The joys of work!!

Well, once again I am labeled among the working class.  I've been at UHC (United Hospital Center) for a few weeks now and each week gets a little better.  It was a bit of an adjustment coming to a department that does things quite a bit different than what I was accustomed to in New York.  Our anesthesia department consists of 15 CRNAs and 5 anesthesiologists.  We keep fairly busy running 10 ORs and providing anesthesia for special procedures outside of the OR.  In the few short weeks I've been here, I've been exposed to a wide variety of cases.  That is a good thing as it keeps me focused and utilizes different skills I acquired in my training.  I took my first call day on Saturday and was called in around 9am and I finished my last case at 4:30pm.  Between myself and the other CRNA on call, we did 9 or 10 cases.  Luckily, I had a peaceful sleep and wasn't called in the middle of the night.  It looks like I'll be putting in around 40-50 hours per week.  Good thing for paid overtime.  In February, I'll start doing 24 hour call in house.  That means I'm in the hospital at 7am and get off at 7am the next morning.  We do have a nice call room so that should make it a bit more tolerable.  Life in West Virginia is nice and so far we are enjoying it.  The weather here as been fairly nice with temps around 40-60 during the day.  Some rainy days and some really sunny days.  Hope everyone is enjoying their Holidays

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good nap!

I always think that Christmas is successful if you can keep the kids from fighting and they actually play together.  So for us Christmas was a success.  Lane started with his stocking.  There was a smashed peanut-butter cup in it and he said, "Oh, It must of got smashed in the ride (with Santa). That's okay."  Paige got a dollhouse from Santa and was loving it.  Next thing I know Flash (superhero) and a little horse were playing hide-n-go-seek.  (I think Flash won.)  Santa also gave her some Strawberry Shortcake dolls with it.  I'm partial to Strawberry Shortcake (remember, Steph?).  Much better than Barbie (what woman is really built like that?).  Lane was so surprised that Santa knew he wanted a Nintendo DS.  He told me that he wrote it in his journal at school last week and was wondering how he could find out.  Hmmm....

I love these bean bags.  Comfy!

It was a quiet day with all the electronics.  Paige was watching High School Musical 2 and I think I know all the songs without actually seeing the movie yet.  The songs are her favorite so she'll skip through for all the songs.  Blake and I played the Brain Academy game for Nintendo DS.  The results are that I have a bigger (better) brain than him.  :) How did that happen?  Here are some more pictures of peaceful silence.

We miss you all this holiday season and wish we had more family around.  We are keeping tradition alive with our fondue on Christmas Eve (and repeating constantly "be careful, don't knock it over") and fond memories of Fondue Championships of the past (fyi: you have to past your fondue forks over to someone when you're done.  Last one is the winner/greg.)  We love you all and hope your day was as peaceful.

MY Before & Afters

This is in honor of all my family/friends who are having fun remodeling & redecoration their homes.  This is how we are doing it for now.  I must admit that I'm tired of boxes. 

BEFORE & AFTER (NY)

BEFORE & AFTER (WV)

We are enjoying our new place.  The kids have their own rooms and Lane loves having control of his "own" space.  He likes to kick Paige out of his room for some personal time.  She'll wait patiently outside of his door asking if she can come in yet.  We went to church today and the chapel was full.  (Everyone's kids were visiting from college :).  I did get a new calling at church today and I am so excited.  I've been waiting my whole life for this.  I've always wanted to be a secretary.  I got called to be the Relief Society Secretary.  Now this gives me an excuse to play on the computer.  Blake is getting a hang of things at work and I'm getting the hang of things here at home.  I went to the public library and had fun looking around.  My next stop is to the Civic Center/Visitor Center to see what local programs there are for Paige.  She is so bored with me.  We seem to have everything ready for Christmas and have been threatening the kids with taking away presents if they are naughty.  It works for about 10 minutes.  We wish everyone a happy holiday season.  I want to thank everyone for the Christmas cards and letters it cheers me up and I love to hear what everyone is up to.    

