Just Another Manic Monday...

Well friends, don't go into shock over two posts in the same month! I'm trying to do better about making time for the things I want (and need) to do. So far, wants win...as in I want to blog but I need to sleep, do laundry, vacuum the carpet, wash dishes, clean my bathroom counter, etc.
Just thought I'd examine the cycle of clutterdom and see if anyone out there in the blogosphere can relate...
I get off work after 12+ hours, and I'm psyched to be heading home. With the last bit of energy in my reserve tank I think of what I can do once I arrive. I'm almost giddy with anticipation. Should I throw on some workout gear and head to the Y for a 30 minute workout? Better yet, let me just change into a t-shirt and shorts and walk around the block (why burn up the extra gas with the prices going up for Memorial Day weekend?). Yeah, that's it, I'll take the dog; she'll love the fresh air and exercise, too. Maybe I'll clear clutter off of the kitchen table for 15 minutes. That wouldn't put a dent in the pile, but at least it would be something. That's a good option, too.
*bing* marks an incoming text from my son just before I make it home: "If you could plz take my laundry out of the washer and put it in the dryer. You can throw my comforter in my room or something." Okay, so let's add a little laundry to my 15 power minutes.
I pass the yard guys heading opposite me on the street and know they will be returning to collect payment for services rendered. Where did I put that envelope with their money in it? Did I tape it to the front door? Set it on top of the piano?
I pull into my driveway and sure enough here comes the red pick up with the lawn crew in it. Okay, so now I have to run in and find that envelope and remember to get my stuff out of the car so last night's "lunch" dishes can be washed and refilled for work tonight. The envelope is NOT taped to the front door or on the piano. Shucks! Where did I leave it? Ahhh, I found it on the office desk (will wonders never cease?!).
I feed the dog who is lingering around her empty bowl as if she hasn't been fed. I know she probably has NOT been fed because her youthful owners had to catch the bus and were probably running late and doing good to feed themselves this morning. I go outside to retrieve the recycle bin and haul it back into the garage until next week. Don't forget to put the garbage out, too.  Speaking of garbage, I think there are a couple of science experiments growing in containers in the frig that need to go out with the garbage. Dedicate my morning to cleaning the frig? Nope, there are dishes in the sink from last night, and that would take way longer than the 5 out of 15 minutes of energy I have left.
*Ring, ring* The home phone is ringing when I enter the house with the empty bin, but I do not answer in time. *deedle dee dee, deedle dee, deedle dee dee dum* My cell phone rings next. It's the hubs calling to inform me that he is working late and that I need to take care of the high schoolers this afternoon. Well, shoot! I'm thankful for the extra hours he's picked up, but I have to work tonight, too. I'm suddenly tired. The wind has been knocked out of my sails just thinking of how tired I will be for work tonight. If I have to get up early to take my daughter to chops class at 4:00 and pick her up an hour later and drop my son at 5:15 and then head to work and make sure someone is there to pick him up at 7, this is seriously going to cut my sleeping time short!! Maybe I should abandon all thoughts of exercise and cleaning...
Comforter is still damp...leave it in dryer for a bit longer. Meanwhile, get online and pay that overdue Old Navy bill, check emails right quick. Do NOT click on allrecipes.com daily dish. Don't do it I say (to myself).
*Yawn* Okay, so I'll blog about how my 15 minutes of productivity turned into 60 minutes of blogging and call my mom and beg her to pick up her grandson from the teachers' retirement party where the jazz band is playing tonight...
This post really has very little to do with clutterdom after all, except that it is still there, untouched and getting more out of control with each passing day because of days like this! If I sign off now, I'll get approximately 4.5 hours of sleep to get me through another 12+ hour shift at work tonight. I'd better pack an extra coffee mug in my lunchbox.
Thanks for listening to the ravings of a sleep-deprived, priority-challenged madwoman. Until next time.
BTW, my daughter called me at work last night. She loves me and misses me again while I'm at work **warm fuzzies** just like in the olden days.

