Go Away Gustav...

I've always liked hurricanes. For some reason they've always fascinated me. I love the change in the skies, the way the trees move differently, the quietness in the air. It's just different...I guess I've always loved the "calm before the storm". Granted I never liked packing up everything and boarding up the house, nor did I like the feeling of "what if". You know that feeling of what if I have no house to go home to, our house gets flooded, all of our stuff gets ruined? We never left for hurricanes when we were little, but we did leave for a few "bad ones" as I got older, and it was so scary. As you leave home you always pray it will be just like it is when & if you go back.

Katrina was just another hurricane that came and went. Her damage was great and mighty - she did her thing & left. Flooding from poor levees ruined what was left. I was here, watching it on TV around the clock with Mom. Daddy was there... hopefully living through the horror of hurricane aftermath as best he could. We wanted so badly to be there - to do our part to get life back together again. Granted "we" were very lucky with Katrina. "We" lived on the Westbank. We got no flooding - our house was unharmed, as always. Minus lots of broken trees, everything that made Sellers Village my home, was still there. My childhood neighborhood was basically untouched. One exception - when you have ginormous Oak trees on your property, don't build your house by them. The Zeringue's found that out the hard way when one smashed down their home.

Fast forward three years... I can't get off the Internet or turn the TV off. My parents left "home" the April following Katrina. They were done with all the bullshit that we all go through every hurricane season. They were tired of always worrying when would the next one come and what if this was going to be "the big one". I was devastated by their move. Words will never fully describe how that one decision crushed part of my soul. Where would I call home if home was no longer in Ama? I never thought in my 31 years I'd ever say this but, I'm glad home is not Ama anymore. Gustav looks to ruin what was left of my precious "home" - that quiet little town with no traffic lights, one road in/out - "River Road", two churches, a tiny little post office, and about 20 streets right off the bank of the Mighty Mississippi. He looks to wash away what makes me miss that place terribly. Bastard... I worry about my friends that are still in St. Charles Parish. I worry about my family that is in the heartland of Cajun Country. I worry about everyone I know that's stuck in some crappy hotel or crammed into a friend's house up North. I worry that they will not have much to return home to this time and that breaks my heart.

There's nothing to do to prevent things like this from happening. God unleashes his might every summer and he looks to have a go with South Louisiana this time. I pray he goes easy on them - there are some really fine people down there! I also pray that he keeps everyone safe and that he leaves just enough of Louisiana there for me to show my children. They need to see where I'm from when we are there in a few weeks. I NEED to see it. Please let Ama be there... I can't imagine this world without that little place of heaven.

So, with a heavy heart I head to bed - with one last check online and Channel 66.

Is it terrible for me to hope Gustav takes a sharp turn to the West once in the Gulf and slams Mexico's ass???

Is this news???

It wasn't long after Gov. Sarah Palin finished her speech today when I happened upon this...Thanks Reuters!

Love them, but really, is this important? Aren't there better things to take pictures of and debate about of right now during this historic campaign??? I mean really, who cares what the next VP's shoes look like. Let's talk about the stuff that matters.

Happy Birthday Girl...

Just wanted to wish Girl a very happy birthday! Hope the next year brings you everything you want and need.

How much do I suck?

Today was another Monday, that was until I looked at the clock at exactly 11:00 am! HOLY SHIT and a few other choice words flew out of my mouth. As a scooped up Ryan and flew out the garage, he gave me this "What's the deal Mother?" To my reply "Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit... I forgot Sydney!" I was supposed to be AT the bus stop no later than 10:55 for her. As you can see by simple math, I was late. As I got to the corner I looked up the street, no bus. Then I looked down the street... *#@K! Damn it... there it was at the end of the road turning. I could have died right there in the road. Ryan was playing very happily in his stroller as I sat on the curb shaking my head in utter disgust. How terrible was I? How could I have done this to her? She's going to hate me even more because of this! That was the only thing I kept thinking - how bad of a mom was I. Now what???? Do I go call the school? Do I wait? This is not one of those things covered in the school handbook... "What to do if you suck as a parent and forget to get your kid from the bus stop". So we waited and waited and waited! I just prayed that the school wasn't trying to call the house - Rick was in coma land & I didn't bring the phone with me as I flew out of the house as a lunatic. Waited even more... then I heard the best sound ever! I shot up and looked back up the street and there was her bus, chugging back down to us. As the driver opened the door and smiled at us, he said "I've got something for you!". I apologized profusely and shook my head in shame. He shrugged it off and said "It happens all the time. We always make a second lap if we miss you the first time!" God, there must be a lot of crappy parents out here for them to do this. Sydney, being Sydney, jumped off the bus and gave me that "what the hell" look, then laughed at me when I told her I wasn't paying attention to the clock. She was actually very excited that she got to see the rest of the "drop-offs". As she did her George Jefferson walk back to the house, I realized that she didn't really care about it all. It was just something that happened and it was okay. We headed to Super Wal-mart (first time since before Ryan was born) for a few road trip things and for her to get her favorite "Chicken Balls" (balls vs. nuggets). All was good...

I love that kid!

Thank you Girl

How excited was I when I read Girl's blog yesterday? Soooooo excited. I've been reading her blog for some time now. She's one of my SIL, Amy's, online BFF's. This chick is awesome on so many levels. Forget the fact that she's an amazing photographer (I wish I lived in PA so she could teach me a few things), crafting extraordinaire and mother to three gorgeous kids - she's a great friend to Amy! I'm excited that Amy gets to finally meet her in a few weeks IRL.

Thanks Girl for including me in your 7. Between you and Amy, you covered all my 7!!!! Thanks for always writing great entries and sharing your world with the rest of the world.

