Family Picnic...

Just wanted to post some cute family pics from the Fourth. My sister, Rhonda and her husband, Paul, brought over their sweet girls, Katlyn and Kylee. I swear, Kylee looked like a miniature Shirley Temple with her bouncy curls and short dress...I would not have been surprised to hear her belt out "Good Ship Lollipop" (okay, I would've been shocked; I would've been dialing up American Idol in two seconds flat; but it didn't happen). Enjoy the photos.






Do you remember having to sit at the "kids table"? Man, I do, and I hated it. Luckily, these two cousins didn't mind it at all.



Of course, I'm not in a single picture; nope, not a one. I feel like a fool handing my camera to someone, saying, "here, take a picture of me", and my husband doesn't ever think about it. Oh, well, maybe someday...

Man, I love summer food: fresh, sliced tomatoes; corn on the cob; sauteed peppers with onions and mushrooms; meat hot off the grill; juicy watermelon; and warm chocolate chip pie for dessert. I'm pretty sure I gained 10 pounds this weekend alone (Becky, we need to hit it hard at the Y on Monday). I have been avoiding my scale like the plague, but someday I'll have to face the music and pay for those calories I've inhaled.

Isabel is Katlyn's favorite cousin, and Isabel loves her right back. I love to see the two of them together like this. Isabel even went home with them and spent the night, which is one of their favorite events. I used to feel the same way when I got to spend the night at Rhonda's (she is my half-sister, and always lived with her mom...we only got to see each other once a month or so). It's awesome to have babies close enough in age that they enjoy playing with each other. I love that.

Hope everyone had a great July Fourth...can you believe the next holiday is already going to be Labor Day?! I don't even want to think about it...

"Take a pitcher 'o me, Mom!"

Gabe is usually running from the camera, so imagine my surprise when he woke up the other morning, yelling, "Take a pitcher 'o me, Mommy, take a pitcher 'o my wegos (Legos) and my hot wheels and my bed!". Being the devoted (did you just say crazy?) scrapbooker/blogger that I am, of course I ran straight downstairs, grabbed my fully charged camera and snapped away, planning scrapbook pages and blog posts as I did (okay, I'm crazy, but it's a good crazy, right? Right?). Right now, Gabe has a combination Thomas/firetruck/Lego room, and all those primary colors are pretty bright. What I'm saying is, you may need to grab your shades to see the rest of this post...

I'm pretty sure he's pointing to the snot running down his nose in this picture. I might even have saved a sample for a scrapbook page...just kidding...kind of...no, really, I'm kidding :)

I'm not sure what this pose is all about, but I love it. Is he the kid of a scrapbooker or what?

Gabe and Ellie have a love-hate relationship...Gabe loves to torment Ellie, and Ellie hates when Gabe is too wild. However, every morning she goes with me to get Gabe out of bed, and every night she is there to say prayer and tuck him in (and hopefully get a piece of his bedtime cheese stick). I love having a dog in the house, for the kids and for me. So sweet...

So there you go, Gabe. Now your "pitchers" are on Mommy's "puter" for all the world to see. I love that you wanted me to photograph you with all your favorite things...now I can't wait to get these off to Snapfish so I can make a cute page for your album. I'm thinking a red background with some blue and yellow trim, maybe mat the pictures in white, and then... (enough of posting, now I feel the need to scrapbook...see ya!).

They say I'm saucy!

Okay, I wasn't going to make a post about it, but I can't help it, I'm just too excited, and my family just doesn't get it, so here it is:

I made the list of "Saucy Blogs" on my new favorite blog-central, The Secret is in the Sauce. How freakin' awesome is that? I mean, if you look at these other blogs, they are written by people way more talented than me. And funnier. And probably skinnier, too. And yet, I'm in the ranks. And I love it!

If you're a fellow SITSta, please leave me some comment love. It will help get me through the night tonight when I'm at work. Yes, while you're enjoying your BBQs and fireworks, I'll be slaving away at the hospital until 7:30am. I do have something to look forward to, though; a date with my hubby tomorrow night, with free babysitting courtesy of my MIL. So I'll stop complaining now and just enjoy the day for what it is...a day in the blog limelight. Thanks, Heather and Tiffany; you're the best!

Happy Independence Day!

