What now?

The first birthday that I can remember is when I turned four. We moved into our new house in Harrison, Ohio, then had a blizzard a couple of months later.

Cookie Monster helped welcome me into my fifth year, complete with a cookie in his icing-covered mouth that the birthday girl (moi) got to eat without sharing even a crumb with her three older sisters.

I had a slumber party when I turned ten, and my favorite gift was an E.T. t-shirt (I'm pretty sure I still have it).

Turning thirteen meant I was officially a teenager.

Turning fifteen meant I was allowed to date.

Then the big sixteen:


My dream car was a '69 Ford Mustang:

Instead I got a 1984 Chevette. Hey, it was a car; you didn't hear me complaining!

I turned eighteen at the beginning of my senior year of high school. Officially an adult!

Graduated nursing school at the age of twenty.

The next big one, twenty-one! Yay for a legal ID, right?

Married at twenty-two.

Baby at twenty-four, along with our first house.

Baby number two at twenty-six.

Baby number three at thirty.

Been to Disney World three times (at the ages of 10, 28 and 35).

For every age I've been, it seems there was something to look forward to at the next age.

The next age for me is forty.

Ask anyone. Forty is traditionally something meant to be dreaded.

I can't say I'm dreading it.

I love the age I am. I am happier in my thirties than ever before. I am comfortable in my own skin, despite the wrinkles, the varicose veins, the cellulite, the acne (still?!).

I am a goal-oriented person, however. I feel the need to have a list of things to look forward to.

On my do-before-I'm-40-list right now?

Pay off all bills (except for house).

Finish my BSN (starting in January '10).

Take my family on a cruise.

Travel out west in an RV.

Run a half-marathon, maybe alongside Isabel.

Go on a mission trip.

I have four years. I think I can do it. It's great to have something to look forward to, isn't it?

What are you looking forward to? What was your favorite age?

He made it!

An apology in advance to any peewee football fans out there...

As some of you know, Elijah played football for the first time this year. He begged and begged, and put up his own money, and I finally relented. Practice started in July. The last game was on Halloween. Over three months of grueling practices three days a week, games every weekend, driving over an hour one way to get to some of those games. And finally, it's over.

Lots of moms hold their sons in high regard when it comes to athletics. But seriously, Elijah is a great athlete. He's good in whatever sport he plays, innately knowing the rules and physically capable of playing the game. However, he's little. Seventy pounds little. Not the best thing to be in football, when many of the boys are topping 150 pounds. That being said, Elijah did not get to play very often in the games. He showed up to every practice, and every game (unless it interfered with church). And he got to play five plays a game. Five. He made it to the very last game before he even got to touch a football.

For the last three weeks, he hated football. The bruises and headaches and sore muscles sucked. Having to sit on the sidelines and watch your team lose and be able to do nothing about it sucked. Being one of the littlest guys on the team sucked. Despite all of that, he stuck it out and made it to the end of the season, before getting the flu and having to sit out of the playoff games (which really was just fine with us).

The one good thing to come out of all of this: he has decided football isn't really for him. He's going to stick with basketball and baseball, which he loves and actually gets playing time in.

I'm sorry that football wasn't all that he dreamed it was going to be, but I am proud of Elijah for having the guts to stick it out. And I'm so thankful to one of the football moms for capturing this photo of the ONE time Elijah actually got to make a play. He was wide receiver; the qb threw him the ball, and he ran twenty yards before getting tackled. In the last fifty seconds of the last game. (Elijah is number 46).


Thank God it's over. And we made it to the end without a broken bone or any other serious injury.

I'm so proud of you, Elijah. It was a difficult season, and one you're not likely to forget. You made it!

The best gift.

For my birthday, I received a few gifts. Flowers from Lula, a movie date from my sister, cards, brunch and dinner dates from Joe, money from Kay and Bob (my in-laws), and a flu-bug from the kids.

Yeah, that last one was a bummer. Especially since our Girls on the Run Practice 5K was scheduled for October 29th. My birthday. Did I mention that I am Isabel's running buddy, which means I have to run alongside of her for the whole 5K? No problem when I'm healthy. With a flu? Um, it took lots of ibuprofen, Hall's cough drops and Excedrin to get me through. I'm so glad I was there, though, 'cause watching her win that race was the best birthday gift ever.

Did you catch that? Yep, I said "win". That girl rocked the race and took first place. For GOTR, we don't emphasize a winner, we want each girl to do their best. But you know Joe and I were bursting with pride when she was the first to cross the finish line!

Have you ever run in a 5K race? It's 3.2 miles, for the un-informed. When I was nine years old, I would have laughed at you if you said I was going to run that far. Every single one of our GOTR girls did it, though. What an empowering accomplishment!

Here they are at the starting line. Our real 5K race is on November 21st; we wanted the girls to get a feel for how it will go. (I love the focused expression on Isabel's face!)