Lamentations of a mother of teens

Happy Mother's Day dear readers (or not)! I have pawned off my kids to extended family to celebrate my special day because I have to work tonight, but that's okay. I wish I were writing a warm, fuzzy post about the wonderful, thoughtful gifts my loving and grateful children presented me with right after my breakfast in bed tray was removed from my lap this morning. Or even a description of the beautiful flowers they bought me to plant in my flower pots in the back yard since that's (was) our thing for the past few years. Alas, this entry will be a little different.
It all started last night when I informed my two angels that we would be attending 8 o'clock mass at our own church in the morning and then they would be spending mother's day without me at their Aunt Shannon's with the rest of my family. The hour was late as I had let them entertain their company until midnight (I, too, was watching a movie with Mike who wasn't so much watching as snoring, but I'm not judging!) before I chauffeured the friends to their humble abodes. Alisa insisted that she was NOT getting up in six hours for church and she was NOT going to be in a good mood. So, I could just forget about trying to be all happy-go-lucky with her-harumph! (Okay, so she didn't really harumph but she might as well have). Aaron launched into a self-absorbed soliloquy about how we "agreed" that if I was going to force him to go to church after the recent declaration of his conversion to atheism that HE would choose the church we attend. He hasn't been to our church since his announcement, and his Tia told Fr. LeDoux about the atheism thing, and everyone's attention will be on him as the "atheist in the pews." The focus will not be on Mothers around the world just because it's Mother's Day but instead it will turn into the Spanish Atheist Inquisition and Aaron will have to defend his new-found views to the mobs of angry Christians....
Let me get back to this lovely mother's day morning. I gave Alisa until 6:30 before I gingerly flipped on the hall light and told her to get up and get ready for church. 7:00 o'clock rolled around (did I mention I was up washing last night's dishes and fixing breakfast? Yeah, happy mother's day to me, indeed!) and she had turned her back and pulled her covers over her head. I peeled back the covers and kissed her warm cheek and told her again it was time to get up. We needed to leave by 7:30 to pick up Tia and be on time for mass. 7:10 was somewhat of a red-rage blur involving covers being yanked off of a still snoozing child (who's bigger than me, mind you), a swift swat to the behind, and yelling "GET OUT OF BED AND GET READY FOR CHURCH NOW, RIGHT NOW, NOW!"

Anyway (cue "you don't bring me flowers, you don't sing me love songs, etc...), I thought I'd just jot down a few words to my children in honor of this mother's day (and they will be few as I'm not in my uniform and still need to eat & dress in the next 15 minutes)

Dear Aaron,
I love you no matter what. I may not agree with your newfound views on religion and your renunciation of your faith which I have tried to instill in you, but I love you just the same. As a teenager, it is your job and duty to be self-absorbed and put your own feelings before anyone else's, so I forgive you for crapping all over my "special" day with your "it'll be all about me if we go to OMM" protestations last night and this morning. I hope you enjoyed the time with your cousins while I worked on Mother's Day because, after all, you need new earbuds and headphones every other week, and a kid needs a cell phone if he's gonna be section leader, and you'll need a "Macbook" when you go off to college...and the list goes on!

Dear Alisa,
I love you no matter what. You asked if I "believe it's right to hit another person"? My answer is not really. I shouldn't have to resort to acts of physical violence to get my kids to do what they should be responsible enough to do on their own...like set an alarm clock, get up on time and get ready for church in a timely manner. That swat on your butt is what finally spurred you into action even if you were absolutely ugly toward me all day as a result. I forgive you for treating me the way that you do. As a teenage girl, it is your job to push me away and make me want to throttle you so it won't hurt so bad when it's time for you to leave the nest and make your way in this world. I love you even when you push me away and deny me "sugars" and roll your eyes every time I open my mouth regardless of what I'm about to say.

Dear friends,
I wish your all the blessings of being a mother on this mother's day. Hope your day was happier than mine. Now, I'm off to care for the sick and hurting and healing who will no doubt appreciate me more than my own family (even if it is only for the dilaudid and phenergan I provide).  Until next time...

Gosh! It's been so long since I've blogged, I almost forgot how. Then, I remembered 5QF is such an easy way to go. Visit Mama M, copy and paste the questions and answer them! You can also link up and see what others have said by checking out the links on Mama M's blog. If you're new to this phenomenon, just visit Mama M. She explains it a lot better.  Anyway, here goes...

1. What is your favorite book to read with your kids?

Gosh, my kids are teenagers so we don't read "together" anymore. The last books I read with them were probably Joshua and Joshua and the Children. They still snicker at how "mom kept getting choked up" while reading! 
2. After having kids, what body part has changed the most?

Ummm, does sex drive count as a body part? Sorry, not supposed to answer a question with a question. I guess I'll say my boobs...talk about the old gray mares just ain't what they used to be!

