The OPPOSITE of lady-like

At work yesterday, we were having a major lull so I was offered the opportunity to go home early.  I jumped at the chance and called the hubby to set up an impromptu date to see "The Avengers."  I made some the phone calls (using my built in bluetooth) and we planned to meet at home and leave right away.

I was sitting at a stop light, in heavy traffic, contemplating whether or not I'd have enough time to change when I got home, and my car lunged forward.  I thought I might have killed the engine, but I looked down and saw it was still running.  That's when I looked in the rear view mirror and saw a compact SUV ON my bumper.

I got out of the car to inspect and the other car was still touching mine.  I stomped over to the drivers window and screamed,

 

"DID YOU JUST HIT MY CAR!?!?!"

"it's okay!" said the driver...obviously keeping her window up while a maniac yelled at her.

That's when I literally spun around, while throwing my hands in the air, and screamed, 

"SERIOUSLY!"

"I'M GOING TO PULL OFF THE ROAD UP AHEAD ON THE RIGHT, DO THE SAME!"

I got back in my car, put on my hazards and pulled off onto a side road.  It was rush hour traffic and I saw no need to block traffic.  I turned my car off and waited...and waited...and the other driver stayed in the road.  

I called 911, and said I had just been rear-ended and "THE OTHER DRIVER IS INSISTING ON BLOCKING TRAFFIC LIKE AN IDIOT" to which the operator said, "unfortunately, it isn't against the law, but you are supposed to clear vehicles off the road if possible."

I then called the hubby and he called to cancel the sitter and said he was on his way.

I stood on the side of the road and watched as the other car continued to block traffic, and people stop to assist her to push her car off the road, until a Sheriff escorted her off the road and said he had called in the accident.

The only damage to my car was a couple indentions on the bumper from her license plate cover. 

When the cops arrived, and HOUR later, they asked us what happened, which is when they pointed out the damage on my car to the other driver, who said, "how do we know that wasn't there before?"  The cop then said, "because it matched your license plate holder perfectly."

I apologized for yelling and explained this was my first accident.  She said, "I'm a born again Christian which is why I didn't get upset."

The hubby called USAA, and her insurance called me last night to go through the details.  

I'm thankful that no one was hurt, but I'm very sad about my car, and my missed date with the hubby.

So, I'm hoping there's never a next time, but let's hope that I can conduct myself in a more lady-like manner if it ever happens again.

Happy Nurse's Week!

Since Nursing has become such a huge part of my life, I wanted to join in the celebration of a profession that has changed my life.  I've been afforded such an opportunity to educate myself and those I interact with on a daily basis.  I've had many 1st's in the last three years, but nothing compares to the past year.

When I decided to go to school for Nursing, I knew it would be difficult.  I knew it would be challenging.  But most importantly, I knew it would be rewarding.  I loved working with people, so no matter the trials I would endure, I was positive this decision was the right one.

I graduated from Nursing School in 2009 and started working right away.  I've never had a patient die, until this year.  I always tried to mentally prepare myself for how I would feel, what I would say to the family, and how I would conduct myself.  When all was said and done, all could do was hug the parents as I cried on their shoulder and tell them how amazing their child was.  I apologized for crying and the family's pastor said, "Jesus wept too."  I continue to cry every time I think of their face, their smile, and remember their sweet voice.  

I know God does not give us trials that we can not handle, and so I pray for the family to find peace at this time and celebrate the life of one of God's newest angels.

I'm grateful that I had the opportunity to meet this family, and have my life changed forever.

I know every single person has had a nurse make them smile or infuriate them, it's the nature of the job.  We are first and foremost a patient advocate, and one of my many mantras is, "it's okay to make me the bad guy."

I have many goals in my career that will take me many years to accomplish, but the one that I strive for on a daily basis is to do right by my patients.

Hug a nurse this week!!

Love me some Army Wife Bling!

One of the great things I love about working with kids is that the hospital gives us a little more leniency on our dress code.  All nurses are to wear any combination of Royal Blue and White, but since I work in the Peds ED we are allowed to wear printed tops as long as the main colors are white or royal blue.  We also have the freedom to wear whatever closed-toe shoes we want.  Not all hospitals are this lenient, so I consider myself lucky.  Another way we can show our individuality is on our badge reels.  Many of the nurses have animals that make noise, Disney princesses and school mascots.  I desperately wanted one that said Army Wife.  While not every Army Wife wants to parade it around, I'm proud of my husband and the opportunities the Army has afforded us.

So, I started searching for the perfect badge reel, and was immediately overwhelmed by how many people make them.  I didn't seen exactly what I wanted, so I decided to contact 7 or 8 sellers and see if they could come up with something that would work.  A few responded right away, which is always appreciated, but only one really impressed me with what she had posted AND her prices.

