to..and not just any job, a job that I enjoy.

Thankful for our vehicles...and air conditioning!

I'm also thankful for our family. Having love and support from others is something to cherish, and we have it in abundance!

We are BLESSED!

8 months old

Tomorrow our little man will be 8 months old! I can not believe how fast he's growing up. He's crawling all over, getting into everything he can, and giving the dogs a run for their money. This past month he said "mama" for the first time as well. He loves watching his Baby Einstein and playing in his exersaucer. He's already trying to stand up on his own and will pull himself up if he has something to support him.

I love this kid more and more each day. The joy he brings to our lives is indescribable. He is our biggest blessing :)

Projects

I'm probably one of the worst one when it comes to starting a BIG project and not getting it done...mainly because I get lazy because it ends up being more work than I thought it was going to be. HOWEVER! Today at Lowes I discovered this magical paint primer that you can apply to stained objects without sanding! JUST what I need!!! Sanding objects is like torture to me...even with the automatic sander it still takes forever. One object we started sanding when we are all hyped up on projects was a coffee table that was handed down to us from my parents-- and that was handed down to my parents prior to that from family. So it really needed a good refinishing. Once we started sanding though, we quickly stopped because we realized how big of a project it was really gunna be. So with a tire sized sanded spot on top, this coffee table has been sitting in the garage for about 2 years. But today, I busted out that same coffee table and applied the first layer of this amazing primer! It obviously needs another coat and I need to finish coating the legs once it dries...but i'm SO excited to get this thing finished!!! I forgot to take a before picture but here's what I got done today! I'll definitely post pics along the way though! ;)

Daydreaming

I think everyone out there has at least one dream vacation that is just that...a dream. Jon and I have many but the main one that we could sit and think about all the time is Ireland.

Since we got married that has been at the top of our list to visit together. The land and sites appear so peaceful and majestic. We have spent many of hours in book stores drooling over books about Ireland and sites/spots to travel...in fact, we have a couple books for "tourists" on our bookshelf that stare at us on a daily basis.

(Cliffs of Moher...a must see!!!) So i'm putting this out there now, because i'm a firm believer that you can't just sit and dream about something you want, you have to make it happen...and the first step in making something happen is deciding it will happen! SO! We are going to start saving and actually PLANNING our trip to this gorgeous land... I am giddy just thinking about it! One of these days I will be posting pictures of our visit...just wait and see ;)

Be Our Guest

This past weekend we were incredibly spoiled to have Jon's grandparents come visit us! They got to meet little Logan for the first time and he absolutely fell in love with them.

Him and his great grandpa loved to sit and watch Baby Einstein together. Unfortunately, I had to work this weekend so I didn't get to spend a lot of time with them, but I was still spoiled rotten--I would come home from work and have a home cooked meal waiting for me each night :) They even brought me lunch one day while I was at work!

While they were here they were able to go to base with Jon and hit all of our favorite spots in Abilene...one of which is the zoo!

Logan and Great Gram

All tuckered out after the zoo!

We absolutely LOVED having them :)

Babbling Babe

My poor child is going to have an identity crisis with as many nicknames as we have for him...but one of my favorites that I call him is LaLa. So i'd like to think that he's repeating what I call him all the time ;) lol. A mama can dream right?

I LOVE my job!

In every interview I have had when it comes to nursing I have been asked the question,

"What made you decide to become a nurse?"

For me, it's a totally cliche answer, (which I know is not what they are looking for in an interview) but in my case it's the absolute truth...

I became a nurse to help those in need.

There is something inside me that is just so passionate about being able to be there for others when they need it most, and nursing provides such an amazing, exciting, interesting, outlet for me to do just that.

One of my absolute favorite parts of my job is that I get to become apart of my patients and their families lives...learn about them, hear there stories and where they've come from...particularly with older generations. Their stories are so amazing and 9 times out of 10 they are just so happy to have someone to tell it to; and I love to be that person.

This week, I was fortunate enough to care for a wonderful lady with one of those amazing stories... she and her husband touched my heart in a way I will never forget, and it was all because I was able to take the time to BE THERE! It's not often in nursing that we have a lot of down time (believe it or not.) There is so much charting and paperwork involved in our 12 hour shift that most of the time I am lucky to have passed all my medications on time... but this week for some reason was different. I had a little down time, so I went in and changed her bed, visited with them while doing so, and was able to give her a shower, wash her hair, get her all fancied up with her lotions...all while just listening to her; and we BOTH loved every minute of it. It's amazing how much something as small as a shower can make you feel better when you're sick, and she was so grateful to have had help that I was reminded again why I do what I do. At the end of my shift this ladys sweet husband brought me a vase of these beautiful flowers that smell incredibly amazing..she blew me a kiss as I said goodnight and promised me she was going to come visit me when I work again.

I can't wait to see her beautiful face and hug her neck!

As soon as I got home I potted them and pray they continue to grow so that I can plant them in my garden and be reminded of her everytime I pass by and smell that sweet fragrance!

Discovering New Things

Our little monster has discovered a new skill this month...CRAWLING! He's not going very fast, or very far, but he seems to find the things that he shouldn't! The other day he discovered our entertainment center with the surround sound and all it's buttons! Then he moved on to the cabinets, opening and closing them until mom took him away from it... at which point he threw a major fit. And so it begins....

:)

7 months old

On February 11th, we celebrated my birthday, and the fact that our little man is now 7 months old! Having him in my arms that Saturday was the best birthday gift I could have ever asked for. This little guy has truly brought so much joy and laughter to our lives, it's unreal. He has taught me so much about myself these past 7 months and has made me a better person.