Relocation Completed, Renovation-still working on it

Okay, We're here and we are trying to get our life in order.  Lane started school last week and this morning he told me he loved it because when they have their snack they get to watch TV instead of being read a book.  Does this concern anyone else?  Lane said,"Don't be mad at my teacher mommy."  Okay I won't be mad.  I've got other more pressing issues to deal with at the moment like where our shoes are and where did I put that pile of clothes, clean or otherwise (does it really matter at this point?)  And where is Shannon to hang my pictures.  Yesterday we went to church and it seems to be a VERY small ward (did I emphasize VERY enough).  Lane (CTR7) and Paige (Sunbeams) are in the same class (and I'm not talking about the combined singing and sharing time).  I think it really made those two happy.  I just hope that they are not too crazy together for their teacher.  The ward members seem so friendly and excited that we are there (can't imagine why).  I don't think that the RS Pres., YW/YM Pres., Primary Pres. have any counselors.  So it doesn't look like Blake or I will be getting that co-librarian calling that we wanted.  It's been doing a lot of raining, flooding, and snowing (in that order) but we live high enough up on the hillside that we don't flood.  I'll put up some pictures in the next couple of days of our new home and the hills.

Relocation Renovation (a little bit of R&R)

Don't mind our dust.  Our blogspot will be temporally out of service for a few days due to relocation renovation.  We are sorry for the inconvenience this may cause.  We hope after this disruption of service that you will continue to be loyal blog patrons.  Thank you for your patience and understanding.

The Bloggers

It's Officially Official!

It's been awhile since I've blogged, I've been busy with my vertigo. No dizzy jokes please. The news that actually counts and is worthy of a spot on this blog is that Blake has officially passed his Board Exams (or the National Certification Exams). He is now a licensed CRNA, MS. Blake found a sneaky way to find out his "status" before the FedEx sent out the official forms. So Monday morning (7am) he starts yelling throughout the house, I jump out of bed and about fell on the floor (vertigo thing again), he was just spreading the news in a very terrifying, someone's hurt, kind of way. But it is a big deal so he can do whatever he wants (for a day). I'm not used to this side of Blake where there is no stress and he starts getting silly and teasing me. Maybe I am ready for him to start a real job. No, really it's been fun having him around even though we get nothing done because we are having Yahtzee championships. It's great to have my buddy back after working so hard to accomplish grown-up stuff for the past few years. The movers are coming on this Thursday so I'll keep you updated as much as I can with the chaos about to start. A great sort of chaos, but chaos nonetheless.

In honor of Daddy, CRNA, MS.

Lucky #7!!!

We celebrated Lane's birthday last weekend and even though we just had a little family party it was a lot of fun. We were talking about the day that Lane was born 7 years ago and what we were doing. Paige just kept wanting to know where she was. Maybe she can't imagine our lives without her. Neither can we. Lane wanted to go bowling and was not shy telling anyone that it was his birthday. Good thing he did too because they treated him so special and it also inadvertently made me feel like a teenager again. They turned the lights off and played loud music with the disco balls going. Now that is an atmosphere that makes it easier to take two kids bowling. (The music must have messed up Blake's mojo because I almost beat him or maybe my awesome dancing distracted him--not necessarily a good thing). The music they played is a national bowling radio station and Lane about flipped his lid when they announced "Happy Birthday to Lane in Latham, NY". Later we played "Hot and Cold" to find the gifts because I was too lazy (and ran out of time) to wrap the gifts. Lane's gifts this year were Star Wars Legos. And he used his birthday money to buy some more Star Wars Legos. He thought is was a great day and that is all that matters. Blake and I also had fun even though days later we were trying to figure out why his lower back hurt and my forearm was numb and tingling. So even though I felt like a teenager for a day I was quickly reminded that I wasn't.

Paige & Lane posing for birthday pictures.

Remember when...

I started to do some packing for the move. Not because I have to but because I kind of feel sorry for the movers who will be packing us up. Our office is a disaster and I thought that if I could straighten that mess out that I would feel a little better about people going through our stuff. Anyways, I started coming across pictures (pre-digital camera) of little Lane and Baby Paige. It was so sweet to see our babies again. Their smiles are so genuine. So for the sake of grandmas and grandpas, here is a little "remember when...".

On the Oregon Coast in Oct. 2004. (Crystal, I'm gonna make you a copy of these pics).