I love to look back at old pictures and see how much people have changed, especially the kids. This was taken last July 4th, with Gabe and Isabel posing with their cousins with the flags that my creative sister so smartly bought (is smartly a word? I'm not sure). This year is cool and rainy, so I'm not sure how much outdoor time we'll get, but we'll still have a great time together. Hope everyone out there has a great holiday weekend; remember to say a prayer for the military personnel who are actively fighting for independence while we enjoy our family picnics and celebrations. Don't feel guilty about celebrating; just pray while you're doing it.

Hi-ho, Hi-ho, off to work I go!

After nine blessed days off of work while Joe was out of town, tonight it's back to the reality of being a working mom with little sleep and lots of caffeine. I really do like my job (most of the time); I love my co-workers...they are fun, a great team, smart and sometimes just plain silly. I have been a nurse for fourteen years, and the SICU is my favorite unit by far. We take care of really sick patients who have had kidney transplants; are on hemodialysis; have had major brain or abdominal surgery; strokes; heart attacks; and various other ailments. Sometimes our patients are only with us for a day or two, and sometimes they are with us for months. Some situations are super sad, and sometimes we see miraculous recoveries. Always we take awesome care of our patients and their families, and for this I am proud, and grateful to be a part of something so much bigger than myself. So bring on the coffee and my stethoscope, I'm ready to roll!


A candid picture of my friend and newest co-worker, Aly (the patient is in isolation for a contagious germ; that's why the blue gown). Evidence of how hard we work.


And then, a picture of Ian reading what I'm sure is a professional development journal (or maybe People magazine?). Evidence of how silly we can be...you have to find a way to make it a little fun, or you would lose your mind.

So if you're ever in need of some intensive care, really, our unit is the place to be.

What did you just say?!

Starbucks Closing 600 Stores In The US

Last Update: 5:03 pm
SEATTLE (AP) - Starbucks Corp. said Tuesday it will close 600 stores in the United States in the next year and cut back the number of new stores it had planned to open. Starbucks said 70 percent of the stores slated to be closed had opened since the start of the 2006 fiscal year. The total includes 100 previously announced store closures. The company expects charges between $328 million and $348 million related to the closures, including a charge of $200 million in the third quarter. Once those underperforming stores have shut down - a process the company said will happen gradually from now until the first half of 2009 - Starbucks said it expects the change to boost earnings by $100 million a year. Starbucks said it will try to place workers from closed stores in remaining Starbucks. Shares of Seattle-based Starbucks slipped 11 cents to $15.51 in after-hours trading after losing 12 cents to close at $15.62.

What did that just say? I was checking my home news webpage this evening, and found this. What does this mean? Now I have to admit I have not been doing my part to support Starbucks lately, save for the occasional grande latte with a shot of hazelnut. But at least I knew they were there if I needed them. For the days I have to stay awake after working a twelve-hour night shift, being up for over 24 hours because I don't have a sitter. For the mornings when Elijah has a ball game (football, baseball, basketball...it never ends), and I don't get to go to bed until after I have dozed through (I mean, watched) the whole game (did you see that awesome play, Mom? Of course I did, son). Really, I am just sitting here in disbelief. Becky, has Mike seen this yet? I am totally seeing some rehab and twelve-step programs in the future.

I didn't see a list of which stores are closing...maybe Cincinnati isn't one of them. I can hope, right? Right?...

The price of eggs in China

One of my mom's favorite sayings..."what's that have to do with the price of eggs in China?". Well, I'm sure you could google that and find out what they do cost, but here in Ohio, a dozen eggs costs $1.19 at Kroger, which ends up being 9 cents per egg. So for 18 cents, my kids were entertained for half an hour while I finished up dinner and baked a cake for Joe's homecoming. At first when Gabe asked to play with an egg, I said no, but then immediately thought, why not? It felt wasteful, but honestly, at that 5pm witching hour of trying to control my kids and make dinner and set the table...I'm game for just about anything that will give me a moments peace. And being the blogger/scrapbooker that I am, you know I had to take pictures of the whole thing (what's that smell? are the potatoes burning? quick, smile for the camera, I gotta go!) Too bad it wasn't hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk...maybe we'll try this again in August.

Oh, the things that entertain these children of mine...why on earth do I even buy toys?