I'm so in love with this kid!!!!

Getting His Workout On...

Here's our little man trying to crawl! Right now he just ends up doing pushups instead of crawling...

And So It Begins!

This morning Logan and I were off with our normal routine, starting with going to his room for a diaper change and to get him dressed for the day. Yesterday he peed all over his changing pad though, so I set him in his crib with a couple stuffed animals so that I could put the clean pad cover on and restock his basket on the changing table with diapers. So there I am with my head in his closet, trying to open a thing of diapers and as I turn around I see the happiest baby STANDING UP holding onto the front of the crib for support!!!! AHHHHH!!!! I'm so not ready for this!

A Heavy Heart...

In my mind no parent should ever have to outlive their children.

I know their are children fighting for their lives everywhere today, and it's so sad and difficult to witness. (which is the main reason I am not a pediatric nurse!) But there is another battle that children, teens, young adults, and even adults are fighting on a daily basis... the thought of suicide.

My heart is aching for a family back home that lost their son today.

I know it's so hard to remember sometimes, but I just wanted to remind you that EVERYONE out there is fighting some sort of battle...whether it's an emotional battle, depression, finances, marriage, work...whatever, everyone is going through something right now...and you losing your temper, or being judgemental, or saying one little thing can literally change someone's life. So please make an effort today (and everyday for that matter) to think before you speak. Suicide is a devestating way to lose a loved one...I can't even begin to imagine. So parents, hug your children extra tight today and tell them you love them! And please lift up this family in your prayers, I can't even begin to imagine what they are going through right now.

The Way to a Mama's Heart...

Motherhood has been quite the learning experience for me. A lot of people would call me organized, and I'll admit, I am very organized--almost to an OCD point. But from the moment we walked in the door from the hospital with our little one in tow, my whole level of organization at home changed.

A clean house keeps me sane, plain and simple. I can turn into a grumpy hot mess when the house is out of order, and if there's one thing thats changed the most since having Logan (besides the lack of sleep!) it would be that for some reason I feel like the house just can not stay clean. I can spend hours cleaning trying to make the place sparkle, but as soon as I turn around, it's a big dull dud again with baby elmo books spewing out of every direction.

So over the past week i've implemented a new plan for me to try to keep up with all the work in a way that doesn't leave me cleaning for 8 hours one day every week. (again with the organization, i know...) but so far it's worked out wonderfully! so I thought i'd share!

DAILY= quick pick up in the morning and at night before bed, dishes, laundry. (this has worked out wonderfully because the dishes don't pile up and neither does the laundry. I've only had to do one load of laundry a day or every other day...it's so nice not to have piles waiting to be folded/put away.

MONDAYS=Bathrooms (tubs, showers, sinks, floors, toilets, mirrors)

TUESDAYS= Bedrooms (wash all bedding, pick up, vacuum, organize)

WEDNESDAYS=Kitchen [my least favorite by far] (clean out fridge, organize pantry, organize cabinets if needed, clean surfaces, microwave, sweep, mop)

THURSDAYS= Errands/Shopping. Lately i've been trying to be really good about planning meals ahead of time, so we make out our shopping list so we can shop for meals for the week...then I get all my coupons in order and we go when Jon gets off work. I also use Thursdays, if i'm not working, to catch up on the days that I missed due to work.

FRIDAYS=Floors/Dusting (i'll vacuum the whole house, and do another kitchen sweep if needed)

SATURDAYS=Outdoors (including doggie poop pickup, doggie toy pickup, and any yardwork we can do, which lately hasn't been much...we'll be more active on Saturdays once the weather warms up)

SUNDAY=DAY OF REST!

Again, call me OCD, but it's been so nice not to stress over the tub needing to be cleaned, or the floors looking nasty...it's so easy to put things off when you tell yourself you'll get to it whenever you find time. If you make time to do it, it gets done! Now, don't get me wrong, our house is not at all presentable right now! haha. But if you were to come over, you'd have a clean toilet for your tushy!

It's Officially Official!

A New Year

I know we keep up with most everyone on facebook these days, but I felt like it's a new year and a good time to start keeping back up with the blog!

Our little family is doing wonderfully. Logan is growing like a weed and developing his own personality, although Jon would say it's much like mine. haha. At his 6 month appointment he was 18.3# and 26.5 inches long. He now has two little bottom teeth, and he'll chew on your fingers with them if you'll let him! As far as my updates go... I graduated in December from ASU and had spent most of January studying for the NCLEX. I took the test last week and just found out Saturday that I passed! So i'm officially an RN and start on Wednesday in my new roll and new paygrade haha.

Jon is staying super busy with work. When he's not working he is keeping up with school himself and studying for his test for TSgt that he takes in February. *fingers crossed he passes for another new paygrade! haha*

The doggies are doing well too. Little Milo just loves Logan. The other day Logan was napping in his crib and we realized we hadn't seen Milo in awhile...(for those of you that know Milo you know if it's quiet he's probably into something somewhere) but this time he was napping next to Logan's crib. Otis isn't terribly phased by him though, he'll lick his fingers if he has baby food on them, and will give him a sloppy wet kiss every once in awhile, but other than that Otis keeps to himself. He's tried to drop his toys on Logan a time or two to get Logan to play with him...at which point I went running so that Logan didn't put the nasty toy in his mouth!

Anyway! All is well on our end and I promise I will try my very best to keep up with things now that my world has settled down a bit! Love you all and hope you're all doing well!