3. Would you ever go back to college? What would you study?

Unfortunately I don't really have a choice. I have a bachelor's degree in Family Studies and an associate in nursing degree, but my employer wants the Bachelor's degree in nursing. So, alas, I will be returning to school soon (probably online if I can muster up the courage to embrace technology and set aside my attachment to pens, highlighters, gobs of paper for notes and my microcassette recorder!) If I went back to college to study what I wanted to, it'd probably be massage therapy or midwifery.

4. How do you close a phone call? Bye, bye bye or other?

I just got off the phone with my mom, and I think I said, "Okay, bye." That's probably how I end most of my calls...I think.

5. What is the one food that will always be your "cheat food" on a diet?

I cannot think of just one "cheat food"! I am a bad dieter and would automatically want to eat everything I'm not supposed to...even stuff I'd never bothered craving before. If I had to say one thing, though, it would probably be ice cream. I love my Blue Bell moollineum crunch (and pralines and cream, and almond pistachio...you get the picture!)

Now that I'm done, I'm going to hop back over to Mama M and see what everyone else had to say. Have fun and enjoy your weekend! Until next time...

Welcome Back, Friends!

I could (and probaby should) spend the first few paragraphs of this post making apologies for my absence over the past 6 months...BUT since I have no good or worthwhile excuses (other than working full time outside the home [and all of the added expenses and scheduling issues that go along with that!] while trying to manage life with two teenagers in the home [and all of the added expenses and scheduling issues that go along with that!], I have none! Just like the trainers at the gym I joined when I started working January 2011 say when I put in my once-in-a-blue-moon appearances, "You're here now. That's what counts!"
I figure I need to make up one of those "1000 things to do in the next 100 months" type lists to get me motivated and focused on stuff I need to get done in spite of working full time. It seems that when I'm not at work, I am recovering from having been at work or preparing myself (mentally and physically...[read sleeping]) for my return to work. Everything takes precedence over housework.  Hubs says, "Let's watch a movie." My mind runs over the piles of mail stacked on taking over the kitchen table, the clothes in the washer and dryer, the dishes stacked in the sink and on the counter, the dust covering EVERYTHING, the toilets in need of a good scrubbing, etc. And out of my weary mouth comes, "Okay, what are our choices?" I just can't seem to tackle anything because, after all, it is my day off, right?
Alas, I abandoned my FlyLady approach to cleaning which in theory works wonderfully well IF you don't fall off of the band wagon as often as I did. Her daily e-mails used to say, "you're not behind..." but she hasn't seen my house, people. I am behind, and I mean years and years behind when it comes to housekeeping!
I didn't stay away for six months only to return to blog about my housekeeping woes. Or maybe that's why I have been away for 6 months. After all, my mama taught me "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." In all seriousness, I do love my job. I mostly look forward to going to work because every day is a different experience. I never know if I'll have the same patients, new patients, former patients who are returning, etc. I still feel slow and awkward (as evidenced by my staying an hour past my official "clock out" time to finish charting on my patients on a regular basis) but I'm getting better at making the "tough"decisions about patient care...like whether or not to give a blood pressure medication when their blood pressure is just above the parameter that says you hold it or when to call the doctor. Of course, that is a tricky situation because it totally depends on the doctor. One night I had a patient who was uncomfortable and nauseous most of the night. I tried everything in my power to keep him comfortable but did not call the doctor in the middle of the night. When the day nurse called (before I was gone for the day) I could tell the doctor was asking why no one had called sooner. So, the next night I had a different patient complain of nausea and just not feeling like himself (I had had this patient before and he was markedly "worse for the wear" so to speak), so I called the doctor and had my hindquarters handed to me on a silver platter for calling at such an ungodly hour when the doc was sleeping and I didn't have a list of requests that the doc could just say, "yes"to for the patient and roll over and go back to sleep. *sigh*
I am willing to take a couple of teeth marks in my backside for my patients. As a nurse, I am my patients' advocate. I don't blame the doctors for being cranky when awakened, but they're getting paid much bigger bucks than me to do their jobs, too.
Jumping subjects once again (because I have to work tonight and my bed is calling my name), I have been really bad about cooking lately. I'm spending record amounts on groceries, but that's because it's summer time, and to teenagers that means lazing and grazing all day long; and we're eating out more and more as well (talk about a bad and expensive combination!). I hope to have a quick and easy recipe to share in my next post. If anyone has any quick and easy recipe sharing memes, let me know. My family's birthday season has kicked off. I made the Hubs a caramel cake for Father's Day and a blackberry cobbler for his birthday last month. This month (this week in fact) is my daughter's birthday;  next month is my son's birthday. At the very least, I should have a few desserts to post soon...Until next time!