Tag--I'm it!

Okay, I've been tagged and I guess that means you will be forced to read 6 things about me that you may not know. Pay attention and take notes if you need to because there will be a test at the end (or maybe not).
#1- If I could have any job in the world (and of course have the talent to be successful) I would be a country music singer. This may not surprise many, but I can't sing and am too emotional to perform in front of crowds. I can't even give a decent talk in church without wanting to bury my head in the sand afterwards. But having said that, Country Music Rocks.
#2- My actual dream job (that I do have talent for) would be to flip houses. I majored in Interior Design at USU before I dropped out ($$$) and ended up meeting Blake working a graveyard shift.
#3- Gerber Daisies are my favorite flower.
#4- I am terrified of dogs. I can handle spiders and snakes more than I can handle dogs. I guess I've never been really close to a snake that wasn't in a cage. Maybe I would be scared of snakes too.
#5- I hate people who try to pop my toes. Not a lot of people come up and want to pop my toes, so it's really just one person (Blake). It's an awful feeling. Your toe is getting squeeze so hard and you know it's not going to pop but you hope it does just so the pain will all go away.
#6- I would love to go snorkeling even though I'm not a good swimmer. And they would have to promise me that there are no sharks around. I guess I'm also scared of sharks.

Okay, there are my 6 things but I'm going to wait to tag others because I have to talk some of my friends into starting their blogs. Hint, Hint, (Kristi, Crystal, Davette, Analee, Shannon, Corey, Gretchen, & sisters)!

No House For Us

We just found out that our offer on a house in WV didn't work out. I don't feel jaded or anything. A little disappointed but have faith that something will open up for us at a better time. We just plan on renting at first. There is both good and bad things with this situation but it just depends on which half we focus on. And considering that I have no idea what the Lord has in store for us I'll just focus on the good. Anyways, I've got these silly pictures that I took yesterday of the kids. These will cheer anyone up. Bunch of goofballs.

Sister's Challenge

In my previous post my sister commented on me thinking of my own talents. That was definetly food for thought and after thinking for way too long, I came to the conclusion that I'm not very talented. :) For instance, I think I'm good at making people laugh. But I also know people who don't think I'm very funny. See my dilemma. My talents are hidden and you have to get to know me to love me. And sometimes you just have to love me, regardless. I came up with a real talent that no one could argue about. I love to try new recipes (whether they turn out good or not, I try). I enjoy my time in the kitchen when I choose to be there. Nightly dinners are kind of mundane and frustrating for me--unless I'm trying something new. I love the thrill when it actually works and everyone (Blake) likes it. Because of this talent, I'm going to share easy recipes on my blog. They must meet certain requirements though. They have to be easy and fast. I said that I enjoy trying new things that doesn't mean that I'm a chef. I am a MOM (Even better if you ask me). Anyways...
So here I challenge those that read this blog--Think of your talents. It's not as easy as you think. But if you need help, I'll tell you what you're good at. *Another talent for me--telling people what I think and that they should think that way, too. Maybe I'll keep a list of ALL my talents. I'm hoping my one talent will turn into ten.
For the grandparents: I've added some photos of the kids (I know that is why you actually read this). This is over at Five Rivers and it was really cool. Dad, it was covered with "rootness" but I thought of you on this walk knowing how much you would enjoy this.

What's your talent?

So, yesterday I was reading the kids a book about a kid who didn't think he had any talents. I asked the kids what talent they thought they had. I was hoping this would be a wonderful moment to let them know how special and great they are and to let them know that everyone had unique talents. Well, it didn't quite go that way. Paige had to think for a little bit but Lane piped up that his talent was playing "Star Wars" and then Paige's eyes lit up and she said "I know, I'm good at watching movies." This is where I need to tell you what a great mother I am and I enrich my children's lives constantly. I should go on to brag that they could read by the age of 1 and are small mathematicians. But then I would have to admit that they probably learned all that by watching movies. I felt that the following picture would be appropriate (Paige watching an enriching movie with her winter coat on).

