In which I am old, happy, and employed

My baby brother got married this weekend which I’m pretty sure means I am really old now.  Avelyn was a drop dead gahw-geous flower girl in her little ruffled dress and tiny pearls.  She had fun picking up the skirt ever so slightly and twirling herself.  Sigh.  Aren’t little girls just precious?

Kevin flew to Chicago on Friday so he wasn’t in attendance.  I made sure he was “there” by lending Jacob Kevin’s tux from our wedding and forcing him to talk on my pink iPhone while Kevin gave marriage advice before the ceremony.  He said, “Don’ do it dummy!”  Joking, of course. 

I’ve mentioned before that I regret not having danced with my brother at my own wedding all the way, way back in 2002.  I made peace with myself when Avelyn danced with him at his.  It kills me it’s so sweet. 

 

After the wedding we all drove over to an old historic house and they had pictures taken.  Avelyn was fit to be tied after driving nearly 300 miles just the day before and revving up to drive the same distance back.  She passed out on the way to the house, woke up crabby and screaming about 10 minutes later and screamed in most of my pictures.  We’ll see how their photos come out.  She looked so pretty with the bride anyway, and in the flower garden of course.  Love those OMG Texas is too freaking hot summer nights.

I started my FIRST day at my FIRST real job on Monday.  So far it has been hooooouuuurrrrrs of borientation.  I sit there all day long, nodding off and dreaming about all the things I need to learn how to do so I don’t kill someone.  Then I think to myself, Holy crap!  I’m getting paid a buttload of money to sit here and be bored.  WaHOOOOOOO!  Then, normally I go back to having the poop scared out of me because hello!  I’m a new nurse and I. Know. NOTHING.

It is now 9:57pm.  I am drop dead tired and missing Kevin like crazy.  He is in Chicago until August 2nd.  Have I talked about that yet?  I have been so busy and blog neglectful I’m not sure if I have.  He goes every year and runs a film camp for high school kids.  I miss him insanely and so does Avelyn.  We bought a webcam for my computer before he left and tried it out on Father’s Day.  You can see her unfiltered joy when she talks to her Daddy “on the screen” at the end of the Father’s Day “movie” I made him.  I just roll with amusement every time I hear that excited laugh.  I wonder if I would look younger if I laughed like that everyday. 

‘Cause every little thing, is gonna be alright

[Click play or here if the song doesn’t play. It will open in a new window.]

We are having a great start of summer around here.  Swimming, FIRST pigtails, learning the art of “sliding” at the park, learning to eat big people food like chicken, meat loaf, spinach, green beans, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, cherries, watermelon, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries… did I mention she loves fruit?  Oh, and jello.  Yeah that’s right.  Thanks Gagi for introducing jello at Luby’s.  She loves it, of course.  

See more "pigtails and purses" cuteness here.  (Note if you’re not familiar with Flickr: when you click on a link it takes you to a page with a photo.  To view more photos find “Doting Momma’s Photostream” on the right side of the page.  Click on the picture on the right to see the next photo, or the picture on the left to see the previous photo.  Hope that helps!)

I was a nanny for a few months in 2003, in between semesters in Chicago.  It was the best job I ever had and I have been blessed to develop a lasting relationship with the family I worked for, visiting every summer in Chicago.  The baby I cared for will be seven this year.  SEVEN.  I can’t believe it.  This year the girls made Avelyn a homemade card and sent her two of their favorite CD’s for her birthday.  We have fallen in love with them, especially You Are My Little Bird by Elizabeth Mitchell.  Buy it, you and the kids will love it and it won’t make you want to drill a hole in your head while driving in the car.  My favorite song on the album is (hopefully) playing for you right now.  If it’s not try clicking the link at the top of the page and it should play in another window.  It’s a song written by Bob Marley called Three Little Birds and Avelyn and I sing it every morning.  My favorite part is when she sings along with her little baby “you-ou-ou”.  Melts my heart every time.