Merry Christmas!

Just popping in to extend best wishes for a Merry Christmas and Prospero Ano Nuevo from my family to yours. I've been busy working nights and finally finished my rotations through nine med-surg units. As of January 1, 2012 I'll be in my "permanent" position...a floor to call my own at last! I will continue working nights and trying to manage the rest of life in the few waking moments during the day when I'm not trying to catch up on sleep.
All is well.  The hubs had minor knee "surgery" last month (arthroscopy) which confirmed a torn meniscus from so long ago the missing part was no longer in existence. He was off work for three weeks, returned for a few days and was off on vacation for nine days after that. Now he's back to work...the well-recuperated knee is doing fine.
The kiddoes are well...excited to be out of school for the next week. Commercial Christmas is very low key this year.  We didn't even put up a tree (Bad Mommy moment #217). I felt a little guilty and went out and purchased a tiny cypress with red bows attached to set on the coffee table. I'll plant it outside once the weather warms up. It makes the Charlie Brown Christmas tree look like the majestic tree adorning the White House lawn.LOL!
The kids are watching "A Christmas Story" as I type. I picked up a copy at Costco last week just because it was on sale and the family had never seen it. I think it will become part of our holiday tradition along with the Grinch and all of our Christmas CDs which are loaded into the player the day after Thanksgiving.  There is a potato, ham & cheese "breakfast pie" in the oven. It's a concoction I came up with after watching some chef on Good Morning America a few weeks back. If it turns out well, I'll try to remember what I did and post the recipe : ).
I still have a bit of baking to finish (I tried my hand at gingerbread biscotti and failed...will have to make some adjustments next time) and some sleep to catch up on before I go in to work tonight, so I'll close for now.
May the love of Jesus  which is so apparent during the Christmas season extend throughout the new year!
Until next time...

Well, folks, I meant to get online and blog all about my birthday (2 weeks ago) and everything that's been going on, but I got side-tracked visiting other blogs. Now, it is almost 1:30 a.m. and it's raining, and my bed is calling my name.  I have church at 8:00, so I'll cut this a little short and promise to get back sooner than a month from now. Sound like a plan?
The day before my birthday (which is actually my SIL's birthday) we tried Five Guys' Burgers and Fries, and it was a fun evening out. My parents, sister & her family and my brother and his wife (the actual birthday girl du jour) joined us. The kids didn't have school on my birthday, which was Friday (not because I'm just that special but because it was a teacher in-service day), but the high school still had a Friday night football game, so I got to sling nacho cheese with the Band Boosters on my actual birthday. My SIL gave me a copy of Cupcake, a book about Vanilla cupcake who feels plain next to his fancy friends, then his friend, Candle comes along, and they look for a special topping for cupcake. It is the story of my life, and I loved it! I'll have to let you all know how the recipe in the back of the book turns out...when I get around to making them! My mom gave me some nice clothes which means I can purge a few more outfits from my "over-crowded-with-out-of-style-digs" closet. Woo-hoo!
On Saturday, the hubs, the kids & I tried a Jamaican restaurant not far from our house. They had a live band (not because I'm just that special, but because they always have live music on Friday and Saturday nights ;-). The short version of the long story behind that decision was: I bought a $25 fundraiser card from the Athletic Boosters from my daughter's school where several different participating restaurants give you freebies and discounts when you show the card. Well, the bigger deal was you go online and register for a $25 gift certificate for any of the participating restaurants. I decided to do it then and there, and the Jamaican restaurant (which we'd been thinking of trying anyway) was one of the choices. Win-win. My adventuresome son tried the special of the night: curried conch. I had jerk chicken; the hubs had jerk pork and curried goat. The daughter played it safe with "Rasta Pasta" which looked pretty good. I had a great time.
To close out the weekend of celebrations, we attended a jazz orchestra concert at the wonderful outdoor pavilion on Sunday evening. The weather was just perfect. We set up a couple of chairs and spread a comforter on the ground. I'd made baked chicken quesadillas and loaded them in my insulated carrier along with a cooler with salsa, chips & guacamole. My sister and her two kiddoes joined us, and she brought a birthday cookie and miniature wine bottles. Did I mention the weather was perfect for a concert under the stars?
My cousin took me to lunch at Mimi's Cafe a couple of days later and gave me a gift bag filled with my favorite snacks and guilty pleasures. Thanks, B!
I'd be remiss if I didn't mention all of the phone calls, texts and messages posted on my facebook wall from friends and family members that made my day, too.  Thank you all for helping me celebrate!
As far as work is concerned, I'm working from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. now. I love the (sometimes) more relaxed pace of the nights, but am still finding it a little difficult to adjust my sleep schedule (which is why I'm up at 2 a.m. blogging on a night I'm not at work!). In a couple of hours I'll get up and go to 8:00 mass and Sunday school for the kids (I'm not teaching this year because my schedule is far from set in stone. I never know when I'll be working or not, and that's just not fair to the kids and other teachers). Then, I'll come home and sleep from 11 a.m. until around 3:30, and get up and fix dinner and head off to work around 5:30. The kids do not have school on Monday, and Mike is on vacation, so I'll let them hold down the fort while I sleep from 9 a.m. until around 3 p.m. and do it all over again. At first I was concerned about doing that three days in a row, but I have found that I actually prefer 3 days in a row. Then, I can flip back to my regular sleep schedule (sort of) for three days and revert back to my wakeful nights the night before I go back.  I'm thinking I may stay on nights whenever I interview for my "permanent" position at the end of the year...just a thought. I'll see how it goes on other units and let you know.
Until next time...