So, it got me thinking of what talents I've noticed in my kids. Lane is such a great big brother. I overheard them outside with friends and Lane was telling all the kids how fast Paige is. "She runs faster than anyone I know," said Lane. Well then Lane's friend said "Let's have a race and see who is faster." Let me point out that Lane hates to lose so I didn't see a great outcome. Lane would have no mercy and end up wiping Paige's face in his dust. So I peeked out the window and I saw a little girl trying her hardest with legs pumping as fast as they could and Lane following behind her running zigzags so he wouldn't catch up to her and she would win. I started having flashbacks of my two big brothers letting me play football in the snow and making me feel like I was actually the key player in the game and that without me they couldn't get a touchdown. I was their Reggie Bush. I was so proud of Lane. (Those enriching movies ARE teaching them something. :) Paige is very good at sharing. Unfortunately for me she has been sharing her Halloween candy with me. All I have to say is "that's one of my favorites." Wha-lah, I have a candybar. Paige was handing out candy to her grandparents and someone said "Why don't you keep that for yourself." Her reply was "I already had a piece." This was one of those small boxes of milkduds that only has 3 pieces and she seemed upset trying to figure out how everyone could have one. I didn't really want this to be a brag session about my kids because in the same breath they can be holy terrors and fight and scream. So take this all with a grain of salt.

Fall in New York

I told Jen after this last week of beautiful fall weather that I was falling in love with NY and didn't want to move anymore :)
She just about killed me!!

Can I PLEASE get something done today?

The past couple of weeks have been great. Having both parents here was a blast (Thank you Moms and Dads for coming). Anyways, with the leaving of guest you always need to get your house back in order (was it in order in the first place???). I got stuck playing with my blogspot and one thing led to another and it's 2:30. Nothings been done. I've added a new element at the bottom of the page by my music. My... It's fun to get a personality profile from a computer. It can also be manipulated to make my personality sound wonderful. :) As long as you can understand what the pictures represent. HeHeHe. If you do one, a note of caution. The cans represent beer, not soda. And those are two men hugging on the mountain, not a man & woman. Have a great day everyone.

Mystery Tube Revealed!

It is official. No one can stop us now. Graduation was great but surreal and this being the 3rd one I've attended at AMC I must say that this one was the best. (Matt & Shannon, 2005 was pretty special too. A little overwhelming though). There was an actual diploma in the tube and we already have it framed. I really think that my name should be added to it since everyone was telling me that this was my graduation too. I think that I had the easier part at times. I got to hang out with my great little buddies and Blake had to put up with some people who would act like 6 year olds at times. But overall the past two years (26 months to be exact) have been great. One of Blake's classmates asked Lane if he was excited about moving and Lane's response was "Yes, now daddy gets MONEY." That is kind of how I feel at the moment.

Trunk-o'-Treating

This last week was our trunk-o'-treating. Paige has never waivered in her desire to be Raphael the teenage mutant ninja turtle. Thanks to her aunt she has fallen into addiction with these turtles. Lane has switch his mind a few times with only one thing in common--"Star Wars". Since there were no mask or weapons allowed at the party we settled on Darth Maul. And thanks to Gpa Ernie, we created a mean looking little boy I had trouble recognizing. His only rule of the night was that he had to smile sometimes and not stare down/frown all night long. I think he scared a few little kids here and there. Which sadly enough brought him joy. He kept asking "Do I look mean?" ALL night long or "Is my paint still dark". By the end of the night though he was done with the make-up thing. I know how he feels.

Her 3 fingers are her daggers that Raphael uses since no weapons were allowed. Fingers are the most convenient weapons at times.

Learning new things ROCKS!

Okay, so this blogging thing is very new to me. In the past if I've ever needed computer stuff done I yell "Honey, come do it for me." And he does it because it's easier than trying to explain it to me. I need to thank my BS (big sister) :) for all her info and trying to explain it while doing dinner and kid homework. Steph, you are more patient than you think. Thank you. This week is a big week. Blake is finally graduating and we have both sets of parents here. Lots of fun and attention for the little ones. I'll let you know if there is actually a diploma in the mystery tube.

Hello Family & Friends

Well, it seems most of our family and friends are serious bloggers so we thought we had better join in. Our site will get busier after the holidays as we will be moving in a few months. Stay tuned....