Saturday, May 30, 2009

R.I.P. Billable Hours!

Well, last night was Jay's last night at KMNL. To celebrate, I made him this cake. It says, "R.I.P. Billable Hours!" Hey, you've got to look at the bright side of being laid off, right!?

Sorry the picture is sideways... its not saved sideways on the computer, and I can't figure out how to flip it!




Danny's crawling around so much, that often I have to put him in this play yard just to be able to go to the bathroom or make myself a sandwich. I never thought I'd be one of those moms who put their kid in a pen, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do! He looks happy enough!


Here's Danny clapping his hands on command!
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Friday, May 29, 2009

My Turn to Brag

So I posted an entire month's worth of blogging in one night, so what? I posted so much that it is more than one page worth of blog-age, so make sure you look through it all! We've been through a lot of changes in the last month...

I'd like to take this time to brag about Danny. I posted all the pictures, but I didn't really take the time to tell you what he's up to!

My baby boy is growing up so fast. He has all kinds of new tricks. In the past month, he starting scooting around on his stomach. He can scoot so fast, you'd never believe it. He is a very determinedly curious little boy, and he gets into all kinds of trouble because he wants to explore everything. If something on one side of the room catches his attention, he will scoot on over and try to chew on it... whether its a toy, my shoes from work (blech!)Jay's papers from work (Danny has a particular fondness for eating paper!) or some other dangerous item (like cords from the computer) The problem is that he is so determined, that even after I move the item to a different location, he will still try to find it. If, for example, I move some papers behind a pillow, he will move the pillow to get to the papers. Or if I put my shoes in the closet, he will pry open the closet door with his little fingers, and crawl right on inside! He is pretty much impossible to distract. I'll attempt to sing to him, or play pattycake, for example, and he will oblige me, but then go right back to what he was doing before. He has quite a memory for a 9 month old. He loves to open my dresser drawers and pull up on his knees to peer inside and remove the contents. He also likes to chase the cat. Poor Joy doesn't know what she's got comin'!

Danny is also quite the eater. He'll eat anything. He has amazing manual dexterity, and picks up even the slimiest foods with his thumb and forefinger. I make almost all of his food for him (except the meat). Let me list the foods we have tried so far! (Bear with me, this is more for me to remember later, than for you to enjoy reading). Fruits: Mango, apple, pear, blueberry, banana, peaches, plums, cherries, guava, avocado. Vegetables: Acorn squash, butternut squash, green beans, broccoli, turnips, peas, carrots, beets, spinach, zucchini. Cereals: Oatmeal, barley, whole wheat, brown rice, cheerios, Legumes: Kidney beans, brown lentils. Meat: Turkey, Beef, Chicken, Ham. Whew! He sure eats healthier than I do!

Danny also loves to talk. Talk, talk, talk! He doesn't say words yet, but he sure does have a plethora of noises. Since he's had teeth for so long, he makes all kinds of consonant noises... "vuh, fa, da, duh, ma, ga, buh, puh," and my favorite, "ya ya ya ya ya!" Lately, he's been moving from monotone type of repetitive talking to more "conversational" babbling. It sounds more like, "BAH,buh... guh guh, GA GA GA GA!" He really looks like he's trying to say something.

Let's see.... he also claps on command. If I say, "Danny! Clap!" he does so... he also claps when you say, "YAY!" or "Pattycake!" He'll also give me a slobbery kiss on the cheek if I ask him to! He loves to read books, and turns the pages when its time, and when I ask him to, will sometimes point to the "mouse" and the "balloon" when we're reading "Goodnight Moon" (only on the pages where they are easy to find) although he's inconsistent about this.

Flexible... that's another thing about Danny. He is so flexible that it freaks other people out. Even other people with babies! To get from sitting to his belly, he just sticks his legs out to the side like he's doing the splits, and rolls over top of them onto his belly. We even caught him sleeping like that once! Legs splayed to the side, with him laying on his belly right between them!

Okay, that's enough bragging for now, but when you don't blog for a month, there's a lot to catch up on!

Zach's Birthday!

We went to Zach's birthday this past weekend! Zach is a little boy in Danny's playgroup. He turned a year old. It was fun getting all the babies together and putting them in hats!

Babies in hats. Does it get any cuter?


Korben likes to read books, Danny likes to chew on them. Look at that teamwork!


Zach gets ready to try his cake.



"Par-taaaayyy!"


I have a greater appreciation now, for the work of Anne Geddes.

A Swingin' Good Time

We like to take Danny to the park near our house. It is within walking distance! That's one thing we love about our neighborhood... wide sidewalks with tall old trees. There are always lots of families with kids walking around outside visiting the parks or just going for a stroll!

Danny tries out the slide for the first time.



He loved the swing! It was his second time on the swing. He seemed more into it this time.

Danny's Baptism

Here are the photos from Daniel's Baptism on May 9, 2009.