Her prices were so great (and she doesn't overcharge on shipping) that I went ahead and ordered one for my fellow nurse AND Army wife, Lora, and an Army Mom for my mother.  Here's how it turned out:

I LOVE it and was so excited to wear it!  I've already had co-workers and patient mother's comment on it.

So check her out!!  Laura doesn't just do badge reels, and just shoot her a message if you have a special request. 

And the Mother of the Year award goes to...

Anyone but me!

That being said, I think I deserve something for maintaining my sanity after four days of driving and three days with all my family!

To be honest, I was almost dreading my family reunion. I hadn't seen some of my siblings in YEARS, and all of us (to include our families) under one roof for three days, I was preparing for the worst. I am eternally grateful that the hubby's unit gave him leave so soon after signing into this new unit, because without him there I probably would have checked myself into a psych ward after a few hours in the car with the boys. Things did go better than expected. The hubby planned the route, which hotels we stayed at, and graciously bore the task of keeping the boys happy while I drove. For several years I've been battling pretty severe back, neck and shoulder pain, so continually reaching into the back seat to pass out sippy's or crackers is something that I knew I couldn't do. The hubby did a great job and thanks to my Kick-A nanny, we had the Mini packed the day before and were able to leave on time.

We got into a great groove, stopped when we needed to, and as you can see, the boys enjoyed helping with the bags

The boys enjoyed riding on the luggage carts, and Cart-baby slept with the hubby, while Cooper slept with me.

We arrived in Dallas with enough time to visit the hubby's Grandmother, Aunt, and cousins who had never met the boys. They played at the park and we all had dinner at Braum's.

Then we finally headed to Smithville, TX were all reunited and had a great time doing pretty much nothing. The house had enough room that we weren't all tripping over each other, and a large in ground pool that was utilized abundantly by the kids. We watched Disney Jr with the little ones (there were four 2yr old little boys that were always entertaining), played Dance Central on the Kinect, beat my older brother repeatedly in Spades, had great food and even better company.

It was great to see everyone and there were a few tears as we packed up our last day. But, as most of you know, I must go out with a bang...but Carter stole my thunder!!

As we were packing up, he was running out to me and tripped in the hallway, and hit a dresser handle, giving him an INSTANT black eye. Go Big or Go Home, right!

If the black eye wasn't bad enough, Eric and I had to adapt a strategy for wrangling the boys at rest stops. They would be standing next to you one moment, then take off running. I could usually catch up in time, but sometimes I would literally have to push them over, as they are running away, as a means to stop them before they got in the road. This only happened a few times, but on the way home I got a SERIOUS stink eye from a lady when I had to do this to Cooper...which probably didn't look that great since Cart-baby already had a black eye.

What have you done to your/others kids that some people have disagreed with??

Book Review!!

Intro to Army Life: A Handbook for Spouses and Significant Others Entering the Army Lifestyle

by Allison Mewes

In full disclosure, I had my reservations about this book. I am the first one to admit that I do NOT know everything about the Army, but after almost 11 years, I know enough to get me by. I had very high expectations and, at first, was very skeptical and was almost waiting for false information. I am happy to report that I was extremely impressed by the factual information it had to offer.

Every Army wife has different experience. Bottom line, you'll never be able to make a broad generalization about them. The location, rank, and job of the soldier gives each Army Wife an experience that is uniquely hers.

This book doesn't try to generalize, but instead gives great tips and information about how to make your life, especially during deployment, a little less stressful. Complete with rank charts and her own compilation of the 25 most important Acronyms, it is easily maneuvered and simple enough for anyone to understand.

There was only one area that I did not fully agree with the author, and no military spouse ever can. Fraternization. Although the military has rules and regulation regarding the fraternization of the soldiers, the spouses are left on their own to either do what their soldier tells them, or form a system that works for their family. On page 56, the author states

"The same rule for soldiers applies somewhat to spouses. It is assumed that spouses of higher-ranking military personnel will know things that shouldn't be told to spouses of lower-ranking military personnel and therefore shouldn't communicate on a social level. There is no hard and fast rule on this, but it is something to be aware of. Again, since families of Reserve or National Guard soldiers live off base, the socialization rules are not as strictly enforced."

Like stated before, you will never be able to please every Army Wife, but even my husband was a little thrown by this statement. No matter your soldier's rank, if it isn't public knowledge, it shouldn't be shared with your spouse. When my hubby was enlisted, I always had a wide array of Army Wife friends who's spouses ranged from E-1 to O-5. I met all of these women through the FRG because I kept the mindset that you can't make a difference, or complain, if you don't participate. Even after the hubby went to "the dark side" and became an Officer, the variance has stayed the same. Also, it gives the appearance that most active duty families live on post. In the decade the hubby and I have been married, we've only lived on post for one year. It is truly a game of chance, when PCSing to a new location, if housing is readily available. Most posts have up to an 18 month waiting list for housing, therefore many soldiers live off post.

One paragraph in 172 pages, that's pretty darn fantastic!