See more “watermelon days” here.

I am counting my blessings for such wonderful days around here.  I hope your summer is off to a bang too.

Future putt putt queen

FIRST day on the putt putt course: sunny, fun, so freaking hot we quit on hole 11.

Seeing Avelyn in her gold gladiator sandals having a blast outside: priceless.

Happy Memorial Day!

I hope you’re all enjoying your day as much as we are. Avelyn had her FIRST day at the pool!

PS - the wearing of sunglasses may be necessary while viewing this photo; don't let the whiteness scare you away. Hey, at least you can't see my legs.

A lot, a little late

It’s OVER! I am
DONE with nursing school,
DONE with working for free,
DONE with living away from my family,
DONE with living in apartments and with other people!
DONE! DONE ! DONE!

Where to begin? The past two weeks (Seriously? Two weeks? I can’t believe I’ve gone two weeks without blogging. It’s like I actually utilized my time wisely. Glad that’s over.) have been a roller coaster. I’m not really sure how much detail to go into, out of sheer exhaustion and pure peace that it is all over.

To make a very long story short, I almost did not graduate. I passed both of my classes, but due to a technicality in the grading system I was told that even though my final grade was passing, I would fail one class and thus be unable to graduate. Me and two other people. I would have to come back in the fall and take the entire class and clinical over again. Don’t even ask, the whole thing makes no sense. The grading policy made no sense, the syllabus was not clear. A million things were wrong with this situation. I cried, no sobbed, for two days. I could not imagine going through this separation from Kevin and Avelyn again. I felt myself falling into a dark hole of depression and just could not imagine that this was really happening. It was awful. But I fought hard to make it right. Kevin fought hard, writing letters which thankfully I never had to send, and breaking it all down in an easy to argue argument. I took it to my advisor who fought hard for all of us – and we won! The grading policy was changed, our whole class graduated and IT IS ALL OVER!!!!!!!!!

Monday, May 4th: Take my first final. Get an 84 on it. Get an 86 final average in the class. On the way home I get a phone call that I FAILED THE CLASS BECAUSE OF ANOTHER AVERAGE (that I won’t bore you with here) AND WILL NOT GRADUATE. Have mini breakdown. Freak out. Sob. Wail. Sink into deep anxiety laden depression. Still have to go home and study for the final on Tuesday. Nice.

Tuesday, May 5th: Take second final (that I pass with an 80 and get an 86 in the class even in the middle of this “you will not graduate you big fatty loser” sh*t). Walk out of the classroom and am met with a giant fat crazy b*tch of a human being all up in my face asking if I passed because she heard I had failed. Thanks giant fat crazy b*tch. Thanks a lot for making my sh*tty last day of school even sh*ttier. Guess I’ll just creep out this side door and avoid saying (possibly my last) goodbye to all my friends so my giant puffy crying face doesn’t bring them down on what should be a great last day of class. Crazy b*tch, I hate you. Go make out with another ho ho.

Wednesday, May 6th: Phone is off so I sleep until after 10am. Well needed rest. Wake up to 13 missed calls and 4 voicemails. Call back the only person who could give me the news I want. It’s official! They all agreed the syllabus was unclear and changed the grading policy! We all graduate! I have used my Crap Community Health nurse lobbying lecture and lobbied for change! I GET TO FREAKING GRADUATE! Call my fantastic friends who had been fighting just as hard and are just as excited about the news. Have a fabulous lunch with Darci and go home to relax until the end of year party later that day. Go to end of year party later that day and have a FAB-FAB-FABULOUS time. Have several drinks and lots of good conversation. Pull into the driveway around 12am just as Kevin and Avelyn pull up. Great day.

