There once was a little girl...with a little curl

Christmas dresses

2012-01-03T21:20:00.010-06:00

Since Quinlynne's first Christmas, I couldn't decide on one dress that was cute enough to be her only Christmas dress. Luckily, as you may know, I always shopped at Just Between Friends and was able to purchase absolutely adorable dresses for good prices. This year was no exception. Quinlynne had 4 dresses for Christmas. I believe the most expensive dress was $15. Not bad, eh? It was a great Christmas for the Hoffman clan. My camera is not doing so well, so I'm afraid I don't really have any pictures to show. Sorry- just take my word for it.

Dress 1

Dress 2

Dress 3

Dress 4

Us on Christmas after church.

Speaking of Pumpkin Patches

2011-11-20T00:13:00.004-06:00

Here's a picture of Quinlynne's first trip to the Pumpkin Patch. Uncle Aaron made a special trip home from OSU for this.

Here's the pumpkin patch this year:

Where does the time go? *sigh* I need another one.

Kindergarten Field Trip

2011-11-19T23:53:00.003-06:00

Quinlynne went on her first field trip in Kindergarten. She begged & begged for me to go & "help". I could think of no good reason to get me out of it. I just didn't know how I was going to be with other people's kids! As you may know, my patience does not rank up there with Job's. I rode out to the pumpkin patch, which was about 20 or so miles away- maybe farther with another mom who is a friend of mine. Her daughter goes to another school. It was about 45 minutes before Quinlynne got there. Luckily, I was only put in charge of one other little kid. She was a good girl- so I was relieved. This was not the same pumpkin patch where Quinlynne & I usually go. We go to Carmichael's in Bixby, OK. That is the patch where my mom used to take my brother & me. Now- we take our kids there. (As a little side note here...I have tried to do things over & over so Quinlynne will have traditions. I never wanted her to NOT have the same kinds of traditions because we do not have a "traditional" family...ya know...mom, dad & kid(s). I must be succeeding b/c the next week when I announced we were going to the pumpkin patch Quinlynne asked if we were going to "our" pumpkin patch & started telling me all of the things we had to do when we got there. Made me feel good!)

Here are some pictures from her field trip: She got to "milk a cow". I thought that was pretty cute. They had bottles they use for livestock in 5 gallon puckets with water inside. The kids squeezed the bottle nipples & "milked" the cows.

They got to rope a "calf" while they were on a "horse". Quinylnne was very sad when I told her she had to throw away her lunch bag. She had worked so hard on that bag. Can you see the pumpkin towards the bottom? This was the face she gave me when I told her we weren't going to carry it around & she needed to throw it away.

The kids got to have gunny sack races. Very cute. Overall- it was a good first field trip. I only scared one kid. He kept on throwing this dried corn all over & this other chaperone asked him to stop several times. He'd look at her & ignore her. I told him to stop. Again- ignored us. I finally grabbed his arm, got down on his level, looked him in the eye & very calmly told him to STOP throwing the corn. We weren't going to ask again. I'm pretty sure he wet his pants.

It's test time

2011-09-18T22:23:00.003-05:00

...so of course I'm going to publish a blog post. So much has been going on in our lives, that I don't even know where to begin. Quinlynne is in Kindergarten. Can you believe that? Doesn't it seem like just a few days ago this little girl: became this little girl? (Tilt your head, I haven't edited yet.) She has said some of the most hilarious things. Her first day of school I was leaving her in her classroom. I got about 3 steps out of the door and she said "Momma!" I was turning around expecting to see a sad face, or the beginnings of a meltdown. Instead she blew me a kiss. That's a big girl. (What's even funnier about the whole thing is that just as we were walking out the door my mom told me that she made it out the door from delivering me to my first day of Kindergarten. I called her name & she expected to see my ugly cry beginning. Nope, I waved & said "Have a good day!") Genetics folks....

Soon I'll have to post about the guy who tried to hit on me at Barnes & Noble when Quinlynne & I went there to read the new Fall & Halloween books. But- that'll take too much time right now. I mean, I AM supposed to be studying. Oh- & I need to tell you about my experience in school so far this semester. But, before I go- there is a link I'd like to share wtih you. Please go here and read about a friend of mine & the injustice which has occurred to her.

Silly Shandolynne

2011-08-05T18:21:00.002-05:00

I don't know how many of you can relate to this. But- I just need to express it. Do you know how much it stings the heart to find out that a man you have always carried a flame in your heart for- even though you haven't been together in over a decade- and he has moved on & had more children & you have had a child...and you know he's been with a woman & even in your deepest crevices of your heart you know it won't happen for the two of you & you continue to have tender feelings for him & the two of you communicate & know there's still love between the two of you....to see he is now engaged to that woman? Even though you know it's not a good thing for him. It breaks my haert just a little more. Silly Shandolynne- don't open up your heart.

What a Weekend

2011-06-26T23:52:00.006-05:00

This weekend was our annual Hardwick Cousin Family Reunion. (My mom's maiden name is Hardwick.) It was held in Allen, OK. Each year our reunions have a theme. The theme for this year was Mardi Gras. One of the activities was a Mardi Gras parade. Each family was supposed to do something. Mom left to go to Allen on Thursday with her brother. She informed myself & my SIL (Mandy) that we were in charge of coming up with an idea for the float. I have more pictures of it coming, but....Mandy & I made tutus for the girls in Mardi Gras colors. We called Mom to tell her & she said she wanted one too. So.......
There was more to the costume than this- but doesn't mom look HOT in the tutu? Speaking of hot...it was HOT at the reunion.

Since Mandy & I stayed up until 4 am making the tutus, I didn't get much sleep before it was time for us to leave and drive the 2 hours down to Allen. It was 98 degrees (at least, no exaggeration) during the day. I only got about 40 oz of water during the day. I was outside quite a bit. So, total- I spent about 6 hours driving during the day. I decided to drive home & when I got home- this is what my edematous feet looked like.
Isn't it sexy? It was starting to swell up into my legs. I hadn't had swelling that bad since I was pregnant with Quinlynne. I don't even think this picture does it justice.

Things I heard this weekend: Quinlynne "Abby, do you know what booby cracks are for?"
Abby "What?!?!"
Quinlynne "Ya know- women's booby cracks? They're so men will fall in love with them."
Me trying to not make noise laughing in the front seat.
Abby "My mom doesn't have that I don't think. I never see it."
Quinlynne "My momma has it."
Abby "I see it sometimes too."

As Quinlynne & I were driving back home last night, she was watching "Because of Winn Dixie". Just as we were getting on I-40, she started laughing. I heard her laughing & wondered what she was laughing at. She said "Momma- know why I'm laughing?"
Me "No. Why are you laughing?"
Quinlynne "I heard thunder & I it made me kinda wake up. It was in the movie, but I thought it was in our country."
I guess I'm gonna have to talk about the word "reality" & teach her the definition & when to use it. That kid cracks me up. "In our country" & "Booby cracks".

Might I Suggest

2011-06-15T00:30:00.004-05:00

Last week I was making some cookies. My cookie scoop had gone kaput & I was somewhat distraught. I enjoy having near-perfectly round cookies. So, I ran by Wal-Mart (when my heart really cried for William Sonoma) to see if they might accidentally have a cookie scoop. Might I suggest this little beauty:

The Oneida cookie scoop. Most usually, I love anything by Oneida. I think they make a good product. This beauty was around $7.00 and has a lifetime warranty! Both my sister in-law & I have used it already. We both loved using it. So- if you're in the market for a new, cheap kitchen goody- go for this! (Notice I have more blogging? Can you tell school's not in session??)

I hate stuff like THIS

2011-06-10T12:48:00.003-05:00

So, I have a real problem with people making money off of Jesus. Bumper stickers that say Honk if you Love Jesus make me want to rear end the person. I just think it's disrespectful to our Savior. Several things of this nature I witnessed today. But- this was the cherry on top.
I think that is so tacky. I think it's disrespectful to our Savior. I think relationships with Jesus are meant to me sacred, not commercialized so someone can make money off of Him. I saw it (sticker) in a parking lot & HAD to stop & take a picture of it for a friend who no longer lives in the Bible Belt. I know she misses seeing this sort of thing!

Funny things from Thursday

2011-06-10T12:22:00.004-05:00

Yesterday Quinlynne had an allergy skin testing done. She was pitching a fit, she thought it was going to really hurt. I finally bribed her with Mozzarella Sticks from Sonic. She loves those. I had to take this picture so she could actually see what was going on back there.Turns out, she does not have any allergies. I know!! Weird, huh? The child does have some sinus issues, and she will most likely develop allergies as she gets older. She has vasomotor rhinitis. I'd never heard of it. The CT scan did show that she has some chronic sinus infection that has most likely been up in there for a while. She also has this inflamed area on her septum which severely impedes the flow of oxygen. We're supposed to use a nasal spray to try to reduce the inflammation.

Last night as my sister in-law & I were in the living room talking, we banned Quinlynne & Abby to Quin's room. They decided they were going to clean the room. Whatever- as long as they were out of our hair. It wasn't until I heard something being sprayed in the room that I was concerned. I asked Quinlynne what she was spraying. "It's that stuff in the bathroom that we spray after we poop." She meant Lysol. I had to contain myself.

Adorable sayings

2011-06-09T08:58:00.005-05:00

I wanted to write down some things Quinlynne has said recently so I didn't forget them.

We went to have a CT scan of Quinlynne's sinuses on Tuesday. I was trying to prepare her for how it would work. She, of course, was concerned with whether she was going to be poked with any needles. Anticipating that she would not need any contrast for a scan I told her NO. I told her how she would lie on a table and the table would slide back & forth into a big machine, but only her head. I had referred to it as either a CT scan or a CAT scan. She was asking questions, like if it was going to be like the x-ray she had when she broke her arm. She says "Momma, am I going to have to remove my clothing?" Now I ask you, what 5 year old says things like 'remove my clothing'? So, we get to the children's hospital and check in. As we're sitting there waiting, Quinlynne says "Momma, is my kitty x-ray going to hurt?" Inside, I was dying. I thought it was hilarious. As it ends up, we had to walk over to the radiology department in the main hospital (There was no tech to come over to the Children's hospital to perform the scan.) for her scan. So, I made Quinlynne tell the people there what she was there for. The lady at the window thought it was so cute, but didn't let on that she thought it was hilarious. She went to get the other ladies in the office & had Quinlynne tell them the name of her procedure. It then evolved to a Kitty Scan. Too cute, I tell you.

Last night I made stir fry. It's nothing too fancy. I just throw in onions, bell peppers, garlic, polish sausage, and then some portobello mushrooms. I had cut the mushrooms into chunks. I then served it with some pasta (rigatoni) I had boiled with chicken flavor bullion. As I dished it up and gave it to Quinlynne, she said "Momma, I don't want the dead meat." I thought that was what she said. I looked at her bowl to see what in the heck she was talking about. She was pointing to the mushrooms & again said "Momma, I don't want the dead meat. Ya know- this dead chicken right here." I have no clue where she has seen chicken look like that. But- apparently she has.

Is This Artist MY Kid- or What?

2011-06-03T07:13:00.000-05:00

Check out the outfit....all the way down to the feet. If you know me at all, you know how I feel about feet & toenails. Is this my kid, or what? She took the time to do Barbie's toes!!!

PRE-K graduation Round 2

2011-06-03T01:24:00.005-05:00

I'm sure I've told you before- but since Quinlynne is a late August birthday, I went ahead and had her do a second year of Pre-K. So, she will be starting Kindergarten this August, right before she turns 6. She has been going to the same school she has always gone to, but thankfully they have 2 Pre-K classes. Quinlynne had Mr. Cody for a teacher last year and this year she's had Ms. Pam. She recently had her graduation, and she was so excited for it this year.

