Oh, I know!

Upon hearing that we were out of cereal one morning, Sweet Pea proclaimed, "Oh! I know! Stir stir stir!" and pointed to the pancake mix.

When looking unsuccessfully for something, she'll say, "Ummm, nope!" with each place she looks.

As we drive past houses with lights up, I hear an excited, "Oh! Oh! Ah ah more merry Christmas lights!" as she points to each and every display (no matter how small).

She randomly inserts specific parts of Little Einstein episodes into conversation. "Baby chimp ah down down down down, waterfall!" as she wiggles her fingers like the chimp does.

When she's picking up her toys, she sings, "Keen up, keen up, keen up, keen up, body keen up.." I can't stand that purple dinosaur, but her version of the song is pretty darn cute.

We've had a grand total of maybe two inches of snow so far this winter, but she's enjoyed it. We got out the snowpants from last winter (which fit perfectly this year, yay) and went outside to "dig in the snow". Throwing snowballs was her favorite, I think.

Traditions

We did more tree decorating tonight. We finished putting up the garland, then we got out some ornaments (mostly R's from his childhood, and a good handful that Sweet Pea has somehow accumulated.. I have misplaced the box of my old ornaments).

It was nothing fancy, but just sitting by the tree hanging those ornaments, seeing Sweet Pea's excitement at all the new things as she touched them (mostly) with one finger (new rule ala MckMama), hearing some of the stories behind my husband's ornaments.. It warmed my heart.

Maybe in future years, we'll make it more of a defined tradition, by playing Christmas music or drinking sparkling grape juice or something, but for this year, it was enough.

There is something special about breaking from your past (no matter how wonderful) and establishing your own new present. Tonight I felt FAMILY.

November gone already?

Busy busy month; time for more bullet points:

-Sweet Pea pointed to the tv during a random commercial (maybe even about the health care reform) and said "I want that!"

-1st time doing post-mortem care on a patient, almost had another opportunity to do so

-applying knowledge from psych (current clinical) to my job

-traveled for Thanksgiving, Sweet Pea thoroughly enjoyed herself there. She spent much of her time wrestling with her cousins (11 and 7 year old boys) and "playing" the Wii with them (she had her own steering wheel that was not hooked up to anything). She also loved the quality time with her grandparents, who she doesn't see as often as we'd all like.

-put up the "Merry Christmas tree" (Sweet Pea's label), added some garland. Will gather the ornaments and hang those up eventually. The tree is a little Charlie Brown-ish, but is sufficient for now.

..There's probably more I meant to write about, but I'll have to save that for another time.

Study Buddy

Attempting to motivate myself to study on a more regular basis, I now get out my notes to review them even while Sweet Pea is still awake.

The other day she "helped me study".. She climbed up on the couch next to me and I gave her her own piece of paper and a highlighter. I highlighted my notes and she highlighted hers. Worked fairly well! Kept her occupied for a while anyway, and she's generally a fan of "helping".

Sorry for the lack of regular updates. School and work is certainly keeping me busy!

H1N1

There was a clinic at my university this week, and I was able to get the H1N1 vaccine for Sweet Pea and myself (from one of my classmates, no less). Both of us had already gotten the seasonal flu vac a month or two ago.

I didn't warn Sweet Pea ahead of time because 1) I didn't know if they'd run out, so didn't want to work her up for nothing, and 2) she freaks out at the sight of medical personnel anyway..

She started crying as soon as we walked in the door, and I had to hold HER arms down to get MY shot, so she wouldn't slug my poor classmate.

After getting her shot, she was ticked, of course, but thankfully she calmed down pretty quickly. ("Sweet Pea, do you want a sucker?" "*Big sniffle* ..yeaaaah *sniff*")

She and I have compared "stickers" (bandaids) many times since then. She likes that we both have the same one, and likes to feel mine and hers, but heaven help you if you even mention touching her sticker!

Another random development is that she is FINALLY letting me put pigtails in her hair! It is a battle I had given up on for a while, and it took a lot of sweet-talking, distraction, and mirrors, but she now asks for "tangles" most mornings.

How could you ever say no to this face?

Parking Spots

Sweet Pea and I went grocery shopping the other day.

We waited several minutes to park, as the driver in front of us slooowwwwly pulled halfway into a spot, backed partially out, pulled back in, backed out again, etc.

Once we had finally taken the open spot two spots away, I looked a little more closely.

Our friend, a gentleman pushing 60, was parked in the "Reserved for Expectant Mothers" spot. Would it have been rude to congratulate him and ask when he was due?

Here and there

Poor baby threw up a couple weeks ago. I took a half day and stayed home with her to keep an eye on her. She seemed to recover quickly, but when I gave her some Pedialyte to drink, she took a few sips then handed it back to me, saying, "Sweet Pea no yike(like) it."

Patient tossed her cookies at me. No, literally, she picked up the cookie from her dinner tray and threw it toward the door while calling me and the nurse liars and cheats. Dementia is fun for everyone..

Clinical is going well. Instructor told me on our second day that my charting was excellent, I'm efficient, and wanted me to take two patients right away (rather than one). That clinical ends next week, and then it is on to Psychiatric Nursing. Should be fun. ;)

I am learning tons, from each patient I have. I am developing more of my nursing confidence and personality. I'm getting better (though still not a pro) at assessing. I love looking up meds and figuring out why a patient is on them and how they might interact. I love chatting with patients and getting more of a total picture on them. I love being able to do a little education, whether it is on how a med works, or an aspect of self-care, or nutrition, or even lifestyle changes.

Even when I head into work on the weekends, I find myself applying what I've learned during the week. I wish I could sit down and do a more complete assessment on some of my patients, because I see needs and just want to be able to meet them..

My first degree was in Education (Special, then Elementary, then Junior High), and while that wasn't quite the right fit for me, I can see what drew me to it. I do enjoy connecting with people, teaching them, giving them tools to be healthier/happier. The difference maker for me seems to be "class size", so to speak. I do fabulously individually and in small groups (<10), but stick me in front of 30 kids and I panic.

I just got my schedule for next semester, and it is looking good. Critical care and community nursing, plus a research class with a prof who is brilliant, has high expectations, and teaches well. Can't think of anyone better to teach it.

Sweet Pea is forever asserting her independence and testing her boundaries. She almost always wants to climb up into the car/carseat by herself, no help, rather than having me put her in. At bedtime, she likes to pull up her little rocking chair (handed down through my family from over 100 years ago) next to my glider and hold my hand as we rock, rather than sitting on my lap the whole time like she used to. She tries almost everything first on her own before asking for help if needed. She is a car-radio dictator, protesting loudly if she does not like whatever song is playing, but declaring her approval if she does. It has now become necessary to channel some of her toddler bursts of emotion.. The word "MINE!" has entered her vocabulary. She is learning to say something like "I'm playing with that right now" instead.

Though we've weaned (as of her 2nd birthday), Sweet Pea sometimes still asks to nurse. The other night as we rocked side by side, she pointed and said, "Mommy boops?" Yes, those are Mommy's boops. "Sweet Pea eat Mommy's boops?" No, no you are not going to eat my boops. Thank you for asking.

She's starting to understand if.. then.. statements. One morning she refused to put on her jacket on our way out the door, but when I explained that it was cold outside and we could only go to Grandma's if she put her jacket on, she said "ok" and calmly walked over.

I know they call these the Terrible Twos, and we have moments where I want to pull my hair out, but overall I am loving this stage (as I have enjoyed each stage so far).