Thursday, May 7th: Wake up with a totally worth it hangover. We attend my pinning ceremony, a nursing school tradition. Kevin pins me and Avelyn does not scream watches in the back row with my grandparents. Afterward we take a few pictures with some Hobo stalkers friends and my advisor, Dr. Yu, who fought hard for me to graduate. I owe her something big :)

Friday, May 8th: Kevin, Avelyn and I have lunch with my childhood best friend Shannon and her son Cooper AKA Avelyn’s boy toy. They were born twelve days apart. You may remember him from tandem spit up days or the freaking cutest Halloween costume duo ever.

[Giant brackets as I segway into an interesting tidbit that just popped into my head. At the end of our 4th grade year Shannon and I both liked a boy named Robert McKeon. He called me on the phone one day (OMG! A BOY called ME on the PHONE!!!!!!!!!) and told me he liked me too and asked if I wanted to go out with him, or whatever fourth grade boys in 1991 might have said. My fourth grade self reallllllllllllllly wanted to but I was afraid to hurt Shannon’s feelings so I told him I would have to call him back. I called Shannon to make sure it was okay. She said it was but I could tell at school the next week she was not cool with it. I think Robert McKeon and I might have held hands maybe once, then I moved to a different school for fifth grade and we “broke up”. Well, I guess we broke up. Shannon told me during fifth grade year that he was dating some other girl from the FOURTH grade. WHORE! What a skanky loser, that Robert McKeon. Dumping me for a FOURTH grader just because I moved schools, hmph! I went back that year for their talent show to see my friends and his new girlfriend sang “My Favorite Things” from the Sound of Music. I swear to you I hate that song to this day. Below is Robert, top row, 2nd from the left. I’m on the 2nd row, far right and Shannon is wearing that kickin’ visor and sitting next to some girl I clearly did not like as evidenced by her scratched out face.]

Back to reality. Friday night is graduation. Pretty uneventful except for you know, the whole being totally done with nursing school and GRADUATING thing. I should have got more pictures with my homies.

Avelyn behaves swimmingly if you consider graduation didn’t start until 7pm and she usually goes to bed around 8pm. When all is said and done we are OUT of here, and we hit the road for San Antonio. Pull in around 2am. Too tired to feel anything.

Saturday, May 9th: Woke up to an amazing sensation of being home when a really cute little girl toddled in to say hello. We moved the big stuff from storage to the new house and I mowed and edged the front yard while Avelyn napped. Don’t remember much after that. Must have spent the evening recovering from Houston hell.

Sunday, May 10th: For Mother’s Day Kevin gave me a fantastic card and Avelyn gave me some beautiful dish towels, a book so I can pretend she likes me to read to her, and a card with some flower seeds for us to plant in our new garden this fall. I gave her a pony tail. I was really happy with my gifts. She was not so happy with hers.

Monday, May 11th: Spent allllllll day painting Avelyn’s room pink. Due to an unfortunate incident involving Kevin using the crapper and me accidently walking in on him only to be shooed away I was not able to get a pair of painting shorts out of the closet and ruined one of my two pairs of jeans that fit. Yes, I could have gone back for the shorts after he finished but I was flustered and forgot. Note to self – don’t walk in on Hubby in the crapper. It will mess you up for days.

Uncle Pennybags arrives Monday afternoon. Unfortunately we are not yet ready to move into our house. Unless I don’t mind retarding Hobo’s brain with paint fumes, which I do. Oh – and I also come down with the WORSTCOLDEVERRRRRR.

Tuesday-Wednesday: Spend time organizing, setting up, cleaning the new house and feeling really, really crappy. Contemplate slicing my nose off to relieve pressure and push myself too hard to get everything done. It’s worth it. We spend Wednesday night in OUR house.

Thursday, May 14th: Our FIRST day to wake up in our new house. Avelyn spends time getting the hang of having her own cabinet and leaving the rest of mine alone. She can do whatever she wants with the stuff in her cabinet. I am looking forward to the day I open the door and find her sitting in it. You know it’s coming. You also know five thousand pictures will be taken.

Friday, May 15th: I have no recollection of this day. I will assume it was the day I was prepared to die from the WORSTCOLDEVERRRRRR.

