Bluebonnets 2013

The bluebonnets are in full force this year!  We went for a little drive just to get the pictures.  It's kind of a Texas tradition, ya'll.  It took some coaxing, but the girls finally sat down on the dirt and got over their fear of bugs.  The boy was more fixated on the flower I gave him to hold and only smiled when I made weird noises behind daddy's back.  I was that lady by the side of the road.   I think they turned out pretty good, at least the ones I'm posting.  A few of them are of my butt (thanks hubby!) and some have at least one of the children making some weird face in some form or fashion, so just the good ones for the blog... you know, so we at least "look" like a normal family.  

A Migraine Sufferer's Dilemna

http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20306955_2,00.html

That right there my friends is what I should not be eating.  Ever.  I suffer from migraines.  I have had them since childhood.  I can remember coming home in 4th grade with a horrible migraine.  I was wearing these awesome forest green jeans and a cardigan that I think reached my knees and just laying on the bed, a pillow over my face, wishing the pain to stop.

My headaches have always been that bad when I have them.  I have to lay in a dark room, with something over my head, no noise, and lots of ibuprofen to help it go away.  It wasn't until I was much older in life (hah, going through nursing school) that I realized they were migraines.  I just figured this is how other people experience headaches as well.

Today I woke up with a headache.  I popped 2 ibuprofen and drank a cup of coffee.  My noon I had to take 3 more ibuprofen.  I laid down for a nap and hoped it would go away.  I got up at 3:30 pm and still felt it nagging, so I took 2 more.  Still now at this time it's pounding.  I took 2 Excedrin migraine and a Benadryl.  So now I find myself looking at preventative measures.  Soon my kids will be home (in about 30 minutes) and it will start pounding again, I can assure you.

A while back I cut out so much from my diet for the migraines.  Cheese and chocolate were a big one.  Those were also the hardest to cut out.  Oh, and coffee.... I love having my daily cup of joe.  I guess I'm going to have to revert back to teas and Daiya "cheese" again.  <sigh> I love most of the foods on that list!

The added stress of buying a house and family drama (more on that later this week, yippee!) doesn't help.  We had the housing inspection today, which went surprisingly well!  It's a "clean" house as the inspector said.  Thank freaking Gawd!  I could use something in my favor every now and then.  I turned in the loan application today, and have to get updated check stubs/bank accounts to them.  I'm going to worry about that tomorrow at work though.  That headache is still there after all.

Forever A Patient

The boy had minor surgery today.  Tubes in his ears.  Been there, done that with the 8 y.o.  It was a weird experience today though.  Yes, I'm a nurse.  Yes, I know it's minor surgery.  But I'm a nurse and a mother.  My mind started running last night.  I only thought of the worst that could happen.  What if he reacts bad to the anesthesia?  Do they have a pedi crash cart?  Will they do everything they can?

I couldn't sleep.

Of course, I got there at 0615.  They said to be there at 0600, but sadly I knew the MD wouldn't be there until 0700 at the earliest (he actually got there at 0715) so I had a bit of an arrogant attitude.  The boy flirted with the nurses, and wanted to be put down.  I refused so he writhed in my arms until surgery time.  Then the anesthesiologist came in, did her deal, and before I knew it he was taken out of my arms.  The nurses commented how he didn't cry, but how could he?  She took him before either one
of us could say good bye.

I went to the waiting room, fixed some coffee from their Keureg, sat down and waited.  I waited long enough to drink 1/4 of my coffee only to see the MD coming out to say "All done!"

Seriously?  I lost sleep for nothing!  In all seriousness, I think what it all comes down to though is that I may be a nurse and know the ins and outs, but ultimately I'm a mother.  Being a nurse and a mother?  It's a curse.  You have too much knowledge about what could go wrong, and that's your baby someone else is watching over.

He did fine though, he's running all over the place as we speak.  My bag of mismatched socks is always tons of fun for him.  Here's hoping this cuts down on the ear infections.

A very pinterest dinner

I'm a pretty frugal person.  My husband says "miser", but I say frugal.  With us preparing to buy a house, I'm trying to get us out of the habit of buying food out.  We don't do it often, but enough where it makes a difference financially if we just cut it out all together.  So last week I came up with a menu for the week.  It consisted of:

Breakfast for dinner (scrambled eggs, bacon, fruit)

Spaghetti with meatballs (this is a staple in our house, we use frozen meatballs because we're rushed for time)

Root beer pulled pork sandwiches

Shredded chicken tacos

Corned beef hash casserole

Stir fry tofu and veggies with ginger brown rice (also another staple)

Philly cheesesteak stuffed peppers

Quick "paninis" with salads

I think that's everything?  We tend to cook just enough food for our family of 5, and I eat off the leftovers for lunches.  The husbands work provides lunch everyday, kids in the daycare have all food provided, so it's pretty much all for me to finish.  Usually nothing goes to waste since, like I said, we cook enough for our family for dinner.  This week we have as follows:

Spicy beans with turkey sausage 

Bubble up pizza 

Slow cooker chicken caesar sandwiches

Chicken cordon bleu cassserole - kids LOVE this one for some reason!