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Spending the Day with Granddude

The Sunday before I started working at BWMC (May 3rd, 2009), Granddude came down from NJ to visit. Danny loves him! He learned to love playing Pattycake and enjoyed reading his favorite book (The Belly Button Book by Sandra Boynton) with Granddude.




Check out my new overalls!

Danny Chases His Feet

Danny's first encounter with shoes...

All Hell Breaks Loose... Are We Up to the Challenge??

Well, in April, I announced that I would be leaving Meyer 9, which was one of the most difficult decisions of my entire life. The only thing I can remember which was as difficult was deciding to move to Baltimore on my own. I don't know what it is about big changes that are so hard for me. I guess I'm a control freak deep down inside, and deciding to do something new means I will be venturing out into the unknown. I took a job at Baltimore Washington Medical Center. Its a smaller hospital that is much closer to my home. Why leave Johns Hopkins (arguably the best hospital in the world) after accumulating almost 8 years of seniority, you ask? Well, it was for several reasons. The first was that I found my job at Hopkins to be very demanding. The schedule was unpredictable, and the commute was long. I had lots of responsibilities outside of going to work (ie: teaching classes, doing evaluations, and helping manage the clerical staff) Also, I didn't feel like I was challenging myself anymore. I wasn't learning anything new, and was starting to feel burnt out with all the politics on Meyer 9. Most of my really really close friends had already left (although I still have many close friends on 9) They are probably the only reason I stayed so long in the first place. I decided I really wanted to focus more on my family life... and have a "job" instead of a "career" so that I could call my time off my own. Anyway, my new job is in the Emergency Department. I was scared out of my mind. I never fancied myself as an ER nurse... I dont' really like being in code situations, I have no critical care experience, and I am not ACLS certified... But I decided if I wanted a challenge, this would be it. This hospital is smaller, but their ED is very large... 69 beds! That's huge! They see about 270-300 patients a day. That's an insane turnover. But I decided to hold my breath and take the plunge...

Well, that's when all hell broke loose. The day before I was to leave my stable job for one I wasn't too sure about, Jay came home with some terrible news. He was getting laid off. KMNL lost a huge contract with PG county and needed to lay off some associates. Jay was the second to go. There will likely be several more. The reason this is such terrible news is that I was only scheduled to work part time, and jobs for lawyers are few and far between. It might be months (or even a year) before Jay can find a new job. In the meantime, I am going to be "flexing up" and going back to work full time nights. Things are going to be really tough for us for a while. I've been getting in touch with my inner "cheapskate" so that we can do some belt tightening for a while. Please say some prayers for Jay's job search!

On May 4th, I started my new job. It sure is different! I've already seen several people die, including a 4 year old whose pacemaker stopped working. Talk about depressing. But I am learning SO much, and my preceptor is wonderful, and really keeps me on my toes. Also, I work with Stacey, so I'm glad to know a good friend at work. It is tough being the new girl again... and even tougher to realize that I don't know CRAP about ANYTHING related to ED nursing!

So, all in all, May has been full of lots of change, but hopefully we will be up to the challenge!

Preparing for Samantha

The first weekend of May was my friend Stephanie's baby shower! She looks so cute pregnant, and I can't wait to see her precious little girl!

Steph and Stacey pose with Steph's new stroller. We have this same stroller and love it.


Me with Lynn and Diana.


OMG, Annette, WHAT ARE YOU HOLDING!?!?!


Meyer 9 groupies.

Lordy Lordy... Look Who's... Thirty...

Okay, I know I haven't blogged since the middle of April. Things have been really INCREDIBLY busy lately. Some good things... some bad things... but mostly good! Let's catch up!

On April 23rd, I turned 30. That's right! I can't believe it either.

Celebrating the big 30 with a slice of Kitsie cake!



Mmmm... Bailey's... my favorite. Thanks honey! Those are vitamins in the background. I'm going to need them after I drink this. I don't have the stamina I used to! One shot of Baileys and I'll be drooling on the couch.

Card from Jay. He always knows how to crack me up.


Presents from the fam...



Delicious dinner made by my wonderful husband. Chicken Marsala! I married a man who can cook!


He also knows how to do the dishes. Good husband!


Then on Friday, I met Katie and Christopher for a trip to the beach in Pasadena. We really enjoy hanging with Katie and family.


We really enjoyed the weather. There are only a few weeks in Maryland where the weather is tolerable, so its imperative to get out and enjoy them!


Christopher and Mrs. McClain searching for sea glass. The beach was covered in it! For some reason, I didn't get any pictures of Katie!


Below, Danny sports his new beach outfit:


And Christopher sports his "cool" sunglasses.


Sophia shows Danny how its done...


Then on Saturday night, Jay suprised me by getting some of my friends together for my birthday. Here I am with Katie and Stacey. Yvette was there too!