Saturday, May 16th: The washer that came with the house broke the first time we used it, which was not unexpected but annoying none the less. We buy a washer on Saturday, our very FIRST major appliance purchase ever. It’s really lame how excited I am about it. To celebrate this milestone we also buy Guitar Hero World Tour as a mutual Kevin/Jennifer belated birthday present to each other. Uncle Pennybags and Avelyn shared a paci high five to show their approval of this decision.

Sunday, May 17th: We drive to Rudy’s for the Worst Barbeque in Texas. It’s realllllly good. We drive back home and break out the monster bubble machine while Pennybags and Kevin rock the World Tour. The monster bubble machine is supposed to make bubbles. Big bubbles. Big bubbles with little bubbles inside them. It works on a sliding scale I think. When it works it’s really cool. And Avelyn looks amazingly beautiful. No surprise here.

Monday, May 18th: Called the store back about getting a delivery date for the washer I’m so excited about since the computers were down over the weekend and they couldn’t schedule a date. Was told the computer says it’s scheduled for delivery June 8th. JUNE 8th. Like THREE weeks away JUNE 8th. This is not acceptable. Grrrrr.

Dropped Avelyn off at school. She is being transitioned from the blue (infant) room to the orange (1-2’s) room this week. One of the many bittersweet moments I am getting used to. I’m so excited for her and all the things she has learned. I love her teachers and they have loved her and I hate she will have to leave them but I’m so excited for all that she will learn in the next room. They have dance class day and karate day and play outside… she is going to have so many fun experiences.

The house is coming together. We have a lot of space to fill, so many empty walls, a lonely dining room that holds six new chairs and one old ugly table begging to be refinished. I think I’m going to go buy Avelyn a swing to hang in the tree in the backyard. It’s shaded and she loves to swing so much. That should be nice.

I scheduled my test date for the NCLEX this morning. Thursday, June 4 at 12:15 I will be sitting down to start a 4 hour exam that will allow me to become Jennifer Welch, BSN, RN… hopefully. Guess I better get to studying this week.

Dropped Pennybags off at the airport. His sister-in-law has been diagnosed with cancer and had a biopsy today. She is pregnant with their second baby. Please pray for their family.

Picked Avelyn up from school and had a fantastic time chasing her around the house. She is getting so big and is so fast! Had dinner with Kevin’s parents at Luby’s where I gave Avelyn mashed potatoes for the third time. She finally decided they were tasty. Smart girl. Oh, and she is THIRTEEN months old today!

So that’s (briefly) what’s been going on around here. My Google Reader was so full when I finally checked in with you guys. Guess I better get back to reading what YOU’VE been up to!

Her [sort of] bionic ears

For the past several months Avelyn has suffered from recurring non-stop one freaking long double ear infection (AKA otitis media).  Poor thing’s ear are always filled with fluid which has been causing pain and interfering with her ability to hear.  Kevin and I decided to go ahead and get tubes to alleviate this problem and prevent further damage.

Today we got up at 5:45 am and drove Avelyn to the surgical center for her very first surgery.  She was so good and I was so proud of her.  We took her straight from the crib to the car in her PJ’s hoping she would fall back asleep on the way.  She didn’t, she just sat in the back, eyes open wide all the way.  Can you blame her?  If someone woke me up from a deep sleep, put me in the back of the car and drove off in the dead of night I wouldn’t be so quiet about it.  I’d fight back, kicking and screaming and more importantly, wonder why I had been sleeping in a crib and why I was riding in a car seat.  Anyway, she didn’t cry.  She’s a better man than I.

When we got to the center she was in a really good mood, especially for 6:30 in the morning.  She smiled and cooed to the check in clerk while Kevin did his best impression of Mad-Dad-what-the-eff?-I-can’t-pay-this-much-money-today-and-I-shouldn’t-have-to-pay-anything-up-front-what-the-hell-am-I-even-paying-“insurance”-for-oh-fine-just-charge-it-so-my-daughter-doesn’t-lose-her-hearing-and-suffer-chronic-pain-you-horrible-no-good-very-bad-healthcare-SOB’s which both embarrassed and made me proud.  It helps to have a yin to your yang sometimes.

