The FIVES tag

5 snacks I like:

-homemade chocolate chip cookies with milk
-celery sticks with peanut butter
-cheese and crackers--really, ANYTHING with cheese
-watermelon
-cinnamon toast

5 things on my to do list:

-buy a new camera
-new tires for Justin's car
-have Andrew practice for his talent show
-buy gifts for Father's day
-buy a gift for my cute niece's first birthday party

5 things I would do if I were a billionaire:

-TRAVEL! I would especially love to take my kids to every continent, kiss my hubby on top of the Eiffel Tower, and go shopping in Thailand with my sister
-place $100 bills on random cars in a parking lot
-adopt at least 2 more kids
-donate money to the University Hospital so they could open up a phenomenal women's center and also to help finance infertile couples
-hire a maid

5 jobs I have had:

-Bloomingsales (a flower shop)
-The Basket Loft
-a teller at a credit union
-the Gap
-RN at the University Hospital

5 bad habits:

-I am a huge worrier
-I hold grudges
-I am lazy
-I don't have much will power
-I often want too many things that I don't have

5 places I have lived:

-Salt Lake City: at my parent's house, the Chi Omega house, our 3 different apartments in the University Village, and my grandmother's house (I guess that is 6 right there!)
-Riverton
-Herriman
-Jerusalem
and that is all. I am a true Utah gal.

5 people to tag:

I don't know if I have 5 people...so really, whoever wants to!

I'll never look at fruit the same way again!

Thanks Steph, for the idea!

You Are an Apple

You are strong, powerful, and even a bit stubborn at times. You have enough strength to help those around you in trouble. You are adventurous and charming. Many people are drawn to you. You love life, and you enjoy traveling the world. You enjoy fine food, art, and culture. People have accused you of being a snob, but that's not accurate. You do enjoy the best things in life. Unlike snobs, you truly appreciate quality... not just pretend to.

What Type of Fruit Are You?

And I almost thought he was getting sensitive

After dropping Nick and Andrew off at school this morning, we got home and I asked Luke if he wanted to play the X box. He said yes and then said: "Mom, don't you need to get some rest?" I told him that I was okay and he said: "But mom, didn't you go to work last night? You didn't get sleep all the night so you are probably tired." I was blown away by his sudden burst of concern and took the opportunity to lay down for a minute. Well, he evened himself out at dinner today when he told me that the dinner I had made tasted like throw up. I told him that it makes me feel bad when I spend time making dinner for him and then he tells me that they taste like throw up. He stated: "Well, not ALL of them do! I just make a sandwich when they taste bad." Well, I guess I am having a bad week because he had a sandwich last night for dinner, too.

1. I got to spend a lazy afternoon with the boys
2. good health insurance (no, #1 and #2 are not correlated)
3. the dollar spot at Target

1. mint double stuffed oreos
2. molten chocolate cake from Chilis
3. waffles with whipped cream

1. quesadilla explosion salad from Chili's
2. a sunny day, pillows, a good book, a HUGE diet coke, and a free afternoon to lay out--AAHHH.
3. that I am blonde again!

1. the mountains--no matter what season it is, they are always beautiful
2. my new favorite song-Secret Smile by Rascal Flatts
3. thunderstorms

1. putting the winter clothes in storage-yay!
2. robins
3. making wishes on eyelashes

A genius in our midst

Luke and I went to the store and on the way home I told him that he is going back to school tomorrow (after being off track). I said that he only had six weeks left until he was a big first grader and isn't that exciting?

Luke: "Mooomm, I don't want to go back to school."
Me: "Well, you have to. It is just something that everyone does. You should feel privileged that you get to go to school."
Luke: "I just want to cancel all of my school. I don't want to go back."
Me: "Luke, you still have a lot to learn."
Luke: "I didn't sign up for this."

