coming attractions

You know my little Asian ticker on the sidebar of my blog. It says 21 days.

21 days!!

We have been watching home videos of when the girls were first born.

To say the least they have themselves mesmerized.

I've had to answer a lot of questions about:

1. why Mommy has a wet towel on her head
2. umbilical cords
3. breastfeeding
4. why babies wear hats
5. why Mommy is "sad"
6. what the nurse is doing to the baby's head and legs
7. and why the baby is "all red" and crying

No worries. The videos are modest, but at the same time intense due to my med free births.

Despite the looks on their faces they want to watch over and over again.

I'm going to have some great little helpers.

Fire! Fire!

I really tried to make it a full year without a visit by the fire department.

I tried and failed tonight after they came a knocking on my door.

9 month pregnant Hays was just needing to burn some tree trimmings that were appropriately contained in a fire pit (nesting - you know). They never fit in the garbage can and how can it be any different then having a little backyard bonfire for marshmallow roasting? The girls watched the blaze with wide eyes and E and I piled it on.

Easy asks - Are you sure that this is legal?

Sure! It's all us Nevada kids know is how to do is burn things.

It's not legal in California.

Well, whatever is legal in Nevada has got to be legal in Arizona...besides prostitution and gambling.

...Right!

Meanwhile Easy goes inside and I hear sirens and see helicopters overhead. I start thinking that maybe this isn't such a good idea. He assures me that they are for an accident down the road.

20 minutes later:

Honey, the fire department is here.

Yeah right...

I don't believe him.

I look outside. See the huge truck. And split.

He talks to them. I hide.

Our economic conscious neighbors called them. One big truck and six suited-up dudes later we are told that it is in fact illegal to burn yard clippings. How appropriate for them to get all fancy for us!

And there you have our tax dollars at work. Thank you neighbor!

Next time you could just holler over the fence or maybe bring over a roasting stick.

dealing with grandpa

A couple of years ago I was visiting my grandpa and I noticed an old Kitchen Aid in the corner of the room. It was covered with tupperware and had a healthy layer of dust.

I had a thought: How sad! That thing looks like it hasn't been used it years!

And I had another thought: I would use it everyday if it were mine.

And another: I should ask him about it.

"Grandpa, does anyone ever use that mixer?"

"Oh no! It was your grandmother's and hasn't been used since she passed away."

"Hmm."

That was over 10 years ago.

This is where I gather my courage...

"Can I have it?"

He thought. I waited.

"If you make me some cinnamon rolls."

Deal.

I packed it up, cleaned it up, and went back to my mom's house to make up some goodness for my sweet grandpa.

So today, to kick off fall (with a little better attitude) I'm going to make those same rolls (they never fail):

Sorry, but I'm too lazy to type it this morning - I have been out reconstructing a chicken fence, but I can taste those rolls already.

oh fall...

yesterday marked the first day of fall. did it not?

in arizona the seasons blend into one another and half the time fall feels like spring and winter feels like fall and spring feels like summer. summer feels like...well hell, but we have already discussed that.

i grew up in northern nevada. a place that i have always loved, but i have not really wanted to return to live there. i have to admit though, that when the seasons (are supposed to) change i always think of home where the each one is distinct enough to notice, but fair enough to enjoy.

i keep waiting for reasonable weather in phoenix. waiting and waiting. it's like this every september - we grow tired of the heat. tired of 100 degrees and higher. just give me 90!

i do have a few things to look forward to that make the season manageable.

#1. A baby coming
#2. My mom coming
#3. Halloween! (not sure how that one is going to work out being postpartum)
#4. Only having class one night a week
#5. Ending clinicals
#6. Ava's Birthday
#7. Thanksgiving!

thank you fall! we'll get along with each other soon enough.

Status Update

I have been writing a paper all day long on Childhood Obesity.

My house is a mess - besides the dishes - because I haven't made my daily crawl around throwing everything into a laundry basket (bending over is so totally overrated at 36 weeks).

The girls are watching Charlie and Lola. One is half naked.

And I'm hoping Easy will take us to Carolina's tonight.

Because I'm craving a large ice cold Horchata.

The End.

Dear RT Lady,

I am only coming to your presentation tonight because I cannot bring myself to skip class - even though I don't really think we will be tested on the material you are lecturing on. You see, I have a standing date with my husband and our TV to watch The Office.

If you could please have us out by 7:30 I would be extremely grateful.

Kindly,

H

happenings

sure i'm her mom,

but i still think she's brilliant.

just say no...to crack!

i try to keep my strong opinions to myself, but i'm sorry - i just can't shake it this time.

i sat in class last night learning more than i felt i could possibly ever absorb about the cardiac system when it shot out at me from just beneath the overhead screen - therefore making it unbelievably hard to ignore for the next 2 hours of class.

a plummer butt.

a girls plummer butt. no worries erin (it wasn't you).

every time i looked up from my notes it was like - BAM! - smiling at me. torturing me. and, not to mention, making it extremely hard to learn about hypertension. not because i'm totally grossed out (oh boy have i seen a lot worse this year), but because i just don't get it.

is it that she doesn't know that it's hanging out? or that she just doesn't care? how could you not know? really... i feel like i know even when a smidgen of my lower back peeks from between my shirt and pants and out of respect for myself and others i make the necessary adjustments.

please clear it up for me if you can. i just don't understand how it can hang out that long. i tried discussing it with Easy, but there was no clarification to be had.

honestly, wouldn't you feel a breeze?


wishing you all a happy and crack free weekend.

updating

(not my photo)

my ribs hurt. even when the baby's bum is not pressing against them, they are tender on the right side.

i took the second test for the block in nursing last night. it sucked. i'm waiting on my grade.