Long, hot summer

Welcome friends, family! I realized it had been a while since I've been online, but didn't realize it had been almost two months. I've tried to switch my background to reflect the transition from summer to fall. It's a little plain, but I didn't want to spend too much time hunting around for backgrounds this morning. Let's see, where do I begin...?
Work is going well.  I'm on my 5th of 9 rotations through medical-surgical units at the hospital.  So far, I much prefer the medical patients over the surgical ones.  I survived 5 weeks on the palliative care unit and actually enjoyed the serenity of caring for those near death. Sounds kind of morbid, and it really is difficult to explain.  I'm currently on an orthopedic-trauma unit, and it is tough. We get 'em, fix 'em, get 'em up and moving and out the door. Patients are constantly coming and going, and it's pretty tough to keep up. I'm doing my best. While I have loved the opportunity to rotate from floor to floor and experience different areas of med-surg care, I am looking forward to being assigned to one unit where I can really learn the ropes, the doctors, the medications, etc. and "settle in." That will come later this year or January 2012.  Meanwhile, I start working nights next month. I'm already trying to prepare myself mentally for staying awake all night.  I'm generally a night owl anyway, but it'll be different having the responsibility of five or six post-surgical patients in my care the entire time. Wish me luck!
The kids started back to school this week, and it has been quite the transition for them.  We started back on vitamins and allergy tablets a couple of weeks ago, but they've continued their summertime practice of staying up late and sleeping in up until Sunday night. Tsk, tsk (that's intended for me and them).
If you've been keeping up with the Texas heat you know that it really was a long, HOT summer around these parts.  I lost count of how many consecutive days of temps greater than 100 degrees after 35 or so. You walk outside to the car and feel as if the heat will blister you before you can get the a/c going.  Aaron still attended a couple weeks of band camp and participated in the 4th of July parade with the high school marching band.  Alisa attended a week of dance camp and a week of band camp.  My parents took them to Holly Lake, Texas for a little R & R at their time share.  All in all, we didn't do much.
We did manage a couple day's get away to Corpus Christi, TX back in July. The hubs has always wanted the kids to see a "Texas beach" and everything worked out so we took off. I'll post a separate blog about that a little later with a couple of pics.
I'm trying to distract myself from the kitchen for the time being.  I have my annual exam this afternoon and have to fast for blood work. I called the doctor's office to see if I can just run to the lab around the corner and have them draw blood so I can eat. My stomach is rumbling and I haven't quite gotten to the "over the hump where I'm no longer that hunger" point.  It doesn't help that the house still smells of pancakes and bacon because I got up and fixed breakfast for the family! Talk about sacrifice. My tall glass of ice water just isn't hitting the spot.
I'm off to hop around the blogosphere for a bit before I head out to run errands. I have missed blogging and catching up with what's going on with my fellow bloggers. I plan to poke around at least once a week to see what everyone is up to. Until next time....