Enchiladas

Baked potato soup - uses cauliflower to reduce the calories/carbs

Chicken spaghetti - another old recipe that the kids ate up

Obviously, I've been on pinterest.  Clearly you can tell that from the recipes.  If it's got cheese and cream of _____ soup, it's probably on pinterest.  Not the healthiest of things for dinner, but the kids eat a lot and I can only handle so many different versions of steamed veggies/ sauteed veggies with baked chicken.  I do try and rotate something (or two) in the crock pot for dinners.  We usually have pizza and/or spaghetti once during the week.  Also we tend to have one soup or stew during the week.  We are a dual working parent so our meals tend to be quick, or crock pot, without a lot of variety.  Hoping by posting this I'll have a little more variety.  I am going to take a cue from one of the links above, and cook a ton of chicken in the crock pot to shred and freeze.  That would probably help make some more quick dinners (the enchiladas for example).  

So there you go, enjoy.  I know I will... my stomach is rumbling thinking about dinner now.

Return from an extended vacation...

Perhaps I should try this again. Make something of this blog? I got into blogging from a friend of mine who is so good at posting on her blog at least once a week. Tuesday Ten? Freaking clever! When I started my first blog, I did it thinking... well, maybe people will look at it and I can make money off it. nope.

That's hilarity at it's finest! BWHAhahahahahaha.

 Then I was immature, got pissed at some people in my life and was all "F--k it! I'm starting a new blog bitches!" So I started a second blog. I think my goal with that one (this one actually), was to openly post my weight in hopes that I would be motivated to lose some of it. I mean, I think I posted other stuff, but I've forgotten since then. Shit, it's been a whole f--king year since I posted on here.

Life is different. I've changed. A lot in fact. So maybe I should try this again. Use it. Like, for real. Maybe an outlet to share my sadness and happiness? Document my kids growing up? So much time has passed and I've made so many memories so far, but nothing is written down. I want the kids to look back on it and think "Oh, life didn't suck as much as I thought." Cause yeah, I'm pretty sure my 8 y.o. thinks her life is suck, but it's not... I swear.

 So where am I at now in life. 31 years old. I tend to forget how old I am. Yes, seriously. Yesterday in the car I asked the hubby if I was 31 or 32. I guess I've lost track? Those grey hairs I colored for the 30th birthday? Eh, I could careless about them. They are coming in FULL FORCE people, so I'm just coming to grips with reality. I'm going grey, there's nothing I can do about it!

    
AHHH!  Can you see the greys??  Probably not.

Anywho, almost 2 years as a nurse. I did my stint in Labor and Delivery. Went to work every morning anxiety stricken of what to come that day. So I transferred. Just a hop, skip and a jump to the Level I nursery. I like it, I'm good at it. So much so I'm training new nurses in their new careers. Kinda cool to see how far I've come. Come July, I'll have been an RN for 2 years, and I'll apply for the RNC certification. Kind of like saying, "Yes, I'm a nurse, but here I have validated that I'm a GOOD f--king nurse."

 I think I cuss more, but I'll try and keep it out the blog for your viewing pleasure. Eh, fuck it. I don't really give a shit, do I? NOPE. Being nurse has jaded me. I do care about people, but now I'm so quick to just say "fuck it" now a days. More so than before. I've come to a point in my life where I just don't give a crap about what other people think about me. And I'm ok with that.

 I've been married now 8 years, together for a decade. He's not tired of my crap yet! He's a good man. Unbelievably good. Puts up with my shit. Takes care of the kids when I'm working every other weekend. Such a good, genuine, man. I love him. A lot. So much so I decided to buy a house with him. Huge step for us.

 We started from nothing, with nothing, and have worked our way up to a house. FINALLY. Now I find myself stalking pinterest for ideas on Frugal Kitchen Re-Do (slim pickin's, hah).

Let's mull over that one more time.... We're buying a house. A HOUSE... wow.

 I've changed so much. I'm a mom of 3. I'm impatient. I'm strict. I expect things from them that other parents probably don't demand. They are good kids though. And I love all of them. They are so different. I can't wait for them to all have their own bedrooms. A fucking house.  I can't belive it.

Rambling now. Maybe I'll make something of this blog now. Since I'm at the point where I don't really give a shit what people think, thoughts should hopefully come easily now.