On a separate note, I've been trying to teach Quinlynne the art of and importance of correspondence. I really do believe it is a lost art. I can't tell you the number of gifts I've given in the last 2 years and have not received a Thank You note. Seriously- graduation gifts, wedding gifts, baby gifts, teacher appreciate gifts...it ticks me off. How hard can it be? Sure, sure- I may have let a gift slip by without a thank you note...but I can probably count them on less than one hand. (Toot, toot!) All that to get to this: there is a teacher at Quinlynne's school who is expecting a baby. I was unaware that this teacher was pregnant. Quinlynne informed me of this and said "I'd really like to get a 'Congratulations' card to her, momma. OK?" I thought it was adorable & it made this momma proud that Quinlynne is paying attention. Also- Ms. Pam's husband had a hip replacement and when Quinlynne told me this, she asked if there was a card for that. Oh- my baby is catching on!

Hair

2011-05-27T01:30:00.000-05:00

We've been trying to grow Quinlynne's hair longer than normal. She & I both usually like to keep her hair a with about chin length. With curls like hers, when the hair starts getting long the ends look terrible, dry & it tangles like crazy. (Combing out tangles also does not help the ends look any better!) We've been trying a few more things to help it not look so dry & for her curls to stick together more. About once weekly I've been taking Organic Coconut Oil and finger-combing it through her hair. I also massage her scalp very well during this process. I then put a shower cap on her head, and she leaves it on for a few hours. Sometimes she sleeps with it on at times. Then when it is time to shower, we don't use shampoo. What??? No shampoo??? Are you freakin' nuts?? Are you disgusting & dirty or what?? We actually are doing a thing called co'pooing. We use conditioner to cleanse her hair. You wouldn't believe how nice, soft & healthy her hair is looking.
My cousin actually did her hair this day. But look- she's having to show off her soccer trophy!
I've also been trying to do more with her hair. I'm not the most creative with hair. I'm doing good to get mine done. I've been consulting some different websites to get ideas. Here are a few things we've been doing. Considering I do not know how to French braid (I really need to learn)- we're getting better. I've done this particular look this way, diagonally across her head, upside down, and in pigtails. She likes it! BTW- we have a hair appointment to get her hair cut tomorrow. She can't wait to get it cut- she wants to get it done...mainly because (I think) she likes her hairdresser, whose name is Peaches!

Soccer, anyone?

2011-05-26T10:00:00.001-05:00

Quinlynne has just completed her first season of soccer. She loved it. She really started catching on and got some hustle to her about halfway through the season. We were really blessed to have a team of 6 girls and all the girls got along, as did the parents. Doesn't that just make things so much easier? I think Quinlynne ended up scoring 4 goals over the duration of the season, and she is awfully proud of those. The last practice of the season was at Braum's & the coach bought the girls all some ice cream. (He then ordered himself a meal to wolf down before he had to go to a meeting and Quinlynne tried to just reach over and get herself a fry from his tray.) Each of the girls got a trophy, and Quinlynne is so proud of it. She keeps saying "It's my very first trophy!" As her mother- I hope she earns many more trophies- since she was so excited for this first one. I love to see the excitement at a tangible monument of her accomplishment. Way to go, Momma's Precious!!

A little bit o' Weather

2011-05-25T11:45:00.001-05:00

I've grown up in Tornado Alley. I do not love Tornado Season. We do not head to the bathroom when the Tornado Warning hits- otherwise we'd be in the bathroom for days. We don't even head to the bathroom when the storm siren sounds. Instead, like every good Okie, when the siren sounds we go outside & look for the impending wall cloud or funnel coming towards us. We do not panic until we see the funnel starting above us or coming towards us. However, we do take precautions.

Last night we had quite a little storm system come through. The area we live in is between cities. So, when the news focuses in on the Oneta area, we know we're in trouble. The tornado that hit Haskell last night ended up coming just south of us, thank goodness. We did get a sudden downpour of rain and wind blowing different ways. Quinlynne has to prepare the bathroom "just in case". We put our sneakers on in case something were to happen- we'd have protection for our feet instead of our dear flip flops. Then we found a use for Quinlynne's helmet. Thank goodness!

Oh my goodness, really??

2011-05-08T21:43:00.004-05:00

I have been on a kick lately of visiting antique stores. It's my version of "going green". I'm reusing!! I thought to myself "Gee Shandolynne, you're really getting old when you go to these antique stores and you think 'I remember using that!!'" Then I said something about remembering the Otasco stores. The older gentleman working at the store said "You're THAT OLD??" I told him indeed I was, and I'd take it as a good sign that I looked good if he found it hard do believe I remembered Otascos. So- this is the Piece de Resistance: This morning Quinlynne was watching cartoons on Disney. In between the modern cartoons they show short classic cartoons. I told Quinlynne that those cartoons I used to watch when I was a little girl. (It was one with Daffy Duck.)
Quinlynne: On Disney Channel, momma??
Me: No. We didn't have Disney Channel, Quinlynne.
Quinlynne: Why not?
Me: We didn't have cable when I was little.
Long pause.
Quinlynne: Did you have electricity when you were little?
Long pause.
Me: Yes, Quinlynne!!! (snidely) We had electricity!!! We just didn't have cable yet.

Wonderful start to my Mother's Day! The child has a thing or two to learn about history.
For Mother's Day we had a fun picnic at one of the parks here in town. It was great to be able to spend time with my mom, Connie, Mandy, Aaron & my nieces, my cousin Penny & her husband John, and Uncle Charlie. We did use the new quilt, again! It was a beautiful day!! And to top it off?? I get to have my niece Cadyn this week! Quinlynne has already asked if she can pretend she's her little sister.

Its Maiden Picnic

2011-05-08T01:08:00.004-05:00

Did I ever post that I have taken up a new hobby? For years now I have been wanting to quilt. I've always been quite daunted by it, though. I didn't have enough faith in my sewing abilities. So- I decided to grab the bull by the horns and go for it. It has been a little labor of love. I decided my first quilt was going to be something for Quinlynne & I. I picked colors that were kind of girly. I wanted this quilt to be one we could take on picnics, to sporting events, etc. (Let me interject here- a few days ago I went into an antiques shop & the lady there was quilting. I mentioned to her that I was almost finished with my first quilt. She could NOT believe that I was going to use it for the above listed purposes. Seriously?? I think quilts should be utilitarian.) Today we had a ward picnic, and I was excited to take the new quilt on its maiden picnic.

Quinlynne had to pose on the new quilt. She likes it a lot, I do believe. I can't wait to start my next quilt!!

The Morning After

2011-04-20T12:59:00.004-05:00

I was unable to go to clinicals today. So, I WAS able to see Quinlynne's reaction to her pillow this morning. Here it is....It's not the greatest picture- but look at her expression. She was so excited to take that for her nap time!

As a side note- how should I feel when I'm on several LDS singles web sites and I have absolutely ZERO profile views. No one looks at my profile. Do they just see my profile pic in the preview and decide it's not worth even checking out the rest of the profile? I mean really, if you were me- what would your thoughts be?

Rest thine head

2011-04-19T22:16:00.004-05:00

Quinlynne has been wanting a pillowcase for her pillow. This is her pillow she takes to school for her naps, and takes in the car for napping while traveling. Today we both had pinkeye. I do so enjoy sharing things like this with my daughter. (She informed me today that I must have just stayed home with her so we could spend some time together.) I had decided to start teaching Quinlynne how to do some needlepoint. But- since I could not find the embroidery floss, we decided to go for the pillowcase project. Quinlynne picked out the fabric she wanted to use for her pillowcase from scraps we had. We just played around until we came up with something we liked.

This is the pillow before.This is the front of the pillow after.
And the back of the pillow after.I will be gone to clinicals in the morning when she gets up. So, I will not be able to see her reaction. I was still working on it when she went to bed this evening. I hope she likes it!!

Maybe not December

2011-04-04T00:18:00.003-05:00

So I have some news. I'm going to be dropping my Clinical Psych Nursing class. I'm NOT doing well in it, at all. I may have already told you this, but I'm struggling- period- this semester. In order to give myself a fighting chance of passing Critical Care & Manager of Care, I decided that I'm going to withdraw from the Psych class. After that thought occurred to me (I was in the shower), it was like a huge weight was lifted from my shoulders. I'll be taking the Psych class in the summer. That means I'll be able to take the NCLEX shortly after finishing the class. I won't be pinned until December. That makes me sad.....but it's for the best I think. So, instead of studying for the Psych test which is tomorrow, I decided to work on a project I've been wanting to do for a few weeks now. This is a prototype. It's a potholder. It's supposed to be vintage looking. I picked the fabrics because they reminded me of the old flour sack fabrics that so many old quilts are made from. I've already finished a second one, and I hand stitched the binding. I think that makes it look better. SO SO SO much better than studying!!

1st day of Spring Break

2011-03-15T02:09:00.003-05:00

Quinlynne and I were bored our first day of Spring Break. It was kind of chilly outside, so we didn't go do much. What did we do? Self-portraits, of course! We were trying to make funny faces and be goofy. These are the only ones we got which were even halfway clear. We were giggling so much we couldn't get a clear picture!

Oh, I forgot to post this the other day. But- Happy Mardi Gras!!! Quinlynne is sporting her mask her Uncle Aaron & Aunt Mandy brought back for her from New Orleans when they made their trip there in October. Cool, no?

Oh- Quinlynne informed me the other night that she DOES want a dad. I asked her why she wants a dad. She told me "so he can rough-house with me!" Who knew?

Getting there

2011-03-11T00:04:00.003-06:00

For those of you who did NOT see this photo on Facebook....

I took this picture at the hospital last week while I was at my clinical site. I have been on a heart floor at a local hospital. Actually, it's the one hospital that I've asked to not go to because that is where my dad died. Ironically- it's the one hospital I REPEATEDLY get sent to. Is Heavenly Father trying to tell me something? ANYHOW- with any luck- soon this girl with the awesome stethoscope will soon be a Registered Nurse and not a Student Nurse. This semester IS killing me. Like- right now- I'm supposed to be doing some research for a paper that is due tomorrow at 5. Yeah- I'm behind. UGH- unmotivated, that's me.

How cute is this?

2011-02-20T17:41:00.005-06:00

Last weekend my brother's family was down. One of my nieces always calls the sofa as her bed. Well, I was walking through the living room to take something to the laundry room and this is what I saw:
How cute is that? Izzy & Abby cuddled right up together. I tell ya- those kids make me smile at times.

I'm sorry I haven't been posting anything really. And when I tell you my excuse you'll just roll your eyes. You know I'm in my last semester (hopefully) of nursing school. It sucks. Plain and simple. There is light at the end of the tunnel- but I am completely unmotivated & that's difficult because the majority of our lectures & everything are things we have to do on our own time. NOT happy. But, there's no use crying over something which is not going to be changed.

Quinlynne has said some pretty cute things lately. Yesterday morning I was trying to sleep in, and I was in the recliner in the living room. Q had the TV on the Disney channel I get so tired of that being on constantly & Q knows this. She said "You don't want it on the Disney channel, Momma? No problem!" And she turned it to Nickelodeon. Oh yes- what a huge difference. Then today Mom and I were walking through the living room and Q was watching TV. We all commented on something that was cute. (I wish I could remember what it was. Apparently I've got early onset Alzheimer's.) Mom & I were in the kitchen and we heard Quinlynne say "You know that, Grandi!" (Instead of 'you know it'!)

2011-01-20T23:39:00.002-06:00

To start things off, here is a picture of my niece, Cadyn. Look at that little face. Can't you just see the ornery-ness? She is adorable! OK, the pictures are kind of going to be in a jumbled up order- but go with it.
Like I said earlier- we had to take a total of 6 flights to get to California and back. Finally, on the last flight, from Dallas to Tulsa, the pilot let Quinlynne come up to the cockpit. Apparently- they don't have wings to give kids anymore? But, she totally loved getting to see the cockpit!

This is a picture of me with my cousin Tasha's grandson, Kash. (Isn't it weird that my cousins have grandkids?? It's true on both sides of my family.) Kash is such a little cuddlebug!