Can I just brag about my daughter for a minute?  She was incredible.  By far the best kid in the whole Pre-Op wing.  There were four kids waiting, including Avelyn, all of them getting tubes and one getting tubes and adenoids removed.  We were the first surgery of the day and were only behind schedule because wouldn't you know it, the anesthesiologist ran late.  It’s true that people in Texas apparently lose all sense of intelligence when it snows/rains/a bird poops outside and forget how to drive but come on man, everybody in that waiting room was on time for their surgery and you can’t make it to work?  Pssh.  Most of you know how exciting it could have been to wait with a 12 month old that hadn’t eaten since eight o’clock the night before but she was fantastic.  One of the other kids whined and cried the whole time we were waiting with only curtains to separate us.  The adenoids kid was older and sick and just laid on the bed like a sack of potatoes while I willed Swine Flu away with mind bullets.  The other kid was just not even close to being as cute as Avelyn in her pajamas.  She smiled at everybody, she talked and sang to everybody, she slobbered kissed my face, hugged me close and most likely showed all the other parents how inferior their less attractive children were.  Not that I’m super proud or anything.

Let me also tell you that a baby on drugs is really funny.  It’s sad and heart breaking and I wish she never ever had any reason to take anything but come on, it’s really funny.  We gave her some pre-op pain meds before they took her back and she was hilarious.  Went right to the nurse without crying, which made me happy.  I was not looking forward to handing her over to a stranger while she cried out in blabla-ese “You traitor!  My wretched mother is a traitor!”

The whole thing took less than 10, maybe 15 minutes.  I was getting into a news report about a completely stupid mother and her completely stupid alternative discipline style when the doctor called us back to be with her.  That was not so funny.  Avelyn was lying on a stretcher on her side, the ET tube still in her throat with oxygen blowing in her face.  Her beautiful big blue eyes were rolled back in her head and she was O-U-T.  She looked so tiny and fragile… and to be honest, dead.  It was really strange.  I knew what to expect because I work in hospitals, and I knew she was just fine but she looked so… dead, and I just wanted to crawl up there with her.  My heart broke thinking about all those mothers out there who see this day in and day out.  (That is why I’m doing what I’m doing.)

Anyway, the staff was great and the doctor told us the procedure went well.  Her ears were so inflamed and full of pus that he drained away.  He placed the tubes and said she would probably be a brand new baby, a little sensitive for a while because her hearing would be so improved.  [Momma note: She is in no way behind on any sort of curve but she isn’t really talking yet, except for an occasional Mama or Dada but they are few and far between.  She’s not using her pacifier except for naps and bedtime so I am hoping that maybe having her ears cleared up will help her hear more sounds, and maybe start to talk more.  I know she understands many things, and I want her to be able to communicate with me.  I just love that voice, and how excited she is when she “talks”.  Here’s to hoping!]

They pulled up a super comfy chair for me to sit on right next to the bed so I could talk to her and rub her as she woke up.  I brought her over to my lap and she just curled up, alternately trying to look around and falling back on my chest.  She had a bit of a bobble head neck from the anesthesia so the looking around didn’t go too well.  But she didn’t cry very much and was ready to go just a few minutes after she woke up.

She cried on the drive home but that was pretty much it.  We cuddled and played and read books and then she napped for about 2 hours.  I should say WE napped for about 2 hours.  I put her down and crashed in the other room.  After we woke up she did a lot of new things.  She ate -- ate, like actually chewed, on some Baby Mum Mum’s and fruit puffs.  She usually just touches them to her tongue and drops them on the floor.  She drank from a sippy cup.  She usually just sucks on the handle and throws it on the floor.  She also ate some peaches, something she has hated for months now.  Not attributable to the new ears, you say?  You say wrong!  Or maybe that itty-bitty-too-tiny-to-see tube in her ears makes her 1% robot which has turned her into a brand new baby.  Hmm…

We spent the rest of the day repeating the cuddling, reading, playing thing and walked down to the park for some swinging, something I haven’t done with her since December.  It was oddly one of my most favorite days with her yet.  It was nice to feel needed again in a way she hasn’t needed me for months now.  I know she’s still a baby, but today she was sick and really my baby, and she wanted her Momma.  I was only too happy to comply.

