What, it's over?!

It won't officially be autumn for another month, but it already feels like the fun part of summer is over...

And though I was crazy-insane-tothebreakingpoint-busy with school and work these past few months, we did manage to make plenty of great memories in between the madness.

We celebrated Mamaw Kay's birthday with food and euchre and the love of her grandbabies...

We watched the Reds beat the Giants with Elijah's baseball team...

(I'm gonna miss my fellow baseball mom, Chelle, like crazy...our boys won't be playing together next year :(

I squeezed in a short overnight trip to Chicago for my friend, Monica's, 40th birthday.  We drank and laughed and talked and laughed until our abs were sore and our cheeks hurt from all of that smiling!

Diane and I before our night out on the town.

Visit with the cow at Fair Oaks Farm on our long drive home.

The birthday girl with our hilarious waitress.

And all of a sudden, my clinicals were finished, teachers were announced, and the kids went back to school  (Elijah is too cool for the annual "first day" pics...so sad).

However, look at this girl of mine, eleven years old and entering sixth grade.  Sigh...

And this boy, who turned seven on the 27th and celebrated with a Lego birthday party full of gifts from our wonderful friends and family.  I love the picture that Joe captured at just the right moment!

I just looked at my calendar for the week, and it is completely blank until work on Friday.  Did you read that?  BLANK.  Exactly what I need to recover from an over-the-top summer.

Do you consider summer to be over on September 22nd, after Labor Day, or when school starts?  What do you do when your calendar is blank?

The night-shift debate

Staying up all night...

it's cool when you're a kid, a rite of passage to be able to stay awake til morning at the sleepover party.

it's no big deal when you're in college, having to pull an all-nighter to study for that final exam.

it's a necessary evil when you're a new mom, getting up all night long with your new baby for feedings and diaper changes and lullabies.

it's a due you have to pay as a new nurse, working the shift that no one else wants.

Being a part of the "night-shift club" at the hospital was something I never thought I would enjoy.  The disturbance to my Circadian rhythm, working from 7pm to 7:30am then driving my tired self home to attempt to sleep while the sun was shining did not sound appealing, but the $4/hour shift differential helped ease the pain when I was young.  Every single night was a struggle back then (I was twenty years old), and I often dreamed of "graduating" to day shift.

After several years, I finally achieved that goal.  I worked a few day shifts, then quickly realized that night shift suited my life much more.  Sounds crazy, but here's why:

When I worked days, I left my house before the kids woke up.  I didn't get home until 8 or 8:30pm (on a good day), and they were getting ready for bed at that point.  Yes, we got to be in the same house while we were sleeping, but I missed an entire day of their lives.  Not worth it.

When I worked days, I missed my "night shift peeps" so much!  There is a camaraderie on nights that you just don't find on days.  Having to rely on each other in a crisis because there are fewer staff around, bonding over coffee during the witching hour of 3am, going out for breakfast in the morning to decompress after a particularly bad night...these were things I just didn't experience when working that "normal" shift.

Last night, during the 3am witching hour when our bodies told us to sleep but our bosses said we couldn't, some of my fellow night shift nurses and I discussed this night shift debate.  Is it worth it to leave the extra pay and the great people, just to get a full nights' sleep?  Most all of us (the moms, especially) answered a resounding NO.

I may be crazy, but I think I just may be a night-shifter for life.

What about you?  Ever pulled an all-nighter?  Worked the "graveyard shift"?  What would you give up for a full nights' sleep?

Today, I...

Today, I went to a new church with Joe and the kids.  I think we may have found a new church home.

Today, I spent time with a friend who needed a kind ear and a creative eye.  She's planning a wedding, going to school for her Master's, and working full-time.  Overwhelmed much?  We poured over invitation books and brainstormed some ideas.  I love being blessed with so many great friends.

Today, I went back-to-school shopping with this girl.  She is such a pleasure to be around, and I am proud to be her mom.  I thank God for my daughter.