This is me with my cousins Audra's grandson, Robert. They said he never smiles and he never wants his fingernails or toenails trimmed. Well- I had a hangnail so I asked for a pair of clippers. Robert saw me with them and climbed right up onto my lap. The boy must just sense how I feel about nail hygiene. AND- we got a picture of him smiling...with ME!

This is my Aunt Di with Quinlynne. We are on a pier here, one you can drive onto. We were over on this side of it trying to see if there were any sea lions on the lower deck. Isn't the water pretty?

This picture is of Quinlynne looking out the window of the car when she figured out that was the ocean we were driving next to. She thought it was soooo neat!

This is Quinlynne & Aunt Di again. Can you see the excitement on her little face? She couldn't believe we were driving on a pier!!

That kid of mine

2010-12-10T00:10:00.003-06:00

Over the Thanksgiving holiday Quinlynne & I flew to California to spend the holiday with family out there. My dad's sister (Aunt Di and that side live in Bakersfield.) Quinlynne had never flown before. It is strange to me how many things my child has not done, because I had done them by her age. My dad was a small aircraft pilot- I had flown, ridden motorcycles, gone boating, been in semi-trucks, etc. SO- for some ridiculous reason, one cannot fly directly from Tulsa to Los Angeles nonstop- at least not without paying an astronomical fee. We flew from Tulsa to Dallas on one airline, then Dallas to Phoenix & Phoenix to LAX on a different airline. Quinlynne and I get belted in on the first place. Quinlynne started to cry because she was scared. I wanted to get on to her b/c I was not gonna be that parent of the annoying child. She quieted down though. We took off, and Quinlynne loved looking below us. When we got above the clouds she said "Momma, it's beautiful! I can feel God!" It almost brought tears to my eyes. But then I thought "ooh- I hope she doesn't know something we don't know! They say kids can sense it first!" lol She did very well until our last landing coming into LA- her ear would not pop and she was crying. I can't blame her.

Quinlynne hadn't ever really been around that side of the family. Before we got there I tried showing her pictures of people and telling her their names. She was a little stand-offish, but I knew she'd warm up. One of the cute things she said while we were out there: Aunt Di was talking about something and she said "Well, hip hip hooray, Quinlynne!" Without missing a beat Quinlynne said "hip hip hoo bee!" I was in another room and heard it and was laughing to myself.

While we were there we drove to the coast. The family lives in Bakersfield, so it's a couple of hours to get to Pismo Beach. The drive there includes passing many, many, many oil well sites. We stopped for a pit stop at a little general store/restaurant/who knows what else and Q & I were walking to the restroom. On the way there is a pool table. Two guys who work the oil fields were in the midst of a game. It was like it was happening in slow motion.....Quinlynne walked right up to the table, picked up a ball & started to put it in the pocket. I yelled "NNNNOOOOO!!!!!" The guys just laughed & said it was ok, but I was nervous there for a while. "Tourist & daughter slaughtered for ignorance"

I will load pictures later.....but Quinlynne saw the ocean. We drove out on a pier and were able to see some sea otters. Quinlynne loved it. I'm so jealous of all that fresh seafood. Seriously- my mouth is salivating now. I had fresh clam chowder....I will never be able to put the gruel called calm chowder in this landlocked state onto my taste buds again. It was quite chilly and the beginning to rain when we were able to walk on the beach. The tide was out so Quinlynne wouldn't walk all the way out to actually stick her feet in the ocean. Wimp!

Anyhow- I'll attach pictures later....

Kids do say the darndest things

2010-11-08T15:43:00.002-06:00

Quinlynne has said some darn funny things lately. Saturday she came up to me while I was on the computer & said "Momma, I'm so excited for you to graduate from school. When you graduate you're gonna buy me a pony & a puppy & paint my room pink." When did she just slide that pony thing in there?? Uh- not gonna happen, my cutie patootie. Then on Friday night I went to my room to put on my pajamas. Quinlynne was in my room watching the Disney Channel. I removed my brazier & Quinlynne so nicely pointed out "Momma, your boobies are HUGE." I was a bit appalled. It gets worse. I shook my boobs at her. She said "Momma, when I get older I'm not gonna have huge, hangy boobies like you." HANGY??? I said "These don't hang!" She said "Yes they do. They're huge, they stick out and they hang!" That little heifer. I wished FFF size cups on her at that very moment. I may need another trip to the plastic surgeon! She's said more things lately, but I just wanted to share those. I'll get around to posting a picture or two soon, as well!

"Clothes" vs Dresses

2010-09-07T17:45:00.005-05:00

Yet another warning....this is my blog. If you do not agree with the opinions &/or beliefs written herein: I am sorry. We are all entitled to our own opinions & beliefs. Some of mine are about to be shared.

So, most of you know, I am Latter-Day Saint, or Mormon. I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. If you know anything about our religion, you'll know that the majority of Mormons are very conservative in most things, including politics. If you know me, you'll know that I tend to not be so conservative. As one of my church friends says to me: "you're my left-wing liberal friend". Let me just lay it out there for you...

1) I am a registered Democrat.

2) I don't love taxes, but I believe in them.

3) I am pro-choice. That is not to say I'm all about people hoppin' on the abortion train any time they find themselves with an unplanned pregnancy. So- I guess you could say I'm "pro-choice/ pro-life".

4) I believe that if homosexual couples want to have children, or adopt them, go for it. As long as they give their children plenty of love, support, teach them right from wrong & to be productive members of society....they should have the chance to be parents. It is not my place to judge. That is left for our Father.
5) I support our troops, no matter where they are. I don't believe or support the reasons our troops are in the Middle East- but I support our troops.

6) I support our governmental leaders. I DEFINITELY do NOT like many of them...but I support them because it's my job to do so as an American. If I don't like the job they're doing in office- it's my job as an American to vote & do something about it.

7) I don't believe one race to be superior to another. We are all made in God's image.

Then in a somewhat surprising twist (to some people), I have some conservative beliefs:

1) I believe it is a mother's job to nurture her children.

2) If a mother is called upon to be the primary supporter of her family, I believe she should be educated in order to give herself & her family a fighting chance.

3) I believe a father should support his children & love them. A child should know, without a shadow of a doubt, that his/her father would lay down his own life in order to protect them. (or maim a person in order to protect them! lol)

4) I believe children should be taught, from a very young age, how to pray. It begins by example.

5) I believe it is my job, as a parent, to have a testimony of Jesus Christ, our Savior, in order for my child to begin to gain her own testimony.

6) I believe in conservative dress. One need not let private parts show in order to look attractive or alluring.

OK, from these beliefs, this post is derived. Quinlynne attends a Lutheran preschool. Each Wednesday the children in preschool, and the students of the private school there, attend Chapel. The pastor gives a mini-sermon, makes announcements, the kids sing worship songs, and read verses from the Bible. Since Quinlynne will be in the Chapel at that church, I make her wear a skirt or a dress each Wednesday. This policy is not one Quinlynne is a fan of.

On the way home this evening: "Momma, what day is tomorrow?'

Me "Wednesday."

Q "What am I gonna wear tomorrow?"

me "I don't know Quinlynne. A dress of some sort."

Q "Momma, can tomorrow just be the last day I wear 'clothes?'"

me "No."

Q "But Momma- why not?"

me "Quinlynne, we show respect to Heavenly Father by wearing a skirt or dress inside Chapels. That's just the way it is. The Chapel at our church, or the Chapel at school, or the Chapel at a friend's church."

Q "Momma- when I'm a momma I'm NEVER gonna make my kids wear dresses to church!!!!!!!!!!!"

I'm SUCH a terrible mother!

5 year old?

2010-08-25T10:31:00.004-05:00

I absolutely cannot believe my baby just turned 5 years old. Where on earth has the time gone? I know that before too long I'll be saying "I can't believe my baby is 15." I mean seriously. On Sunday night I had to break the Sabbath. After she was in bed I ran to Wal-Mart to get some cupcakes for her to take to school & celebrate her birthday. I came back & she was fast asleep in her bed. I crawled in her bed with her, admiring how beautiful she and her little spirit are. I had to feel how soft her skin is, and how soft & curly & beautiful her hair is. I started remembering what I had been doing exactly 5 years ago at that time. I cried. I cannot believe I cried. Seriously- am I going to cry like this every time I realize how much she's growing?

I remember after they removed that lovely catheter, I could not urinate. I promised the nursing staff that if I could walk down to the nursery I'd be able to make that bladder work. So, I shuffled to the nursery (in my new robe) and stood there and admired what a beautiful human being Heavenly Father had blessed me with. I could not believe He trusted me with such a beautiful, precious, special spirit. How the Lord must love me, and He knows me....and He still trusts me with this little beauty? I still feel those feelings, and they make me cry. (After I got back to the room, I did produce what the nurses were after.)

So, like other people do, I will write 5 things about Quinlynne in honor of her 5th birthday.

1. "Momma, why does your hair feel like wood right here?"

2. "When I grow up I want to be a hair cutter. Then I can wear jeans, flip flops and a long-sleeve-up shirt every day to work."

3. She weighed 7 lbs 4 oz at birth and was 19 inches long. I made them weigh & measure her again. "Ugh- look at me. I'm not exactly a small girl." (Also, at birth, the brief glimpse I got of her at the time they removed her from my uterus, she looked totally like an all white baby. Not at all what I expected. I thought to myself "Huh- maybe he was right....he didn't have anything to do with it.")

4. Despite being poked 6 times to get my spinal block done & the final product imparing my lung function, I love Quinlynne anyway. (Also- when she was brought into me from the nursery for the first time- I held her for about 30 seconds and was done. I asked if anyone else wanted to hold her. I just wanted to sleep.)

5. Quinlynne began sleeping through the night at 2 weeks. NEVER had any problems with her waking up during the night and needing attention. Now she wakes up nearly every night and needs help with something or other.

6. (One to grow on) Quinlynne's hair did not start curling until she was 9 months old.

7. (A pinch to grow an inch.) "Momma, I want an iPhone for my birthday." "No, Quinlynne." "Okay Momma, you get one & then you can let me use it."

I LOVE YOU, Momma's Precious!

Family pool time

2010-08-03T22:57:00.002-05:00

Family time at the pool. Cadyn absolutely loved it (which surprised us all). Quinlynne is swimming now & thinks she's totally hot stuff.