At first, a lot of the girls took off sprinting. Not Isabel. She kept repeating, "slow and steady wins the race" along with me as she found her pace and stuck with it. (That's her, in front of the pack).


2.5 miles down, one-half to go...

The winner!

I'll admit it, I had tears in my eyes, hugging this incredible daughter of mine. I stand in awe of her determined spirit, and I am so honored to be her mom.

Isabel's friend, Maya, was the next to cross the finish line. They became friends in first grade, and their friendship is still going strong today.

Maya's mom, Monica, and I are part of the GOTR coaching team. We have six coaches altogether, and we have all had such fun being a part of this program!

The whole team:

Congratulations, Isabel, and thanks for the best birthday gift I could ever ask for! You've done your momma proud!

(Special thanks to Joe for taking such awesome photographs!)

And then there were two...

Isabel was the first to fall.

Pretty mild, temp of 100, no appetite, over a 3 day weekend (no school missed, two pounds lost, yet to be regained).

Elijah was next.

Started last Saturday night, still having fevers along with no appetite, body aches and a horrible cough with a runny nose. Haven't weighed him yet, but no doubt he lost some weight, too.

Gabe dropped like a ton of bricks before my very eyes yesterday. He was totally fine, went to preschool, came home and within ten minutes went from happily telling me about his day to writhing on the floor complaining of his legs, head and throat "feeling funny", on fire with a fever of nearly 103. His is the worst cough, although his fever isn't as stubborn as Elijah's.

Joe and I are the only two left standing.

Thank God. Someone has to be the nurse/chef/playmate/housekeeper for these little sickos. At least Isabel is on the mend, and Elijah is feeling a bit better. That way we'll have backup if we do succumb.

H1N1? Don't know. The likelihood is "yes", but the treatment won't vary from what I'm doing on my own, so we stay away from the doctor unless the therapy of rest-fluids-tylenol-ibuprofen-cough-strips fails. Gabe is the only one making me a bit nervous; I have a hawkeye out for him.

The best birthday present I could get is a free pass from this bug. (Hint, hint, God. Prayers are appreciated.)

Are you and yours staying well and swine-free? Or have you gotten it and moved on?

Calling all bookclub fans!

Anyone ever been here?

It's the Kansas City public library in Missouri.

How awesome is that!

I would love for our library to look like this!

In my footsteps...

In the fall of 1991, I received my letter of acceptance to The Christ Hospital School of Nursing. I don't know who was more excited, my parents or me. No one in my family was in the medical profession; I had no idea what I was in for, but we were thrilled of my prospects, nonetheless.

Fast forward eighteen years (how is that even possible?!)...

I have done many things in my nursing career. Intensive care, home care, private duty, labor and delivery, emergency room, med/surg, float pool, even psych. Now, I'm in management as a nursing supervisor, responsible for the whole hospital during my shift.

Nursing has not only been my career; it's been my calling. Only God knows how many lives I have touched over the years, and I have treasured caring for so many wonderful patients and their families.

So it is with great pride that I tell you about my niece, Danielle, who has decided to follow in my footsteps and start nursing school next fall. I am so excited I can barely stand it! Last week, Danielle asked if she could shadow me at the hospital for Career Day. I'm hoping our experience didn't change her mind :)

We visited the Special Care nursery and saw a set of preemie twins. We toured the ER, but didn't see anything extraordinary at the time. I took her through the ICU's and introduced her to many of my friends, some who have pursued other avenues of nursing such as nurse anesthesia and nurse practitioner. There are so many opportunities for nurses...I can't wait to see where Danielle's career and ambitions take her in the years to come!

Thanks, Danielle, for making your Aunt Heddy so darn proud! I love you, girl!


(For those of you who know her, Danielle is the oldest daughter of my big sis, Michelle. You know, the ex-blogger who can no longer share her "tales of the lunchroom" 'cause she's the BOSS of the lunchroom now!)

Please help me wish Danielle good luck on this exciting journey!

Pancake Saturday

Not that it has to be Saturday to make yummy pancakes, but isn't that usually the day you end up making them?

I had been craving some Sweet Potato Pancakes like the ones they serve at a little cafe near Catherine's house, so I decided to make my own.

Wanna try? Here's the ingredients:

Make the batter according to the pancake mix recipe, with slightly less water/milk than called for. Add a tablespoon of ground flax seed, half a jar of sweet potato babyfood (stage 3) and a teaspoon of cinnamon. You could also add a touch of vanilla if the mood strikes. I like pecans in every kind of pancake, so I added some to mine (but not the kids').

I let the batter sit for a few minutes while the griddle was heating up. Seems to thicken a bit this way.

Cook just as you would any other pancake; if the sweet potatoes are chunky, you may want to lower the temp of the griddle and cook for a touch longer, to make sure they're plenty hot.

Serve with butter and maple syrup for a delicious and nutritious breakfast. Hello, you can't go wrong with flax seed (source of Omega-3 fatty acids) and sweet potatoes (lots of vitamin A)!

Enjoy!