Sick Day

I had my very first interview as a nurse today and had to ask V's Papa to take her to dance class. They were both excited, although I am sure he wouldn't admit it ;) She was being her normal energetic self all morning. Papa even took her to lunch, but the poor sweetie started complaining of a tummy ache on the way home and even had big alligator tears when she came through the door. Soon after she developed a fever and continued to complain of her tummy hurting her. She slept the evening away and is peacefully sleeping now.

Although she was sick today, she gave me a few laughs.........

V: "mommy, I am allergic to you.......but I still love you"
M: "why are you allergic to me"?
V: "I just am mommy"


Later while bent over in tummy pain.....

V: "Mommy, I am allergic to myself"........ I swear this girl is going to be a comedian

Here are some pics of her today (I had good lighting so I had to at least play with the camera and she was willing)lol

Recently I became a member of www.clickinmoms.com, a site for moms that are interested in photography. Its a fantastic place to learn a ton of information and apply it. Here is a creativity exercise that I participated in. It's intention is to show the photographers perspective by including a part of the photographer in the picture. This is my life.......mommy, wife, and nurse......

A day in Mommy's shoe's

V is always wanting to play dress up and yesterday she came down stairs in these......

"The Look"

She is a very serious child just like her mommy. I am in big trouble when she is a teenager.

Life as I know it

has taken a change, a good one. I have finally completed the long journey to become a registered nurse. I took the nclex on Saturday and was extremely nervous for the results as this was the hardest exam I have ever taken. Monday Morning while at dance class with V, my husband stalked me on the Ohio board of Nursing to see if my license status changed from pending to active. When it did, he snapped a picture with his cell phone and sent it to me. What an amazing feeling when I saw that text message.

I am so use to having to study or focus on school. Now I can focus solely on my family when I am home. I no longer have to tell my children that I can't play with them right now because I have to study. I knew that I was sacrificing a lot by going to school but today I realized just how much I sacrificed. Today I decided that if my children want to play I am going to take the time to play with them more often than I have. Children grow way too quickly and I know that someday I will wish they were still little and asking me to "pway hide and go seek" or "the elephant game" or I will wish that they were climbing in my lap constantly and begging me to read "one more book" We are never guaranteed tomorrow, so I am going to embrace what each day brings me.

Today was such an eye opener to me. I enjoyed every second with them. G woke up from a nap and walked over to me and just laid his head on my chest. My heart completely melted. V yelled from her bedroom at bedtime for me......"Mommy, Mommy, come here" and when I opened the door and asked her what she needed, her response was "I love you". I think my kids felt what I felt today. Pure. joy. I LOVE my life as I NOW know it.

The cutest little raccoon

that you will ever see! I was having a difficult time remaining stress free today considering that I took the NCLEX yesterday in order to become a registered nurse in the state of Ohio and I feel like I totally bombed it. The worst part? I have to wait for confirmation of my gut feeling until sometime tomorrow. Ugh. Pure. Agony. So I decided to play with the kids and make the best of the day that I could. Obviously the camera was involved! I have really been enjoying the photography world. I have a TON to learn, but its such a fun process. As you can plainly see I am having trouble with my color/contrast/white balance......but.....in time I will get there!

One of THOSE days

You know those days when, as soon as you get out of bed, one of the kids automatically starts whining? you know like when you give them the cup they DON'T want or you put the lid on the cup and they wanted to do it..... that is how my day started and it continued this way through most of the morning. Poor Grayson is a teary mess today. I think the poor little guy is cutting his 8th tooth......but.....I don't dare stick my finger in there to feel. I will just assume that is what is going on. His tiny hands are always in his mouth and he is constantly chewing on his blankie.........

Wouldn't you love to share.......

your Cheerios with this handsome little guy?

I am really enjoying my new love for photography! A huge thank you to Kristine Kraft for being my tutor! She has been so incredibly helpful AND she doesn't seem annoyed when she gets texts all hours of the day with my questions!

Let it snow!

We welcomed some of the white fluffy stuff today and Veda was so pleased to be able to enjoy it!

Miss V turns THREE!

Seriously? Where has the last three years gone? It feels like just yesterday that Veda looked like this..............

1 day old

 

 

 

 

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Before I knew it, this sweet baby turned one!

and then two

and now here she is yesterday, one day shy of being three!

Veda is my first miracle and such an amazing little girl. She really brightens my world. I love you miss V!!

Do you appreciate small victories?

I pose this question because I find myself always worried about things that are in the future instead of focusing on the here and now. I have been this way as long as I can remember. I never applauded myself for finishing a semester of nursing school or getting an A on an exam. Instead I just focused on the fact that I still had semesters to finish and it wasn't an accomplishment until I was completed with the program. Silly isn't it? We are never guaranteed another day so why not celebrate the small victories? I'm going to start!

Its amazing to me the lessons our children can teach us. Just the other day I was admiring Veda's excitement as she was able to dress herself completely without any help from me. she turned to me and said "LOOK MOMMY!!!, I DID IT ALL BY MYSELF!!" what an accomplishment for her. I was very proud to say the least.

Here are some small victories that I am proud of.....

* I started studying for the NCLEX and have made it through nearly 100 questions and I'm answering them fairly well!

* I am learning how to use the manual settings on my Nikon

* I have learned a few tricks and tools in photoshop to enhance my pictures

* Out of hundreds of pictures I have taken lately, I have at least 2 fabulous ones! :)

What are your small victories?

Baby Feet......

Love em! Soon they will be toddler feet :(

My daughter said what?

You know when you hear your child says something bizarre and your head totally spins in the direction in which you heard their tiny voice? Well, that has been a regular occurrence in my house lately!

Veda: "Daddy, I'm gonna kill you"
Daddy: "Veda, we don't talk like that, where did you learn the word kill?"
Veda: "High school"

seriously? where does she come up with this stuff? I'm not even sure I have ever used the words high school and kill. This tells me that my daughter has had WAY too much tv time while I was in school and studying......oy veh!

Here is another.....

Veda: "Will you carry me upstairs because my feet are too tired to walk"


Veda: "Daddy, can I have a treat?"
Daddy: "What did mommy say?"
Veda: "Mommy says I have to eat dinner first, so can I have a treat?"
Daddy: "No Veda, you have to listen to mommy and wait until after dinner"
Veda: "oh stop it Joe!"

Oh this little girl just makes my heart smile. She is one of a kind!

What happens when mommy leaves the room???????

My 2010 in a flash

What a fantastic year 2010 was! I was blessed in so many ways. First, Miss Veda turned 2! She is such an amazing little girl. She talks non-stop and has so much personality. There is never a dull moment with her. She is packed full of love and attitude! I cannot wait to see her shine even more in the upcoming year.

 Next, we welcomed Grayson Joseph to the world on February 3rd weighing in at 9lbs 1oz. He is the sweetest, most cuddly little creature. He has been taking several steps lately and will surely be walking before his first birthday. I'm sad that he is growing up so fast but I look forward to watching him develop into a toddler.

 

Finally, the last big event for our family this past year was that I FINALLY graduated nursing school! plus, I did it well! I was acknowledge with high honors. This means the world to me considering I am one of the only college graduates in my family! This was a great year and I can't wait to see what 2011 holds for us!!!!!!!!!!!!