Good Day???

Thursday came and went like a giant blur. Although I hadn't gotten any sleep in the previous few nights due to sick kids, I drug my tired butt to the hospital, for what I knew was going to be another crappy day on the floor. As I suspected... 6 patients, 4 of which were discharged and to be leaving before 12. There was another pending discharge, leaving me with one patient. This is NOT the way you want to start your day as a Medical/Surgical/Orthopedic RN - this was the making of a train wreck. The kind of day that makes you walk your ass off, pass pills like you are handing out candy, chase your tail, run around like crazy person, no eating/drinking/peeing, headache creating terrible day. On top of knowing you have a huge discharge list and all it's paperwork BS, you know (and fear) an evenly amounted admission list was heading your way. ACK... just thinking about it... I HATE MANAGEMENT... douche bag, pieces of shit. "We don't have the budget to hire more nurses." Yet they are building more stupid shit and remodeling more ugly/old stuff at the hospital. Idiots... they wonder why we all want to quit. Anyway... as I watched the clock getting closer to noon, my first person left. My next two were waiting for the surgeon to show and the 4th was being a pain in the ass. "I'm not leaving today because I don't have a ride home!". I loved my two ladies in the middle. Post-op lap banding. They required nothing from me. Both very funny, sweet, happy - the kind of people we rarely see on the floor. I got lots of hugs from them when they left at 1:15. My last lady left at 2:30. Thank god! My questionable 5th ended up getting nuts so we had to give her Haldol and tie her to the bed = no discharge. Surprisingly, I only had one admission heading my way. I guess it was a quiet day in the ER. She rolled up around 4:30 - 25 yr old ACL repair. She was awesome. In all my time of being a RN my day has never ended like Thursday did... EARLY! I was 100% done with 4 discharges, one admission, charting, noting, etc by 5:45. What do you do for an hour at the hospital??? I surfed the web, read some emails, chatted with friends at work. We (the other 3 nurses) all had great days. We got lots of laughs & jokes in too! I work with some outstanding people, most of whom have an outrageously twisted sense of humor. What started out to be a shitty day ended up being one of my best ever. I only wish we had more days like that.
We'll see what happens this Thursday when I go back. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Day at school

Mrs. Cary (parapro)

Sydney & Sage


I went to school with Sydney on Wednesday. It was my day to volunteer in the classroom. As soon as we got there, she bolted to the playground and I went in the class to get my "assignment". Mrs. DeMarco had several to pick from . There's no surprise that there would be lots of cut/glue/tape/staple work. I was tasked with filling sheet protectors with the ABC's on one side, the child's name on the other. These were then to be placed in each kid's binder so that they could trace them at home for more practice. Project #2: sharpen a cup full on pencils. Project #3: cut out and assemble "The Five Fabulous Senses" books for each of the 50 kids she teaches. That sucked... very time consuming. Project #4: didn't get to it. My sanity was saved when I got to take groups of 5 back and forth to the nurse's office for ear/vision screening. That took about 1.5 hours. The only reason I didn't take the last group was because there was a "FD" - fire drill! How fun was that... those kids are pros! They have a "FD" each month to keep the process fresh in the kids head. They all lined up at the door very quietly, followed Mrs. DeMarco out of the room and across the parking lot. They stopped in a dirt area that backed up to some homes that are being built right next door. The school emptied in no time at all. From the time the alarm went off until the "all clear" came out, less than 5 minutes has passed. They were very quick and very efficient. I was very please and impressed at how well the faculty & staff cleared the buildings. They all marched back to class and picked up right where they left off. I couldn't believe how busy they actually are. It's non-stop learning. They even work during snack time. Coloring, writing, crafting, playing, reading, listening, etc... always doing something! I look forward to going back - it was so much fun!

Calendar/Letter Area

Food Update/Two more teeth

Ryan has his first jar of #3 food - turkey, rice & garden veggies! He loved it. He ate the how jar plus the entire container of banana & mixed berries. Teeth update: his top two teeth are out. Finally... they broke the gumline day on Friday. I'm counting the days until the next one comes.

He stands!!!

The Coolest Thing EVER

Since we live thousands of miles from any person we are related to, we all have a "Wish List" on Amazon.com. While looking at all the lists today to start getting them updated for Christmas, I happened upon this little treat! You can add something from ANYWHERE online to your Amazon list! It's the best thing ever. I can now put even more stuff on our lists. If you have an Amazon list, you've got to try this.

8

Little Ryan has been with us eight months now. He's done some pretty amazing things in these few short months. Now he's trying to walk. He stands briefly on his own and you can tell he's really thinking about what to do next. He's a curious little boy. Still crawling on hands & feet - he gets around just fine. There's not a place in the house he hasn't found his way to. His 6th tooth is on the verge of popping out any day now. As far as his diet... he like just about anything we give him. Still not happy with squash; makes him puke. He likes yogurt and Ritz crackers and has had Cherrios a few times. We are about to try the #3's this week. He eats, for the most part, two #2 containers for lunch and dinner. I've already given him rice, but he was not all that interested in it. I guess he didn't like the texture of it. He's getting the hang of the sippie cup, but would rather drink from a cup or my straw. He STILL wakes up around 4am for a bottle, but will go back to sleep until 6:30ish. He's taking two naps a day now. Still is a risk taker - standing in the bathtub, climbing in the dishwasher, pulling at the plants, opens the coffee table drawers/cabinets, bangs on everything (glass tables & sliding door are some of his favorite). He's been so much fun to be around. I can't believe we only have four months before he's one. Should be some exciting weeks ahead...