Today, I walked for miles with my mother-in-law, talking and listening and laughing out loud.  I am blessed.

Today, I felt happy and grateful for my life, full of kids and work and school and friends and family.  What was your today like?

A shout-out

Giving a little shout out to Joe, who just finished the kids' bathroom remodel.

Head over to his blog, Vista Tile and Remodel for a sneak peek.  Leave him some love, would you?

(And if you're in the need for some remodeling or tiling work, give him a shout!)

August Already?

Here it is, the last month of summer vacation.  In less than three weeks, Elijah will be starting school, and Isabel and Gabe will be right behind him.

It's bittersweet.  I will miss them, but I will be glad for the return of a routine and the end of "I'm bored" mutterings.  I will tire quickly of packing three lunches a day, but I will be grateful for a quiet house in the middle of the day when I am trying to sleep after a night shift.

We still have lots of plans to get us through the month.  Birthdays for Joe and Gabe.  End of season baseball party for Elijah, and the beginning of fall baseball practices.  End of clinicals for me, with a month-long break before my second-to-last quarter begins.  A trip to Chicago to celebrate a friend's 40th birthday.  Lots to cram in to three short weeks; sure hope it all works out as planned!

How's your August shaping up?

The Much-needed Overnight

"Marriage is not a noun; it's a verb. It isn't something you get. It's something you do. It's the way you love your partner every day."

-Barbara De Angelis

It has been over eighteen months since I have started the juggling act of going to school, working at least twenty-four hours a week, being a mom to our three kids and still trying to maintain some sort of semblance of a marriage with Joe.

I won't lie and say it's been easy.  It hasn't.  I'm tired.  He's tired.  We annoy each other with our different expectations and our different ways of taking care of the house and the kids.

This October, we will celebrate our fifteenth wedding anniversary.  Fifteen years is certainly worthy of celebrating, in this day where do-it-yourself divorces and friends-with-benefits-relationships abound.

Marriage certainly isn't easy, and it definitely requires work.  Like my pots of flowers which need daily watering; so, too, does my marriage.  To that end, last month I planned an overnight getaway to a bed-and-breakfast in Kentucky.  For just the two of us.  To reconnect.  To "water" our marriage, so to speak.

The place was gorgeous.  A ten-acre farm with alpacas and chickens and a well-stocked pond.

And a pool.  Where we swam and lounged and even napped while our dinner was cooking on the grill...

The chickens made us laugh as they followed us along the fence-line during an evening stroll...

The owners told us of a beautiful path that ran near the river, where we had fun taking pictures of our shadows, and the wildlife, and some waterfalls...

and the remnants of the sunset on the shores of the Ohio River.

We enjoyed a bottle of wine after taking a leisurely (without interruptions!) bath in the whirlpool tub attached to our suite.

In the morning, after a made-to-order delicious breakfast, we headed over to the pond to try our hand at catching some fish.  I caught one, Joe caught more, then we threw them all back and headed for home.

It was a short twenty-four hours, but we managed to fill it with laughter, smiles and lots of hand-holding (etc...).  We came home feeling refreshed and happy, recharged and reconnected.  Getaways like this will help us last another fifteen years and more, I pray!

The Daredevil

I'm not sure if it's birth order (being the third kid and trying to keep up with older siblings).

Or if it's God's way of teaching me that sometimes you need to throw caution to the wind, trust in Him and enjoy all that life has to give.

Either way, my youngest boy is responsible for showing this once-nervous momma the joy that can be had by being a daredevil.

Whether it's throwing a pointy dart for the first time ever and winning a prize on that very first try:

Or sticking your hand through the bars of a kangaroo's cage and letting it eat right out of your hand:

Or riding a "whip-it" ride at the county fair with your big sis, forwards AND backwards:

Or refusing to be talked out of riding the "Lose your Skittles" ride that your older siblings are even afraid to ride:

And LOVING it:

Sometimes caution is good, but sometimes being a daredevil is even better.  Just ask Gabe :)