I definitely recommend this book to any new spouses to the Army! There are great resources and interesting facts. This would be a great bridal gift, or gift for a spouse with only a few months or years of experience.

As the back cover states "[this book] gives you the tools and resources necessary to make you transition into the Army lifestyle easier, less stressful and more fun."

I also want to point out this that book is available in paperback, on Kindle, and Nook. I personally purchased it for my Kindle because I was so impressed with the resources that are valuable to every Army spouse.

Happy reading!

*I was sent this book for review by the publisher, no other compensation was given*
*I plan on passing the book along to my soon-to-be SIL as she makes her transition to Army Wife!*

I can no longer call them babies

One of the great things about living close to family, combined birthday parties!! Michelle made this AMAZING train that the kids eventually tore apart...and had a blast!

After almost 7 hours of work, the cake turned out pretty good. And I have to give all credit to Jessica, who is always just an e-mail away for advice!

Carter sat nicely and picked away at his cake.

Jimmy & Carter waited for us to stop singing to blow out their candles, but Cooper was too impatient.

Cooper crawled across the table and blew out Carter's candle for him...twice.

I still can't believe I have 2 year olds! So, instead of calling them "the babies" I'll have to go against all the research on twins and call them "the boys." They are so immensely different. Cooper's vocabulary is growing everyday and he loves to play and entertain himself. Carter is now saying "ball" and "more" and focuses his energy on snuggling whenever he can. They are turning into little boys, and it's great to see their little personalities emerge more and more each day.

Both the boys have been clinging to hubby since he got home, and many hours have been spent outside enjoying the new warmer weather. The hubby has finally signed into the post here, so know I'm left waiting (and a little worried) to get back into the normal Army life. Although I know there will be drama, I look forward to meeting other Army Wives, and getting plenty of material for my blog ;o)

Getting Older

As I begin to plan for our road trip next month to my family's very first family reunion, it is abundantly clear that I'm getting old. Not that many years ago I would have no problem staying in a ghetto hotel or would have even put much thought into a trip THAT far in the future. I guess my first mistake was staying at a Holiday Inn Express when I had a 2 day certification in Chapel Hill this fall. The bed was SO comfy, and I didn't even use MY pillow that I take with me everywhere! Even though it had smoking rooms, mine obviously had never been or they are one of the few companies that know how to clean thoroughly.

Convenience is also becoming a higher priority than expense. It is still VERY uncertain if the hubby will be able to accompany me on the 22 hr road trip to Texas, so I'm trying to justify every option. If I had more than one friend in the area (outside of my brother & awesome SIL) I could probably find someone to drive with me...but I don't. I'm contemplating flying out a family member or even asking the nanny to come. Either one would be very expensive, but having another adult to help wrangle these TWO year olds might be worth avoiding a migraine.
Yes, the boys turned two yesterday.
I was excited to attend church, and was counting on my cell phone of almost two years to automatically update with the time change, as it has done since I got it, but it didn't. So, we took a lazy day and stayed in our PJ's and I gave the boys a taste of my first attempt at the 3D train cake I'm making for the party this weekend (since the hubby should be home by then). I think they liked it.

They are such crazy boys, and make me laugh on a daily basis.

Lora helped me finish the day by bringing over dinner, since we both had serious wallowing days Saturday, and we finished our Twilight marathon with Breaking Dawn. I'm so lucky to have my one friend (outside of work) that understands me and can relate so completely...everyone needs a local friend like that!

I'm still trying to avoid turning 30 this summer, but it seems to be inevitable. Although the number still freaks me out a bit, it comes with life experience that I wouldn't replace. But there will not be a party :o)

I can see clearly now the rain is gone...

To say I've been in a funk lately is a vast understatement. My patience is thin & my attitude needs a makeover. As we get into the busy season at work, I've been finding it harder and harder to paste on a smile after the millionth case of emergency vomiting. On an exceptionally trying day my manager handed me an envelope that was sent to the hospital & addressed to me. I planned on scanning it, but my scanner has decided to die...so here is what is said.

*Outside of card*
"Thanks!"

*Inside*
"...for making my life suck just a little less. :)"

"Dear Mary,

My name is **** **** and I was in the Pediatric Emergency Room on **-**-**. I was there because I needed to have my appendix removed. I wanted to say thank you for EVERYTHING you did for me. You truly are the best nurse in the world! :)
You made me feel comfortable when I felt at my worst!
*Mary, Mary quite contrary*
I will never forget you!
-Your Patient,
**** ****

"Mary,

Thank you for making our time in the ER bearable. Keep doing what you do, you're truly gifted. **** ****"

I've been carrying around this card in my work bag ever since. It makes me cry every time I read it. Knowing that I made a difference on a person's horrible day is the greatest gift I could ever receive.

So, take the time to thank those who you are truly grateful for, it will make a world of difference on their day!