Little trip

2010-07-25T22:07:00.007-05:00

Mom, Quinlynne, Charlsie & I took a short trip to Minneapolis last weekend. If you remember, I used to live there. I moved there shortly after I graduated from college...a decade ago! Sheesh! I have a cousin who lives there. We got tickets back in February to a DCI show. 23 corps were going to be there. I was SOOOO dang excited. (I know I'm a nerd.) I had been excited for months. Now- unfortunately, I cannot get the pictures where I want them to be, so I'm just going to have to type tidbits & captions with each picture. So, sorry if it doesn't flow well. I have faith that you're bright enough to put everything together. We went to the drum corps show at the new TCF stadium at the University of Minnesota. Beautiful facility. We had Loge seating. I highly suggest it. I might be conned in to going to more football games if I had seats like that. This is Quinlynne seeing her first drum corp. I think it was Teal Sound from Jacksonville, FL. She did pretty well for the most part. Next time, though, I'll take some coloring books.I was about to fall asleep driving. Luckily, we were just getting ready to exit Minnesota & enter Iowa. We got out & I took Quinlynne's picture with those signs. (I didn't edit the pictures.) So, is that total rednecky to take those pictures? She looks a little nervous in the Iowa picture because it was starting to rain and I had her perched atop a guardrail. This is Quinlynne riding this ride called the Splat-o-sphere in the Nickelodeon amusement park in the Mall of America. I couldn't quite get a picture of her face...but the ride takes you up, then drops you a few feet, then takes you up, and drops you. She was so tickled. She couldn't catch her breath she was laughing so hard!This is Quinlynne looking down at the throngs of people while we rode the Ferris wheel at the amusement park. She liked it because it took us allllll the way up to the top of the building. (That's 4 stories.) Quinlynne posing in front of the swing ride thing that she rode more than once. She had to pose with Uniqua & Austin from the Backyardigans. It was a good thing I made her wear her sneakers. If people were wearing flip-flops, they had to take them off while riding rides. She mocked me because I was wearing sneakers with a skirt. "Momma, you're not wearing sneakers with a dress are you? You look like a dork." I can hardly wait until she's a teenager.This is Quinlynne at the entrance to the Mall of America. (Again, I didn't edit the pictures.) I was trying to tell her on the way there that we were going to a really big mall, not one like Woodland Hills. When we exited, I pointed out the mall to her. She still was not enthused. As we had to drive to the top of the parking structure, she started getting a bit excited. We walked into the mall & we were on the 4th floor. She looked down & started getting a bit more excited. When I took her to the center to look down onto the amusement park, her face totally lit up. As we were riding the escalator down, and down, and down she said "Momma, thank you sooo much for bringing me to this absolutely huge mall!"At the stadium on Saturday (I told you I'm having to skip around) we kept on getting herded back inside. "Ladies & Gentlemen, please look to the escorts for the exit to bring you to the concourse." There had been a lightening strike 6 miles away. Then, it rained a bit, then we were under a tornado warning. They should've just asked this Okie....we were in NO danger of a tornado. Hello- you can feel it when they're coming. The weather wasn't hot enough, the sky was too light, the clouds weren't right, and it wasn't still. Anyhow- how to occupy a 4 year old? Why, let her have the camera, of course. This is me, giving a "sexy" look...haha! And laughing b/c I looked ridiculous.This is Quinlynne, my friend Chad, and myself. (Isn't he handsome?)
Mom, playing with her phone while we were stuck indoors. I swear- it got old...Oh, then there was this fun time when we had to all go into the stairwells. I'm not kidding. We were there for about 30-40 minutes. And I'm not kidding.....it was only a thunderstorm....NO TORNADIC ACTIVITY!! I'm a bit perturbed. There are so many pictures of this (us sitting around) because that is mainly what the day consisted of. We only were able to see about 1/3 of the corps before the canceled the whole darn thing. OOOOOOH- ticked!Check out mom with her feet all propped up, enjoying herself. See what I mean about the Loge seating? That's my mom, my aunt & my cousin sitting there. This is the Teal Sound. This is the 1st corp that Quinlynne saw & paid attention to. So, I had to take a photo.

All in all, it was a good trip. The day we left Minnesota it was 71 degrees. At some points the thermometer said 69. By the time we made it to Kansas City, it was 96. Welcome back to the hellish weather!! It was great while it lasted!

First Pedicure

2010-07-14T00:40:00.003-05:00

For Valentine's Day Quinlynne received a gift certificate for a mani & pedi. She was ever so excited to go. The place where she went has cute little spa chairs made for kids, complete with a DVD player. She thought she was just totally hot stuff getting this done. Of course, she picked pink AND green to have both her hands and her feet painted. Check out these pictures.

some toes

2010-07-08T00:42:00.005-05:00

I'm not being able to work very much this summer. So, I'm trying to get some "toe jobs". You know that's how I paid for my entire portion of the OB & anesthesia when I had Quinlynne, right? People had toe parties & I decorated their toes. Here, let me give you some examples.

Ladybugs

Cherries
Palm trees/beach scene
Flowers
American Flag

So, ooh & ahh....then contact me!

4th of July

2010-07-08T00:31:00.003-05:00

Our 4th of July was pretty low-key this year. I will say, however, that I thoroughly enjoyed the weather change from its norm. Yes, it was still humid outside. The weather was only in the 80s or low 90s I think, and there was actually a breeze! In the years past it is usually still 98 degrees at 10 pm with 700% humidity and absolutely no breeze. Torture. Hell.

It was nice to be able to sing patriotic songs in Sacrament meeting, especially all the verses of Star Spangled Banner. Quinlynne & Abby wore dresses that Grandi made them. (I didn't get pics of that.) Quinlynne drove me crazy until it was dark enough to shoot off some fireworks. We only had about 4 things to shoot off. Fireworks are just so dang expensive! But, here are some pictures of the Hoffman evening. Don't you love Quinlynne's outfit? Cadyn enjoyed watching her Daddy with sparklers. She is such a little cutie.

4 years ago

2010-06-28T22:31:00.002-05:00

Lately I've been mainly on the home computer (again). I swear, one day I'll get around and get my laptop up and going again. I've been looking at some pictures of Quinlynne 4 years ago during this time of year. What a cutie little baby I had. There are pictures of when her hair was just beginning to curl, & the first time I put product in it. Pictures of her with her Poppa....she loved spending time with him. he went to a motorcycle rally and brought home a t-shirt for her that says "My Grandpa is a Biker". He was so proud when he came home with that t-shirt for her. Doesn't she look perfectly content there with him? Also, I think it's crazy how much she looks like him. (My dad, as you know, was a truck driver. His handle on the CB was Big Wheel. When I was a little girl, about the age of 1 1/2 or 2, he brought home a blue sweatshirt that he bought at a gas station with a picture on it and the words BIG WHEEL. I think I have some cute pictures of me in it!) And some pictures of Quinlynne in one of my favorite outfits ever. She looked so darn cute in it...even when she got hold of a straw that had some Amaretto on it! Thanks Mama Becca!

Preface this post

2010-06-25T13:36:00.002-05:00

(OK, again, let me say that this is my blog & whatever I post on here is how I'm feeling at the moment. So, I mean no offense to any of you when I say the things I am going to say.)

Recently I saw someone I hadn't seen in almost two months. When I first met this person she was married. She & her husband started having problems (I'd say the root of the problems was split equally between the two of them. But, I'm not the one who was in the relationship, so that is just my opinion; the opinion of an outsider who knew both parties in the relationship.) ANYHOW- I knew this person was dating someone new the last time I saw her. When I saw her again the other day, she was remarried!!! Imagine my surprise! I told her congratulations & that I was happy for her. Inside, I was thinking "Another one?? WTH? What's wrong with me?"

Seriously, I guess this is just a pity party. However, what baffles the heck out of me is that some people get so many chances at love. I have yet to have that opportunity. Don't get me wrong, I have been near marriage once- but didn't go through with it because something just didn't seem right. I HAVE been in love. (Now I'm in love with my daughter.) What is it with me that is a repellent to men? Seriously. Do I have an absolutely terrible personality? Am I too stupid? Am I too smart? Am I too irritating? Am I ugly? Am I disgustingly obese to the point that no man would want to have me on his arm- much less touch me? Do I stink? Do I have halitosis? Am I looking at the wrong men? (You know what I mean here....you see nerdy people end up together; sporty people end up together; organic people end up together, etc.) Am I really a huge nerd & I'm unaware of this? (Funny insert here...a really good friend of mine whom I have been friends with the majority of our lives never had the opportunity to meet Quinlynne's genetic materials donor. When she found out that he was an athletic sort & had even played college football her mouth fell open. She couldn't believe I'd mated with an athlete! lol) Seriously....I want to know what it is about me that I may need to fix. Inside my head- I'm happy with almost every aspect of myself..except my body. I mean, there are a few things I want to learn how to do (like run) and those are personal goals of mine. BUT- I don't think my body is so terrible that it's not relationship material. I've seen women with much frumpier bodies than my own have great relationships with nice men.

Why is it that some people get so many chances at love and happiness in a relationship & marriage while I can't even get one?? It's heartbreaking at times, to say the least. Now let's all sing along...poor, poor pitiful me. That's my pity party & I just wanted to get it off my chest.

A post

2010-06-24T00:25:00.004-05:00

I really don't like posting things very well unless there is a picture involved. I like to post pictures because 1) I think my kid is so darned cute & think others should thinks she is too, 2) I like to look at other people's pictures & assume they like to look at mine, and 3) it's my blog & I'll run it how I want. (Which, if the blog was the United States, would not work well because of the system of checks & balances in place within our government. NO...I'm not taking Political Science this summer because I didn't do so hot in it the first time I took it in 1994....)

I was going through my pictures so I'd have something to post about. I found this one.....

This is what happens a large majority of the time when I am up late trying to study. You see, being a mom in Nursing School, one does not start actually REALLY studying, reading, working on care plans and what-not until AFTER the child is in bed. If you're really lucky like I am, you have a child that slept better as an infant & toddler than she does as a preschooler. So, several times after she has been put to bed & gone off to sleep, I get a curly-headed mop of hair rubbing her eyes walking into the living room to tell me something, or ask me to put her back to bed, or get a drink of water, or lie down with her, or turn on her music, or to ask what she's going to wear tomorrow.....the list goes on and on. Eventually, I just give up. I let her sleep in the other recliner. Am I not terrible? And you know what's even worse than that? When I finally give up & put myself to bed....I leave her in the recliner. Yes, Mother of the Year right here. I try to wake her to get her to walk back to bed, but she won't do it. So, I just leave her. But, in the picture, she's sleeping. Doesn't she look put-out with the situation, though? I'll be so glad when I work & don't have to study sooooo much.

Fishin'

2010-06-22T01:07:00.003-05:00

A couple of weeks ago Quinlynne went fishing for the first time. Unfortunately for me, it was during a weekend when I couldn't walk without the aide of a cane, and did not eat or drink anything because that would lead to other bodily function & it was way too painful to walk or sit. I know, I know...poor, poor pitiful me! I was able to drag myself from the bed long enough to take a few pictures of Quinlynne before her first fishing trip with Uncle Charlie! She got a new rod & reel (Barbie) that even came with sunglasses. They were not gone for too terribly long. But, Quinlynne caught a fish! I think it's a perch (sp?). Uncle Charlie didn't catch anything. They were thoughtful enough to bring it home so Momma could take a picture of Quinlynne with the catch of the day!

(Side note: The poor fish did, unfortunately, meet its demise. It could not be released into a pond here by the house even because it had swallowed the hook all the way down into its belly. Dumb fish!)

Dance recital

2010-06-03T22:58:00.007-05:00

Quinlynne's dance recital has been on Sundays in the past. This year it was on a Saturday. Of course, as I stated in a previous blog entry, we had to be up & in downtown Tulsa at 8:40 Saturday morning for the walkthrough. I'm such a wonderful mother for being anywhere on a Saturday morning before 10:00. Charlsie, Penny & Penny's new grandbaby, Lizzie, came up from Arkansas to watch Quinlynne perform. Quinlynne was excited to give Lizzie the gift she'd been holding on to for her. It was time to get ready for the recital. I think Quinlynne was just excited because I put her makeup on her. I went all out, and didn't skimp on it. You'll see in the pictures. She really thoguht the "arrows" at the corners of her eyes were cool. Did I mention the large black feather on her head? The original one that came with the costume had apparently fallen out of the bag in Quinlynne's closet. The 7 month old cat got into the closet. Need I say more? I had to find someone to make a new feather contraption to don my child's head in her recital. Momma keeps the closet doors shut for a reason!!!

While waiting for the recital Quinlynne took the camera. Lovely pictures from a 4 year old. There are some pictures of Quinlynne with the 2 little girls she's been in dance class with since they were 2 years old. We took the picture of us ourselves. I may just be patting my own back, but I really think she's ending up with my smile.

I did not take any pictures of her during her dance because my camera will either record or take pics, not both at the same time. As soon as I can, i will post her dance on youtube for you to see. She really made me proud. To say she shook what her momma gave her is putting it mildly. She stopped during the dance once to scratch an itch she had on her leg, and to wave HI to me. Adorable. I'll work on posting to youtube soon. You'll love it!

After the recital, I got tired of holding on to the black feather contraption that belonged on Quinlynne's head. So, I stuck it in my heair and kept right on moving. My mother apparently thought that was hilarious because she had to take some pictures of it. Aren't I sexy? (I can't get the picture to move down here, so imagine it's posted right here!)