MaeMae is having success with the potty managing only one accident a day and venturing out of the house with panties on.

i broke two chicken eggs this morning - hate it when that happens.

i'm shadowing a school nurse on friday.

i'm canning peaches on saturday.

i'm giving a talk in church this sunday.

i have a paper due next week.

we keep getting busier.

i'm going to have some chocolate milk...

more pizza pleeeease!

We all love the weekend right? And we all love special three day weekends the best, right? I just love getting Easy for an extra day. We always have big plans of traveling around, or camping, or checking out something new in the city, but being just over a month from Three's big arrival, some grand adventures are a little more out-of-reach for us.

Friday night we had plans to visit the Phoenix Children's Museum. For FREE! I knew we were running short on time and wouldn't be able to prepare dinner before we took off (okay, I took my time so I wouldn't have to). I also knew (thought) that La Grande Orange Pizzeria was maybe in the same vicinity as the museum, so I slyly looked it up online as E was getting the girls in the car. Okay, it was a little out of the way...in almost the opposite direction. I jotted directions on a torn up piece of paper ran out of the house (okay I also don't think I ran).



So, do you want to grab something to eat first? I ask.

Sure. What do you feel like?

Well. Have your heard of La Grande Orange? I've been wanting to go there...

Is it on the way?

Kinda. I think it's on 40th and like Camelback.

Sounds good.

Score! I'm in. Even if I was a little sly...It was totally worth it and we will be back for more!

So good that we were content enough to not spend an hour waiting in line at 8pm with 2 whiny kids to get into the museum. We just had some cupcakes, went home, and geared up for our visit with E's brother Chad and girlfriend Cindy (who the girls absolutly adored and fought over) and couldn't wait to see each day and are still asking about.

It was perfect.

i'll be honest with you...

i'm not a very good student. i never have been.

but somehow i have still been able to manage decent grades.

i knew that nursing school would be different. that i would have to apply myself and actually go to class and maybe read my book. i started off my first block reading and studying, but that all eventually went to pot and i ended up at the end of the semester with a 89% in the course after barely looking at my book or any other study materials. classic. typical hays.

this block i assumed would be much the same. that i could pour over my notes before a test and get at least a B. i read about half of my first week's readings and put in a couple of hours with my notes before exam 1.


and


i failed.

no kidding.

in nursing school you have to get at least a 76% to pass and i walked away with a 75% that evening. i was crushed. my ego hurt. really? of course i blamed everyone and thing besides myself. i was sure that the grade was wrong and i could talk myself into another point. i mean really, that test was crap! sooooo poorly written (see, i'm still blaming)!

i know though, that it comes down to me and my non-existent study habits. i've depended on my instinct and the process of elimination. i've been lucky - and arrogant.

so basically i've started reading. before class!! and going over my notes afterward. i made flashcards last night after coming home at 8pm and tried to process the action, side effects, and implications for like 5 different corticosteroids.

i have to pass. next week i have another test: fluids and lytes, diabetes, and endocrine.

agh!

i have to pass.

currently

i can't tell you how many times a week i call my mother about GM.

this week it's about potty-training her. i feel like a brand new mom - like i've never done this before, i tell her.

and she so motherly laughs and tells me that i just need to be a different kind of mom.

so i guess that is the real challenge.

with every kid are we required to be a different kind of mom?

currently i'm dealing with Miss Mae's:

incessant nail biting - and toe nail biting might i add. when she is idle or unsure of her surroundings those little fingers make their way into the mouth and chomp. chomp. chomp. there go the finger nails - and the toe nails.

she is also crafty about the potty. if i leave her naked all day she proudly goes potty all on her own. yes - numbers 1 and 2, but the second i put panties on her she wets them. we all know that i just can't send her over to the shangri-la ranch nudist colony (i'll let you google that one on your own), but i also can't allow her to go breezing to play dates in the buff. my mother agrees with a slight spank pat on the bum - which i'm all about until i see tears well up in those baby blue eyes and i turn to mush.

she also enjoys all the other glamorous personality traits of a 2 tear old like spitting, hitting, and yelling NO.

if my mom is right then that means i do need to learn to be a different kind of mother. the mother of a little punk - one that has me wrapped around her little finger's at that.

my three

How are you? Cramped? Warm? Comfy?

We are getting ready for you...

Your clothing is washed.
I am practicing my relaxation techniques.
Sister Mae is being potty-trained (again)
and plans are being made for your delivery into this world.

I cannot wait.
Just 6 short weeks.

I am thrilled that the doctor said your Dad can help receive you
and place you into my arms. No words can describe that moment - when our worlds collide
and I suddenly become your mother. It's that moment when all the aching, cramping,
contracting, and burning cease and emotions begin run like water as we breathe the same air.

Finally.

Here.

I'll be waiting for that moment. To hear your cry. To kiss your face. To hold you tight. To adore your every look, sound, and move.

I'm Ready.

And waiting.

Photo Booth with Easy

Believe it or not, I love this man.

Really.

I do.