1. my toothbrush
2. seedless watermelon
3. zucchini chocolate chip bread

1. that the temperature outside is slowly becoming warmer than temperatures inside-I love walking out from a building and the whoosh of warm air that greets you at the door!
2. clipping fingernails or toenails--I am obsessed so watch out!
3. chapstick

So, how do they get...together?

Well, it is official. I just gave my first ever birds and the bees talk. It totally caught me off guard and it was NOT like I had imagined it. I thought with all of my expertise as a labor and delivery nurse and the nature of my job that it would pretty much be a walk in the park. I also imagined that it would be me, Justin, and Nicholas enjoying dinner at a nice restaurant and chatting about it like we would the weather. Imagine the complete opposite of that.

We were watching T.V. on the couch. Not a kind of show that would spark that this type of conversation by any means. But apparently he had a plan of attack. First, he blindsided me with the question: "Mom, how are babies delivered?" Okay, innocent enough. I explained that babies are delivered either by pushing them out or having a C section...I have had both so I felt that he understood and I had sufficiently explained myself. I was then sucker punched by his next inquiry: "How does the baby get inside?". OH, geez. I told him that the woman has eggs and the man has sperm and they come together. The egg then divides and sticks inside a muscle inside the woman called a uterus and the baby grows until it is ready to come out. He sat there for a minute and mulled it over and for a brief second I thought I was off the hook. He then looked at me and knocked me out with: "So....how do the egg and the sperm get...together?" I could feel my face getting hot and I found myself floundering for an explanation. I was getting so mad at myself for feeling this way because I didn't want Nicholas to EVER feel uncomfortable about coming to his parents with questions about sex. His face was red...I was losing control of the situation.

I then said: "Have you ever heard about sex?"

"No." (But something in his answer made me think he had...)

"It is something that a man and a woman do when they are in love and after they are married." (I thought I should at least put some good old family values into the conversation just for good measure. I also see WAY too many teen pregnancies and I don't want my son to be a statistic!) I went on to say: "The man's penis has sperm in it and it comes out sometimes and then the man gives it to the egg and that is how they get together." (Oh brother, what a terrible explanation. But really, if he doesn't ask, do I HAVE to get into the girl parts and periods...come on now. That is a big, fat NO!).

He seemed okay with this answer so I followed up with this:

"Are you okay?"
"Yeah."
"Do you have any questions?"
"No."
"Are you embarassed?"
(giggle) "A little."
"Well, if you ever have any questions, make sure you come to me or dad, don't go ask your friends."
"Okay."
"I love you!"
"I love you too, mom."

I guess it all worked out okay in the end. Just think, I just have to do this three more times and that is it. Hopefully they are smoother than this one!

1. breakfast in bed
2. watching a movie in my bed with my kids
3. barbeques

Happy Mother's Day!

I love this story that is quoted by President Gordon B. Hinckley in a talk titled "These, Our Little Ones." The story is told that in ancient Rome a group of women were, with vanity, showing their jewels one to another. Among them was Cornelia, the mother of two boys. One of the women said to her, “And where are your jewels?” To which Cornelia responded, pointing to her sons, “These are my jewels.” I hope that all you have a fantastic mother's day and enjoy your precious jewels.


1. I am grateful for the opportunity I have to be a mother. I am more aware than ever that motherhood eludes many wonderful and willing women and I could not imagine my life without my darling boys.
2. I am so grateful to my mom! She is selfless, inspiring, and is such a great example to me of how to live. I remember when I was little I vowed I would never do or say certain things that my mom did because I never thought she knew what she was talking about. Well, I now say those things on a daily basis and it makes me smile in spite of myself. I guess it is true that "your mom is always right!"
3. I am grateful for my mother in law. She has taught me many things about myself and has supported me in my goals to be a nurse as well as a mom. She also is the mother of my husband so I definately am grateful for that! She is an excellent cook, puts any gardener to shame, and is one of the most amazing seamstresses I know. Thank you, Sylvia, for all you do for me and our family!