Quinlynne-isms

2010-06-03T00:37:00.002-05:00

Quinlynne has really kept me chuckling the past few days.

On Monday evening Quinlynne & I went to swim at our neighbor's house. The kid has been hounding me for over a month about when we can go over there to swim. This past weekend they opened their pool & I gave in & called the neighbors to ask if we could come over. As we were getting in the pool, I turned around to look at Quinlynne. She was walking down the steps, got a huge smile & said "Oh perfect! This water is just amazing!" I am so not used to hearing these "big people" comments coming from her 4-year-old mouth!

Today we visited the neighbor's pool again. We got in the pool water & were in there for a couple of minutes. I swam over to Quinlynne. She was holding on to the side & walking along. She said "Just perfect. This water temperanear....temperanear.....temp...oh whatever that word is....is perfect!" I taught her about the word "temperature".

When we first got to the pool, I had helped Quinlynne down the steps and over to the part of the pool where she wanted to be. Fast forward about 15 minutes. I asked her to do something (I don't remember what it was). She replied "Sure. Because you did indeed help me down the stairs earlier." Seriously??? INDEED??? Oh my.

Oh- the last one. I was taking Quinlynne to the library to sign up for the Summer Reading Program. I told her we were going to Sonic first and asked her if she wanted anything to drink. (It was Happy Hour!) She replied in the negative. I asked her again. She again replied in the negative, and informed me it would take too long. Well, I just was not going to miss Happy Hour! If we went to the library first, Happy Hour would have been over by the time we left the library. So, I rolled down my window & placed my order for my drink only. We sat there. And sat there. And sat there. From the seat behind me I hear "See Momma, I told you it would take a long time." That's all she said. Just had to prove her point. I was in the front seat, trying to suppress the laughter. (The picture is from her recital. I'll post more pictures & about the recital later!)

Questionable domestication

2010-05-29T11:18:00.003-05:00

This morning we had the walk-through for Quinlynne's recital. We had to be up & at the Tulsa PAC by 8:40. Kinda early for a Saturday in my opinion. Nevertheless, on the way home Quinlynne told me she wanted pancakes. I told her we could do that at home and she was good with that. So, once we get home I got the pancake mix, milk & eggs out and started the process. Quinlynne asked me what I was doing. I told her I was making her pancakes. She said "But Momma, you don't make pancakes like that. You make them in the microwave (while pointing up at the microwave)." I felt like SUCH the horrible mother. My daughter really thinks pancakes are supposed to be taken from the freezer and "cooked" in the microwave. Am I a totally terrible mother, or what??

(By the way- she gobbled down two of my "different" kind of pancakes in nothing-flat.)

Crazy time of year

2010-05-25T17:27:00.003-05:00

Anyone noticed how crazy the time span of mid-November to January 1 is? I think it's the same way from late March-the beginning of June. There is SOOOO much going on, especially if anyone in your family is involved in school and school activities. There's Spring Break, tests, Easter, Teacher Appreciation week/day, graduation, etc. Quinlynne had her Preschool Graduation this past week. It was very adorable. The beginning of the program was the preschool's Spring program. The 2, 3, & 4 year olds each had some songs they sang. Then the 4 year olds donned caps & "gowns" and marched in as their name was called. After they were gathered at the front of the chapel they all sang "Lean on Me". Very cute. I almost got tears in my eyes. I held out though. I was thinking to myself "Shandolynne, you won't blink your eyes and it will be her high school graduation you'll be attending."

Here are a few pics of the special evening. There is Quinlynne before we left the house, acting goofy; Quinlynne & her teacher, Mr. Cody; Quinlynne entering the chapel; and me & Quin (notice I have more chins than a Chinese phone book. I was falling as I was squatting down, trying to not drop the camera and take the picture...can you believe no one offered to take the picture for us? I'm sure I would have looked at least 200 lbs slimmer!)

What's after that?

2010-05-13T16:18:00.002-05:00

While riding in the car, Quinlynne likes to ask what holiday is next. So, after Valentine's Day it was "What's after that momma?" My answer was "St. Patrick's Day. That's the day we all wear green!" Quinlynne's response was "What's after that momma?" You get the picture. So, yesterday evening Quinlynne was sitting on the sofa. She asked me if it was still Mothers' Day. I replied that it was not. She said "Momma, when's Daughter's Day?"

Two tests

2010-05-02T22:51:00.002-05:00

This week I have two tests. Last week I had 3. Wooh! It keeps me busy. Thank goodness Uncle Charlie & Aunt Connie took Quinlynne for me this weekend. I would be faring much better but my back is acting up. Last week it was nearly impossible to walk a couple of days. I went to a new doctor & he is going to refer me to an Orthopedist. Needless to say, it's difficult to study when one can hardly sit in a chair. The position I am most comfortable in is lying on either one of my sides in bed....difficult to study & not fall asleep that way. Yesterday I was feeling better and tackled making some burp cloths for my aunt to try to sell for me in VanBuren this coming weekend. Maybe I'll take pictures of some of them. They're adorable. I just wanted to post something quickly since it had been a while. Back to get my nose in the books! Oh- and here's a picture of Quinlynne & I on Easter.

Hospice rotation

2010-04-21T18:42:00.003-05:00

I told you I was not looking forward to Hospice, right? Well, I have done two days this week...and I have to admit, it's not bad. Today we went to see a lady who was actively dying. She was a resident in a nursing home. When we first arrived, she was really struggling to breathe & it was such work for her, although she was unresponsive. We did assessments on her, contacted the doctor and did some paperwork. We then went on to visit three more patients. After we were done with the other patients we went back to check in on struggling patient #1. I looked in her room and her chest was not moving. The RN I was shadowing & I walked in to her room. We couldn't find a radial pulse, but she was having a shallow respiration every now & then with long stretches of not breathing. Long story short- we watched this lady take her last breath. I am ok, I was not heavy-hearted. (Although, I think I maight have felt differently had any of her family been there at the time.) This lady had been on this earth for nearly a century, and I was glad that the RN and I were able to be by her side when she took her last breath. So- in this semester, I have seen a child take its first breath, and I have seen a very elderly woman take her last breath. That's a lot to see in a few short months!

Been totally busy

2010-04-17T19:17:00.004-05:00

As you can imagine, and I'm sure are tired of hearing....Nursing School has had me totally busy. Between papers & care plans, and class, and homework, and trying to sleep, it's been kinda rough. This week I did clinical rotations at an outpatient Oncology Clinic. Some people hear that and just crumble emotionally. Thankfully, I do not. (Ask me that question again this coming week when I have to do hospice rotations.)

I must say, I enjoyed my time there. The 1st day I was in the clinic part; where patients come in and see the doctor, talk about their options, treatment, and any problems they may be having. The 2nd day I was in the treatment room; where patients come for chemotherapy, port access, etc.

I love chatting with the patients. You get such an array. One lady was having problems with her recently placed port, and the nurse was going to put in a med that would help dissolve a clot that could be at the end of the catheter. The lady started crying when she was asking what the nurse was giving her. She said "This is just your job, but this is my life. I'm not ready to die yet." Then there was a patient who was joking around with me & telling me a horrific story about how he was his mom's last child, he was born "naturally", and he weighted 15 lbs. 4 oz. He said "They thought I was gonna be twins, obviously. I wasn't. But, I've got twice the looks & twice the brains of most people." That man was crazy, adorable, and I decided I loved him.

My philosophy is this: I want to give people the care I wish my dad would have gotten the last few hours of his life here on Earth, and the type of care he did get when he was outpatient. You're treating the disease; yes, Cancer does suck. But in the midst of that terrible, disgusting disease- there is the person that has it. They want to live, that's why they're fighting it. Treat them like everyone else. They crave normalcy (for the most part). Give them attention, give them power, and make them feel like they're still alive!!!

Also, the picture I'm including has nothing to do with cancer, but I love it. I took it Easter morning. Quinlynne picked this weed...er, flower for me.

Does it look like I poop money??

2010-04-09T02:03:00.004-05:00

Aaron, Quinlynne & I went to Arkansas yesterday. We went for a couple of reasons. My 2nd cousin, CJ, has a new little baby girl named Lizabeth. She is 3 weeks old now & we thought we needed to see her. She is adorable. We have also had this huge entertainment armoire under our carport since Thanksgiving that was meant for CJ. We delivered it. My aunt, Charlsie, gives chair massages at a hotel in Ft. Smith a few evenings a week & we decided to stop by to see her, too.

We finished at the hotel & I had to visit the ladies' room before we hit the road again. Aaron took Quinlynne & went out to the truck. I walk outside & Aaron decides to play that annoying game of taking his foot off the brake every time I try to open the door. Quinlynne was laughing. All of a sudden she gets this look of pure fright in her eyes & starts hysterically crying. I open her door & she is saying "I swallowed a penny. I swallowed a penny." My first reaction was to yell "Why did you have a penny in your mouth?", but I refrained. I pulled her out of the truck & determined that she could still breath. (Of course she can, she's breathing & crying hysterically.) I asked her if she could feel where it was. She first pointed to her throat, then her chest, then further down. I knew she'd be okay. I told her "Quinlynne, it's okay. You'll just have to poop out the penny." She turned and started running towards the hotel. Aaron & I asked her what she was doing. Her reply was "I'm going to go poop!!!!" We had to tell her it was going to be a while before that penny came out of her. I put her back in the truck and said (being the loving mother I am) "Why did you have a penny in your mouth? That's what you get for putting a penny in there."

After several questions about whether she would pee out the penny (her idea) or poop it out, she had a brilliant idea. "Momma, when I poop out the penny, I can get it out & clean it & put it in my piggy bank." Oh my child! She also must have been terribly frightened about this penny because on the way back to Oklahoma she said "Momma, you can swallow a penny & still live." Poor little thing.

Quinlynne had to call & tell Grandi about the incident. When we got home Grandi asked her why she had had a penny in her mouth. Quinlynne continues to avoid that question. She yelled "Are you mad or glad about it?" For a child who has problems pooping anyhow, this should be quite the experience.

Hijacked quilt

2010-04-05T21:18:00.002-05:00

I don't know if I ever mentioned this- but I have a fantastic friend who made me the most fun quilt ever. This quilt was made with the intention of me studying under it. It's the perfect weight, it's the perfect length (I can pull it up to my chin & it still goes over my toes), and it's adorable as all get out. Perhaps it is a little too adorable.

Quinlynne has hijacked it as her own. When she is sick or not feeling good she "needs the quilt that Brwenda made you, Momma". I may have to commission Brenda to make another one. Isn't it just the bees' knees? (Say that with a southern accent.) How pathetic does my daughter look in this picture? Poor thing, she really wasn't feeling too well.

Daddy-Daughter Dance (little late)

2010-04-05T01:59:00.004-05:00

OK, so did I mention that we've had an Internet virus on our computer? I have not been able to access the Internet at home in over two weeks. A little bit of torture, I'll admit. I have several pictures that I had just transferred from the camera to the computer when we got the virus...and more that I have taken since the Internet issue arose. I'll have to get you all caught up.

Quinlynne went to the stake Daddy-Daughter Dance with Uncle Charlie in February. She had a most excellent time, even though she did not dance at all. How in the heck did she come from my womb? She went to a dance and didn't dance???? That is unfathomable to me! She played with the beads, did other art projects that were offered, took pictures, and ate snacks. I think that's all she told me. She is already talking about the Daddy-Daughter Dance next year. Here are some adorable pictures. Notice Uncle Charlie passed out in the chair upon their return home!

I'm OLD

2010-03-26T12:52:00.003-05:00

Quinlynne was at church with Uncle Charlie & Aunt Connie some time back. Long story short- Quinlynne's Primary teacher had this story to tell Uncle Charlie & Aunt Connie:

The teacher introduced herself & had the kids introduce themselves to her. Afterwards, she told them that the lesson that day was going to be from the book of Matthew. Quinlynne raised her hand and said "I know ALL about Matthew. My momma is friends with him. She went to school with him.."