Here are two extra photos from my phone that I just love.  I finally found a cute pair of sunglasses with an elastic Velcro band.  Isn’t she fab?  Too bad you can’t see the friggin’ sweet side ponytail too.  The other picture is Avelyn in her little red rocker.  It belonged to my Dad and was bought way back in the 50’s.  My grandpa found it in the attic and thought Avelyn should have it.  He made a new seat, gave it a new coat of red and I think it’s perfect.  That’s my little girl, rockin’ the world with her awesomeness.

 

Stay tuned for some super duper, really, totally, most awesome news EVER because dumh duh duh duhhhhhh – AVELYN IS LEARNING TO WALK!

These days be a whirl of winds

And I’m not just talking about the magnificent breezes blowing Avelyn’s hair all around her face that make her smile, sigh and giggle in the most beautiful way.  We have been SO busy.  Birthdays, school, work, moving… I can’t wait to be done with it all and living under one roof with just my husband and my baby.

I’m sure you’ve already looked through the one hundred million photos from birthday bash 2009 on Flickr but if not here are a few of the weekend.  And just for your viewing pleasure, I’ve included the most awesome picture of two tired parents EVER (at least since this one from last year) who are once again sharing their birthdays with one cake and one song because their birthdays are only 6 days apart.  Hey, did I also mention their daughter’s birthday is smack dab in the middle of those six days? 

April 18, 2009 at 2:05 pm marked one year to the minute since my baby, my Hobo, my Little Lady Avelyn entered this world.  Amazing. 

 

Turning ONE brings lots of exciting firsts, including my favorite thus far – the official turning of the car seat from rear facing to forward facing!  Once I convinced Kevin the guidelines are 20 pounds AND one year and not 30 pounds (duh – whose one year old (aside from mine) weighs 30 pounds???) I ran outside and presented my precious darling with her new gift of sight, in the car that is.  This same precious darling then proceeded to thank my sweaty endeavor (it is way too hot to only be April) by screaming bloody murder in the Pack N’ Play three feet away.  Because clearly being just three feet away with my big ol’ ass hanging out the car door meant I was abandoning her.  ‘Cause I don’t love her or anything. 

I just love the look on her face and we weren’t even out of the driveway yet.  She loooooves facing forward and is VERY vocal about how she feels.  Much to my delight and Kevin’s chagrin.  He had the nerve to jokingly ask today “Can we turn her back around?”  He was totally kidding but I hit him pretty hard and told him to shut up and if he ever shushed her while she was singing or talking I would sock him in more, ahem, delicate places.

Another new favorite, well really, really old favorite but I love that I finally captured one version of it, is Avelyn’s laugh.  I can’t get enough of it and she has so many different laughs it’s amazing.  When she laughs I want to pee myself I get so excited.  Most of the time it’s not hard to make her laugh either.  All I have to do is laugh/sing/talk/scream in a really high pitched voice and she goes nuts.  Our new favorite song is “Old MacDonald Had a Farm”.  We like to keep things real and sing our own words.  And wouldn’t you know, the unicorn AND the alien that live on that farm?  They have the craziest, high pitched squeals you’ve ever heard.  Damn if that baby doesn’t crack up every time.  And she loves it when I open my mouth and my eyes really wide, kind of like I’m being scared to death.  She laughs harder than ever then, I don’t know what that says about her.  Hopefully I will never choke on my food and start to die in front of her because she’d probably let me croak while she passed out from all the laughing.