1. driving with my window down
2. hair elastics
3. chocolate covered cinnamon bears

Since I am a couple days behind anyway, I think I will take this opportunity to "blog lift" from my friend's idea (thanks Matti!) about nurse's week. I have a love-hate relationship with my job...I LOVE what I do and LOVE the place where I work, but it is a place of high stress and burnout. Being a nurse is one of the most rewarding experiences of my life and here are my top 10 things I love (in no particular order)about being a labor and delivery nurse at the University Hospital:

1. I love my co-workers. They are the hardest working, most flexible, smartest, and understanding group of women. I learn something new everyday from one of them and I appreciate that they still love me even though I am not the smartest nurse and often do something stupid. I love swapping recipes, going out to lunch or dinner with them and sharing stories of each others lives with them (especially in the wee hours of the morning!). Thank you for being so wonderful!

2. I love that there is an endless supply of treats on a regular basis. I love that we can go to Primary's cafeteria and order fries and no one thinks you are wierd for eating them at 2 a.m. because they are doing it too.

3. I LOVE being in deliveries. I still get awed by the fact that this little baby that is being extracted from a woman's body (what ever way that may be) is a MIRACLE and came from a little cell that just kept dividing and that little cell already knew what to do and what it was going to become. I get chills just thinking about it!

4. I love cute first time moms and I am apt to get teary in their deliveries when they are so excited and just love their little one. I love teaching them, answering their questions, and being part of their birth experience. Unfortuneatly, there are many who are not so excited and it makes me so sad.

5. I love that we get all sorts of patients. I am not saying that I love taking care of ALL of the crazy people or ALL of the babies with defects or that are premature, but my work day is never the same day twice and NEVER boring.

6. I love the teamwork on my unit. I love getting a stop and drop G9 P8008 at 9 cm and my admit is done before I even enter the room that is already set up so she can pretty much cough the baby out. I love that my patient can have hemabate fate and I can always have a co worker willing to help me clean her up. I love that I never have to do a crash c section alone. I could go on and on because there are so many other instances but you get the idea.

7. I love being in a teaching hospital and having a good relationship with our doctors. I feel lucky that the physicians on our unit are (with the exception of some) nice and calm...and that goes not only for our OB/GYNs but the anesthesiologists and the pediatricians as well.

8. I love that we have a team that will come and back me up on bad babies, a crappy strip, or pea soup mec. Yes, we are trained to resus babies, but it is nice to know on a busy shift (which is often) that you have other resources to help you out. I also love the drive thru window to NBICU...I can't imagine having a preterm baby without one.

9. I love starting my own IV's. I love this skill and I wouldn't trade it for the world. I know this is wierd, but some floors don't do their own IV's and it makes me so exicted to get calls from these floors to come and start one.

and 10. I just love our unit. It is the craziest place but for the most part it runs smoothly. I will probably get some backlash for this but I think we have a great manager who is totally dedicated to her job. We all work hard together and have fun together. I have had multiple people ask me why I work so far away from where I live and I just tell them that I could not imagine myself anywhere else.

1. strawberry frappuchinos from Starbucks
2. crepes
3. that my night of bad tracings is finally over!

We'll see how this goes...

Well, I am taking a plunge. I am trying, cold turkey, to cut out chocolate candy from my diet. Some of the reason is because I have to try on swimsuits soon, but most of it is because I seriously eat TOO much everyday for it to be healthy. I probably should think about my kids and that I may want to be around for them as they grow up. If that means that I have to sacrifice my daily three (or so) packs of m & ms from my diet, so be it. Wish me luck!

1. FREE ice cream day at Ben and Jerry's
2. white out
3. Gardner Village...btw, they have the BEST apple crisp at Archibald's!

1. The smell of baking cakes...we baked 5 in 4 days and my house smelled delicious!
2. rainbow chip frosting
3. that I had insurance on my cell phone!! YAY!