The teacher said she had to suppress her laughter. Quinlynne was soooo serious that she knew all about Matthew. Or course, she was talking about a friend of mine, Matt, from high school. How hilarious is that? I must be really old! I went to high school with Matthew!

lag in postings

2010-03-10T19:57:00.002-06:00

I'm so sorry it has been a few weeks since I posted anything at all. School has kept me quite busy. I thought I wasn't going to pass my OB class. It all came down to the final....seriously. I had like a 74% going into the final. The final was not written by our professors (thank goodness). It was more like the board tests I'll take. The questions were weighted & there were a ton of "pick the MOST CORRECT answer". I sat down to take the test & the first four questions almost killed me. NOTHING like what I had prepared for. Anyhow- you can all rest a little easier because I made a 97.6% on that final. NO CLUE WHATSOEVER how that happened. But ya know what? I'm gonna take it. I ended up passing the class with a high B. Whew! Now tomorrow I start my Pediatric clinicals.

I loaded a ton of new pictures on the computer, then got an internet virus. So- you will all have to wait with baited breath to see new pictures. I know you're just sitting on the edges of your chairs, huh?

I also have some funny Quinlynne sayings, but again- you'll have to wait. I have to get Quinlynne home now (we are at my school) & get us all ready for tomorrow!

Well hello there!

2010-02-21T15:50:00.004-06:00

I know it's been a bit since I last blogged. It's not because NOTHING noteworthy has been happening. You see, I've been busy trying to NOT fail this OB course I'm in right now. The tests are real....humdingers; I"m not even the only one who says this. I won't get into it right now. But sufficeth it to say- I've cried, I've thought of taking a stronger dose of Paxil, I've prayed...let's hope it all works.

In this time interim, we've had the fun experience of getting to spend time with the Kansas Hoffmans. I took some pics of Miss Baby Cadyn fresh from a bath. Adorable.

I promise I did not put that bruise on her forehead. I do enjoy that little girl. She now has her first pair of walkers & is walking. That's right ladies & gentlemen... she is walking before 10 months. Advanced, that's what she is!

This kid just keeps 'em coming

2010-02-06T23:49:00.003-06:00

Wednesday morning I was getting Quinlynne dressed for school. Or was it Friday? Either way- she was excited to be wearing the outfit I had for her. She was wearing a black knit skort with red, white & pink hearts on it, a black t-shirt with pink, red & rhinestone sparklies that made a heart. I let her wear a pink bolero style cardigan with that. I also put her hair up in pigtails & tied pink ribbon around those. The kid looked adorable. She was so excited about this outfit. We're sitting on her bed & she said "Hold on momma!" She then cupped one hand over her mouth and put the other hand cupped behind her ear. I could hear her talking. She finished & then said """OOOh- wait one more second!" She repeated this. I wondered to myself if we had an imaginary friend making an appearance. I asked her what she was doing. her response was "Oh, I was just tellin' myself a secret." Do you know how hard it was to just simply nod my head in understanding when I wanted to bust a gut? How cute is that??

The second thing happened this evening. Mom, Quinlynne & I were at Wal-Mart. Out of nowhere Quinlynne tells me she wants a baby brother. I ask her what she wants him to look like. She tells me she wants him to look like her...brown eyes, brown hair- but she thinks his hair should maybe be straight. Then she decides maybe a little baby sister should be the way to go. She asks me when I can do this for her. I'm just baffled- what do I say? She then said "Momma, you gotta get married first?" I reply that I do. She continues asking what these new siblings' names should be. Then she's asking me about her "new daddy". Does this kid know something I don't? Anyhow- we make it home. We turn on the TV a bit later & there is a movie on that has a wedding scene in it. Quinlynne turns to look at me and says "Momma, why are you watching this? So you can learn how to get married?" Again, trying to NOT laugh I tell her that's exactly why I'm watching it. Sometimes I can just see the gears churning in her head!

2010-02-05T00:05:00.004-06:00

Just thought you'd like to know that we're in for some more bad weather. Oh heavens- joy.

In the meantime- Quinlynne has said some pretty funny things lately.

Quinlynne is already planning her birthday party. Keep in mind her birthday is in August. She was making lists of "good" & "not so good" kids. The kids that make good choices are the kids she is apparently going to invite to her birthday party. She would take a scratch pad and write each kid's name on a piece, then tear it off. She then tried to stick postage stamps on each piece of "addressed" paper. Well- these piece of paper were all over the living room & it was driving me nuts. I asked her several times to throw them away. She did not comply. I couldn't handle it any longer. I finally MADE her throw them away. This apparently just broke her heart & ticked her off. She confronted me in the hallway and said "When your mother gets home, I'm telling her you made me throw away my birfday lists!"

Today, Quinlynne got up before either mom or myself. Quinlynne had apparently helped herself to a small little chocolate shake I had made for her the night before & placed in the refrigerator. She came into my bedroom & told me she had spilled it & I told her to clean it. So, a few minutes later I get up and I see the mess. I squirt cleaner on it. It is really time that Quinlynne needs to get to school, but I don't want to take her. I tell her to go wake up Grandi & ask her to take her to school. The kid stood in front of me, pointed to the mess on the floor and said (with eyes as big as saucers) "I don't want her to see THIS!"

OK, one more.....Last week I was running late for the time I wanted to depart the house. I was not planning on taking Quinlynne to school, but mom assumed I was so...... I was trying to bark orders to get Quinlynne moving more quickly. I said "Hurry Quinlynne! We're running late. We've GOT to go!" She was standing there doing something at her dresser. She said "I'm hurrying. I can't run late to school, or else I'm gonna get fired. Dang it."

This kid, I tell you what!

Crap, Crap go away (sung to the tune of Rain, Rain go away)

2010-01-29T22:42:00.004-06:00

I try to not gripe too badly about weather. I mean, what can I do to change it, really??? But here's the low-down....I like it very mild. I don't enjoy tons of winter weather & I do not enjoy it being 112 with 765% humidity. Now don't think the only winter weather I've ever been exposed to is the winter weather Oklahoma has to offer. No, no, my friends. I spent two LOOOOONG winters in Minnesota. I have had my snot freeze coming out of my nose, I have seen spit freeze before it hits the ground. That crap just is not natural.

Anyhow, Oklahoma is having more than its normal share of Winter weather this year. I've always heard that the longer it's below freezing, the more nasty bugs & insects are killed off for the Summer months. Is there any truth to this? I don't know. And frankly, I don't feel like looking up that information. You see, my friends, we started with the Winter precipitation again yesterday. Ice storm, then snow. We (at my home) did not get as much ice as we anticipated, but more snow fell than we thought. I think we got something like 6-7 inches. No drifts this time. Just snow on top of ice. The trees are all weighted down. Poor trees.

Schools were all canceled. My daughter does not handle being cooped up very well. I do not handle being cooped up with her. I don't know what I'm going to do to get us through the rest of the weekend. Prayer- that's what I'm going to rely on I think. I'm going to pray that I'm not too mean, and she isn't too "cabin feverish".

Romance

2010-01-09T22:54:00.007-06:00

So, ladies (& maybe gentlemen...I'm not sure)...I was thinking about romance. I personally like to still believe in it and hope for it. I was reminiscing about romantic movies that I've seen, and perhaps some romantic moments I've experienced. So here's the deal...I'll tell you about my most romantic moment & you tell me about yours. If you want to blog about it and then leave me a link, that'd be fine. Or if you want to write about it in a comment...whatever. It's up to you!

OK- here's my scenario:

I was in Myrtle beach, SC. I had been staying with a friend of mine who lives an hour west of the Beach. She was seeing a guy I was not crazy about, and I didn't want to be home when he came over. So, I decided to head to Myrtle Beach for the evening. I went to a club there that my friend and I had discovered called Revolutions. (If you ever get a chance to go- do it. It is a seriously fun place. They play music from the 50s- present. It's a blast. It's one of those places where you dance and dance and dance till you're disgustingly sweaty & you say to yourself "I am definitely going to sit the next song out"; then the next song comes on and you look at your friend and yell "I LOVE this song!!!" and you keep on shakin' your groove thang. Seriously- GO if you get the chance!) Anyhow- I was at this club by myself. This is not something I would dare do here in Oklahoma. So, I was kind of on the edge of the dance floor dancing by myself. I noticed this handsome man looking at me. I was not upset he was looking at me. Finally, I just looked at him and said "I know you wanna dance with me." (Where did I get the nerve??) He smiled & came and started dancing with me.

After a few songs he asked me if I would stay where I was, he had to go find his friends. I thought maybe it was just an excuse to leave, as he was gone for quite a while. Some other guy had come up to me in the meantime & the two of us were dancing together. Well, guy #1 comes back while I'm dancing with guy #2. I thought guy #1would turn around & leave, but he waited until the song was over, and I beckoned to him. It turns out that he was in Myrtle Beach on getaway with his buddies. They were all Marines. We had a good time dancing & when the club was getting ready to close, he told his buddies that he'd meet them at the hotel later on. He and I decided to go the beach and hang out.

We got out of the car and headed to the beach. We started walking along the beach. After a while our shoes in the sand became irritating. I had on heeled sandals. We took off our shoes and he took both pair in one hand and reached out to hold my hand with the other. We walked in the water a little bit, so we could feel the waves on our feet and ankles. We talked for a really long time. We finally sat down beside one another facing the ocean. He put his arm around me. He finally reached over and kissed me. It was really nice. We sat and talked, cuddled, & kissed for the longest. We were both getting sleepy. Then, orange light started making its appearance over the water. We watched the sun rise together.

I had to get back to my friend's house because we were supposed to be going to Charleston together (which is a totally romantic city- you should go there too) the next day. I gave him my phone number as I left, but didn't think I'd ever hear from him again. I was wrong! He called me!

He was a Marine, and when President Bush started sending troops to Iraq, he was one of the first ones sent. He had been in the Gulf War in the 90s, too. He was a sniper, so I constantly feared for him. He is one of the people that goes in front of the front lines. (My dad explained it all to me; and told me that he must be really good at what he does!) I used to get satellite phone calls at random times day & night, once from a hospital bed where he sat with his rifle after the Humvee he was in had been hit. He has been to Iraq, Afghanistan, Cuba & other such locales multiple times since we first met. He is now married. So sad for me. But- isn't it a romantic story?

So hit me with 'em....give me some romance to read about & believe in!!

copy of an email

2010-01-05T22:47:00.002-06:00

My brother sent this email to me. Too funny!

Apparently this guy had to take down his Christmas decorations this year. It turned out too real-life like!

New Year's Eve

2010-01-02T23:50:00.006-06:00

I have never been a huge fan of new Year's Eve. Maybe because to me, it's depressing. And here's why: I never have anyone to turn to and yell "Happy New Year!!", hug & get a sloppy kiss from. Now, if you have a husband & you get put out with him....keep your comments to yourself; let me live in my little fantasy world for a while. If you were young (below the age of 24) when you got married...keep your comments to yourself. There is NO WAY you can possibly understand what it feels like to be by yourself at the stage I am at in life. I am THIRTY-FOUR years of age. No one of the opposite sex wants me to be theirs. AND, as I was discussing with one of my friends just the other day, just because you're single and this age, does not erase your feelings of sexual cravings. My friend and I included in this sexual cravings category- just being touched. Someone to touch your back, give you a quick hug, pat your arm, shoulder or leg.... and I don't need to go into what other kind of sexual cravings I have, do I? Yes, it sucks.

In fact, just this past week I met up with a man I hadn't seen since 2004, or maybe it was 2003. He and I went out a few times back then. He has since moved to Houston. He was in town for the holidays & was staying with his sister. He is a handsome man. He had grown a goatee since the last time I saw him. It was very sexy. The moustache part was still dark, but the beard part was mainly salt with some pepper. He is Native American, so he has these nice full lips. He is tall, something like 6'3". We were sitting together at a table and I had these visual images of sliding up next to his side and smooshing myself against him.....for the human contact. I fit so nicely under his shoulder, if I remember correctly. Alas, I contained myself. I didn't want the poor man knowing I was desperate. But see, how sad is it when I'm having daydreams about sidling up next to someone, to feel their body heat??

So, this is my fantasy: I have a man who desires me to be by his side because he wants me. It is New Year's Eve. We decide to go someplace where there are adults, ie. Times Square, a church dance, a club, another couple's house. We are dressed nicely and with a hint of sexiness- which means we both smell delectable. It gets close to midnight, we all count backwards from 10-1. We tell each other "Happy New Year" and he gives me a kiss I almost have to wipe my mouth after. Then, we give each other a hug.

Now see, is this too far fetched of a fantasy? Have I watched too many episodes of "Days of Our Lives"?

Instead, this is what I get.
Granted, I love the company, and the cookies were yummy.....but it's a far cry from my New Year's kiss. And yes, I cried once again.

Seriously, I'm supposed to feel safe?

2010-01-02T14:19:00.005-06:00

On New Year's Eve, mom & I were having a rockin' good time (I had to wake her up before midnight) watching some DVRd shows. Every time I would fast forward I heard yelling. This continued for 2 hours. I finally heard a scream. This is quite unusual for our neighborhood. So- instead of getting up and looking outside (which would take energy & I"m into conserving that), I called 911. When I dial 911 it goes to Broken Arrow 911....so I have to ask for Wagoner County. They transferred me. I begin to tell this deputy about the yelling. He asks me if I can tell where the yelling is coming from...well- here...

Me: Yes, there's some yelling and screaming going on in our neighborhood. It's been going on for a couple of hours.
Deputy: Have you looked to see what's going on?
Me: Nope. But it's been going on for a couple of hours, so I decided to call you.
Deputy: Can you tell where the yelling is coming from?
Me: I'm pretty sure it's coming from the cul-de-sac behind my house.
Deputy: Is it a wooded area?
Me: No, not really. I mean, we all live on a little over an acre. There may be a few more trees in the cul-de-sac.
Deputy: OK....
Me: When you come into the neighborhood, we are the 1st house in the neighborhood. The 1st street you can turn on, you'll turn left. That's the cul-de-sac.
Deputy: OK. What's a cul-de-sac?
Me: (In complete dismay, shock, and trying to stifle laughter. I looked at mom, my eyebrows raised & mouthed the words "what the EFFF?") Ummm, it's a road that is a circle at the end.
Deputy: Oh, a circle drive. OK, do you want us to check on you when we're done?
Me: No, just see what's going on over there. I'm going to bed.

Now I ask you.....I'm supposed to feel safe with this law-enforcement officer who does not know what a cul-de-sac is? And...I did not mention to him that a circle drive is a driveway in someone's yard that is "U" shaped.

Happy New Year!

Lester the elf

2009-12-22T23:26:00.004-06:00

So Grandi got Quinlynne this thing called Elf on the Shelf. Here's the jist: there is an Elf, you name it, the elf hides in your house & ever night, after the kid goes to sleep the elf goes to the North Pole to report to Pere Noel if said child has been naughty or nice. When the elf comes back to your house, he tries to hide in a new spot. Said child cannot touch elf, or the magic will be ruined.

I was skeptical of this little setup. But ya know what?? Quinlynne LOVES it. Every morning she comes into the living room to try to find where Lester the Elf is. She has found him every day almost right off. This morning Genevieve the kitty found Lester the Elf and knocked him down. Quinlynne was pretty irritated, but she wouldn't touch Lester (remembering the magic). Wow- can I keep this Elf out all year long??

Confession about Santa

2009-12-15T12:12:00.007-06:00

OK, so I have a confession. I took Quinlynne to the mall, on Sunday, to see Santa. I'm terrible, and setting a bad example...I know. Quinlynne finally, after much coercion, sat on Santa's lap at Uncle Charlie & Aunt Connie's ward Christmas party. On Saturday night Quinlynne told me that she'd forgotten to tell Santa about something she wanted & she thought maybe we should head to the mall so she could tell him. The mall was already closed. The next morning she brought it up again. I decided to just seize the moment...last year we went to the Bass Pro Santa and I got a snapshot. The previous two years, I got something that looked like this:

So, we went to the mall. We got some cute pictures. Quinlynne had a tete-a-tete avec Pere Noel, and she seemed satisfied afterwards. We took some pictures of ourselves, too.

Cousins & pictures

2009-12-14T20:31:00.004-06:00

The Saturday before Thanksgiving my SIL came down so we could take the girls to get their pictures done together. My mom has been wanting a picture of her grandkids, and she wanted them to send out with her Christmas cards. I decided the girls should wear red & black. I didn't think they should be matchy-matchy. It's hard trying to outfit kids when you don't have them with you....especially Abby; she is just a skinny little twig. Everything hangs on her, poor thing. Mandy and I ran out on Friday night to get the finishing touches for the girls' outfits, and we found this dress for Abby. We weren't sure about it since hers was red, black & white. BUT- it turned out GREAT! The girls did spectacularly...it gives us hope. You know how lots of times when you go to get pictures done- you're lucky if you get one or two you really like? Mandy & I had to seriously narrow it down. We were so proud of our girls! I'm not going to post any of the finished product, but let me post some pics of the girls in their outfits. BY the way, I can't get the pictures to go where they're supposed to go...so you have to put the correct caption with each one. I have faith you can do it.

Cadyn trying to check herself out in the mirror.

Look at that little foot. How chubby & adorable is it?

Abby & Quinlynne getting cookies for being so good.

Quinlynne & Abby watching a movie while Mandy & I made decisions.

Finally Finals are over

2009-12-08T12:56:00.004-06:00

That's right, my friends. I took my Theory final yesterday. I finished my skill validation just an hour ago. I have now passed Level 2 of nursing school. I guess nothing's actually final until it's recorded in the gradebook for the college. BUT- I have an "A" in Issues & Perspectives & I got a "B" in my Theory class. I have passed! Woo hoo!

Unfortunately, I know of 3 classmates, thus far, who have not passed. I am very sad. They are all people I like, too! So, two down, two to go! Go Shandolynne, go Shandolynne! I just have to cheer for myself sometimes!

Three Little Pigs- new version

2009-11-22T23:30:00.004-06:00

"Once upon a time there were three little pigs. Their names were Quinlynne, Abby & Cadyn." (At this point, I'm trying to not laugh. The three little pigs are girls....and cousins??) Quinlynne was VERY smart & built her house out of bricks. Abby & Cadyn were lazy & just built their houses out of sticks & straw." The story went on for quite a while, then apparently "Uncle Aaron & Mandy joined the lazy pigs Abby & Cadyn in Quinlynne's strong brick house, in fact the whole world can just go ahead and join them. The End."

I had no clue there were so many versions of the Three Little Pigs. Also, tonight there were all sorts of questions. "Momma, did you pick me out of the baby store? Why? Did you want a special girl? (I told her a couple of weeks ago the reason she had curly hair is because that is what God gave her. In response to why God gave her curly hair I told her it was because he thought she was really special, and special people get curly hair. She LOVED that answer & has asked me about it repeatedly.) Did you want a girl named Quinlynne? Why did you name me Quinlynne? How did you get my name, when I was in your belly? Did you know I was gonna come out of your potty? Oh yeah- I came out of your belly, huh??" Oh the questions!!!! What a cute way to end my birthday, though. I detest Sunday birthdays, and this was a way to make me giggle on my special day! Thank you, my smart, pretty, funny daughter!

Sorry

2009-11-13T00:07:00.004-06:00

I know it's been more than a couple of days since I have posted. But, to tell you the truth- school has kept me hoppin'. The semster is coming to a close, and you know what that entails. Everything kind of starts the downhill trend, speeding up and speeding up! This week was not too bad at clinicals though, even though my patient was one sick guy. I got to go with him to have an EGD & Colonoscopy, and while we were in the PACU, it was great to see a lady from church (who is a nurse) bringing a patient in from the OR. It's always nice to have a friendly face! Soon, my friends, soon I will be able to say (hopefully) "Two down, two to go!" I am close to half done in my quest to become a Registered Nurse. Thank goodness! I just don't know why I didn't do this the first time around in school. It would have been so much easier. But, I didn't think I was smart enough, and I did what was easy for me. Hindsight's 20/20, right?

Since I'm talking about being in the PACU, let me include a picture of my child when she was 11 months old, in the PACU.

This was when she had her adenoids removed. I knew something was wrong when it had been over an hour since they took her back to the OR. Seems as though Quinlynne would not start breathing on her own after they stopped anesthesia. I knew she had scared everyone in all of the ORs, because they kept coming out (after I was with her) to look at her, but trying to look nonchalant. What's that old saying "Can't BS a BSer"? I know how to downplay things so people won't worry. I could feel all this gunk rattling around in my baby's chest, and the ambu bag which had not yet been discarded from surgery lying on her bed. Oh well- she came by the adenoid thing rightfully, I had mine removed 3 times, and Adar has always had problems with his. What a combination. So far, Quinlynne has had hers removed twice. I wonder how many times it'll take? Thank goodness for modern medicine and the people who Heavenly Father had with her in the room that day.

I hope that as a healthcare provider, I will be able to be a person patients and their families will be thankful for. It's my goal!

Halloween 2009

2009-11-02T22:11:00.005-06:00

This year Quinlynne had quite the time deciding what she was going to be. Then she broke her arm & we didn't know if the cast was still going to be in place on the big night. Turns out she had a splint, but she still went as a ladybug. I wanted her to be a princess- but the thought that won me over for the ladybug? How many more times am I going to get to see her dressed up CUTE? I had a test today, so Uncle Charlie & Aunt Connie had her for the weekend so I could study. I had to work in trick-or-treating in there somehow.

Quinlynne came home about 4:30 on Saturday evening so I could get her ready. I painted her face. At first she wasn't too sure about what I was doing....but neither was I! After each phase of the makeup application, Quinlynne would get up & run to the bathroom mirror to see what was going on on her face. I knew I had done something right when I heard her shrieks of approval & her making "OOOOOH" sounds in the bathroom.

We went to downtown Broken Arrow for some Halloween action. It was satisfactory. That is all I have to say about it. We then came back to our neighborhood & hit the few houses that had their lights on.

I dressed up (at the last minute) as a gypsy. The thing is...I don't think most people realized I was dressed up! I had on lots of mismatched jewelry, a scarf around my head, I don't know what I could have done differently. Oh well.

Cast is off

2009-10-31T14:07:00.005-05:00

We went to the orthopaedist on Wednesday. Quinlynne's bright pink cast was removed. I took my camera with me so I could document this occasion for Quinlynne. The results: her bone is healing. She still has to wear a splint, and we go back to see the orthopaedist in 3 weeks to check on the progress of her radius.

She's checking out the machine...not sure what is gonna happen.
Going to let her arm be worked on, even though she's not sure of what's really going to happen. (Even though I had explained to her several times the process.)

Sawing, sawing, sawing.

It's off!

Here's my arm, momma!

Rah-rah!

2009-10-31T13:54:00.004-05:00

Quinlynne's little Fall program in dance class was Thursday. I was afraid we'd have a repeat of last year....when she just stood there like a bump on a log. I was so pleasantly surprised when she danced her little heart out. They were dressed up like little cheerleaders & even had little pom-poms. If you want to go watch it- I put it on youtube.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0A3eT5dSKw

Here are some pictures of it. I'd really like it if cheerleaders' skirts were this length all the time!

Our SCARY jack-o-lantern

2009-10-28T08:19:00.001-05:00

Quinlynne & I took Sunday evening as our FHE time. The girl had been harping on me forever to carve our pumpkin. I had a plan. Quinlynne & I had been talking about it. This was not going to be any ordinary jack-o-lantern. (Our neighbors across the street already had their jack-o-lantern lit on their front porch....talk about the pressure on me!) So, we brought the pumpkin inside & started cutting it open and cleaning it. Quinlynne actually got her hands dirty this year. We carved & carved & carved.....this is our final product.

Sorry about the blurriness of the dark picture. But, you get the idea. Quinlynne enjoys going out in the evening to light the candle in her jack-o-lantern. It is also her job to blow out the candle before she goes to bed.

SOOOOO spooky, isn't it?

Kinky or straight?

2009-10-28T02:02:00.007-05:00

You know how it goes....girls with straight hair want curly hair....girls with curly hair want straight hair. Well, it's already starting at the Hoffman household. I long ago came to grips with the fact that my hair is straight as a board and there's nothing I can do about it. It's straight & boring and blah. Quinlynne, on the other hand, has beautiful curly hair. Learning how to do curly hair has been a bit challenging for me, but we're coping. A few weeks ago, as I was getting Quinlynne ready for bed, she started stroking my hair and said "OOOOh, Momma, you're hair's so silky & soft & straight." She was just running her hand through my hair & did it over & over. Running a hand through Quinlynne's hair is not something you can do easily. Your fingers get stuck in the curls. Since that evening she has repeatedly informed me that she wants straight hair. I keep telling her how lucky she is that she has such beautiful, soft, curly hair.

Saturday we were getting ready to go run some errands. I had the curling iron & the straight iron heated up. Quinlynne wanted me to use them on her. So...I did. It looked TERRIBLE!!!! It looked like she had on a wig. Grandi hated it as well. I couldn't get all of her hair straight because she wouldn't stand still & I was afraid I'd burn her. She was dying to go out with straight hair though. We compromised & I put her straight hair in a ponytail. If she decides to straighten her hair as she gets older- I hope she does a better job.

That Fall time of year

2009-10-22T23:46:00.007-05:00

This year Fall has been beautiful. It's wrecking havoc with my allergies, but it's been beautiful. I've enjoyed not having 90 degree weather into October, and the oranges, yellows & reds are amazing to regard. Fall is my favorite!

Every year we go to the pumpkin patch in Bixby. I've told you this before. Well, it has been raining so much this month I was beginning to wonder if we'd be able to go. Between my schedule, Grandi's schedule & the rain.....time was running out. Last Friday I ended up taking Quinlynne to the pumpkin patch by myself. I know Grandi was quite sad about this- but she survived.

It was super muddy out there. It was also super busy. I've never been there when it was that busy. There was also a nip in the air. This was not the best for picture taking. Quinlynne did not want to take her jacket off. So- I didn't really get many pictures of her with her pumpkin shirt on. The few that I did get- she was crying because she wanted her jacket on again.

We ended up running into a friend of mine from nursing school. She was out there with her family. Quinlynne has had a few play dates with her girls, so it was fun to watch them hook up. Quinlynne is about a year older than my friend's oldest daughter. Quinlynne and Cady enjoyed playing follow the leader. I think Quinlynne just likes trying to take control. Anyhow, the two of them were standing up on this hay bale to look at some animals. I got the cutest picture.

Enjoy the beautiful weather & beauty our Heavenly Father has blessed us with!

Anything wrong with this picture?

2009-10-20T07:03:00.001-05:00

Again, since I have to spend so much time on the computer- I alternate between my laptop & the home computer. I found this one.

What the crap is my dad wearing? A Harley shirt, his sunglasses hung from a pocket, a buck knife of some sort in a leather holster on his belt(Because you never know when you might need to whip that out when you're doing stuff around the house), probably a cell phone on there somewhere, and he has a toothpick in his mouth. He is trying to demonstrate to Abby how to ride that tiny pink scooter. Oh my goodness! What a dork. Love him!

Been too long

2009-10-19T23:47:00.004-05:00

Needless to say, it has been entirely too long since I've posted. I am now in the midst of my med/surg clinical rotations. I'm in Hell.

I have tons of pictures I need to edit & save to my computer. But here's one for you. This is from when Quinlynne's eardrum had ruptured & we were having to put ear drops into her ear. She hated it. I remember having to get eardrops put in when I was her age & how much I detested it. Poor thing. And look at her curled up on her changing pad. Definitely not the 19 inch long baby girl I brought home from the hospital.

Class Act

2009-10-11T00:14:00.003-05:00

I had to run to our local Coweta Wal-Mart late this evening. I'm talking....10:45 or so. You gotta just love the class acts you can witness there.

1) It's chilly out. I had on a jacket. That's saying a lot. There was a mom coming into the store. She was wearing jeans, a sweatshirt & flip flops. I'm okay with that. However, the little boy she had in the buggy (probably 3 years old) was wearing a long sleeve shirt, camo pants, and NO SHOES!! No shoes on his dirty little feet. You know, I understand if he was running around the house with no shoes on. But, if it's cold enough that you need to wear a sweatshirt- take the time to put something on your kid's feet!

2) I was in the aisle, on my way out. I see a man standing with his kid in the basket. He was obviously waiting on someone. I hear a lady in the next aisle calling out flavors of something. I wasn't really paying attention to her. We arrive at the end of the aisles at the same time. She is holding two bottles of Boone's Farm "wine". She says "When did Wal-Mart start carrying wine?" I had to totally stifle myself and keep walking. Honey- if it costs less than $4.00 a bottle, it probably can't be considered wine. Also, I don't think true wine would have flavors like "Blue Hawaiian" and "Strawberry Margarita". Something tells me, the Napa Valley winemakers wouldn't approve of those names.

Yes, class acts, I tell you.

*Just so you don't get the wrong idea....I'm not a drinker. I'm not going to say that I have never tried any of these beverages- but I didn't like it- so why bother? (Not to mention I was raised to NOT partake in these beverages.) BUT, I do know enough to know that good wine costs a bit more than $4.00 a bottle.

Poor little thing

2009-10-05T11:49:00.003-05:00

Quinlynne spent the weekend with Charles & Connie so I could study for my exam today. Saturday Uncle Charlie called me to tell me that Quinlynne fell out of the swing. She was crying and wanted her momma. Being the World's Greatest Mother that I am, I told him to just give her some ibuprofen & see what she was like in 20 mins. He called me back & told me that she was doing better.

Let's just fast forward to last night. Mom went to pick up Quinlynne. She got home with her & I did notice a few things about her arm. It was a bit swollen and she was very protective of it. She would not put any pressure on it. I put her to bed & the child woke up a couple of hours later crying because her arm hurt. I noticed her arm was a little crooked. (It is by her wrist on her right arm.)

I decided I didn't want to wait until Monday afternoon, she had waited long enough. I packed up my study materials & my child and headed for St. Francis. We got there and heavens, let me tell you...it was full. Quinlynne was crying, she was scared. Since she was using her arm and had a good ROM in it, no body seemed to think anything was wrong with her. She coughed when we checked in, so the nurse said we'd have to have a chest xray & Q had to wear a mask. She certainly didn't want to. But being the good child she is- she did.

We were called to have xrays done. As Quinlynne was being positioned for the chest xray, she started crying a little and said "I don't want to go to heaven right now." Poor little thing thinks when you go to the hospital, you die. Isn't that sad and cute all at the same time? I assured her she wasn't going to go to heaven right now, we were just going to take some pictures. We took chest xrays and xrays of her wrist & arm.

We waited a few more hours before we were called back to an exam room. (We thought we'd be out of there before 3 am, as that is when the pediatric portion is closed.) Nope, we didn't even really go back to the room before 3 am. Ugh! The nurse & doctor were GREAT with Quinlynne. They let her go with them to look at her xrays & explained them to her.

Sure enough, Quinlynne has a buckle fracture of her right radius near her wrist. The doctor said it was just a little break since her bones are still pliable. We now have to go to an orthopedist. I'm trying to get all of that taken care of today. She is faring well in her splint right now. She just got up from her bed. Poor little thing....keeps on crying out in her sleep.

She did tell me that she thought she'd be okay because Uncle Charlie gave her a blessing when she fell. I'm glad she's learning faith in priesthood blessings at a young age!

more little things

2009-10-02T00:43:00.005-05:00

Today as Quinlynne's dance class. This is the first year that we've had dance class on a week night. In the past they've always been on Saturday mornings. So, previously, Quinlynne has been allowed to get a doughnut after dance class. She seems to think this carries over- even though dance classes are in the evenings now.

When I picked her up from class tonight she asked if she could get a doughnut. I asked her if she wanted a doughnut of tasty chips. ("Tasty Chips" are won tons from a Chinese restaurant.) She told me she wanted a doughnut. I had to run across the intersection and pick up a couple of things at the Walmart Neighborhood Market, so I told her we'd get her doughnut there. NO....that was not good enough. She wanted a doughnut from the "good" place. She loves Krispy Kreme.

Now, I'm going to make a confession here that may render me a freak in some of your eyes. Here it goes....I do not like doughnuts. Really never have. I will admit- a warm Krispy Kreme, or a chocolate iced creme filled from Krispy Kreme is tasty....but I've only craved doughnuts when I was pregnant. They do nothing for me but make me want to puke. That being said, I try to be a good mom and not force my food opinions onto my daughter. (Hence the reason she eats raw tomatoes like they are french fries. Seriously??? Raw tomatoes??? My stomach is turning just me thinking about them.)

As we pulled up to Krispy Kreme Miss Thang already had her seat belt off. I asked her what she was doing. I informed her we were going though the drive-thru. She quickly covered for her mistake by saying that something had been wrong with her seat belt and she was just trying to fix it. I checked out the parking lot status and decided it was dead enough that we could go in. I pulled into a parking space and turned off the engine. I told Miss Thang to get out. She said "Are we going in?" I replied in the affirmative. As she's walking to meet me on the sidewalk she said "I LOVE you momma" in the dreamiest tone I've ever heard her use. I stifled my laughter. Oh how cute....letting her go into Krispy Kreme elicits proclamations of love from my child. How sweet! It's those little things.

Tag

2009-09-30T19:23:00.002-05:00

OK, this is something I did on Facebook. But, I hadn't posted on my blog in a while, so I thought I'd cheat. Here's a little questionnaire:

If I looked on the bed next to you, what would I find? pillows

Do you go to the bathroom with the door open or closed? I'm ashamed to admit...if I'm at home, it's usually open. That started when I was pregnant and would stifle with the bathroom door shut.

Are your underwear and socks folded in your drawer or just thrown in? Folded, socks are matched and bundled

Sleep on your back or stomach? neither, side sleeper

Are you a cuddler? I like to cuddle....but I don't like to cuddle WHILE I sleep.

What would I find if I looked UNDER your bed? I dunno- shoes, books maybe?

Something that happened today that made you angry? Nothing has really made me angry today.

What were you doing before this survey? Explaining to Quinlynne why Cheetos are NOT for dinner.

What will you do after the survey? Fix a proper dinner

Marriage or living together? Who cares? I will not judge others. As for me, neither will ever happen.

What shirt are you wearing now? an orange-y,black-y, pink one

Do you sing? I do, but not well.

Do you de-label your beer bottles? I don't drink beer.

Do you talk about your feelings or hide them? I usually let people know where they stand. Good and bad.

Is there something you regret and wish you could take back? Of course

First thing you do when you wake up? make it to the bathroom, brush my teeth

Ever had surgery? Yes, I have.

Last argument you got into with? Ummm...I don't remember. Probably Quinlynne Lucille Paige Hoffman.

Do you tend to rip the paper off water bottles? Nope.

What's one good thing about your best friend? They do not judge. They let me know what they think, but no judging and unconditional love.

How long does it take for you to fall asleep at night? You know, when I was younger- it would take me forever. Now, if I'm still, I'm asleep.

Current song on myspace? "Lookin' for Love in all the Wrong Places"

When you shut off your alarm clock, do you tend to fall back asleep? Yes. I'm terrible about that.

If you were given the chance to take care of a monkey for a weekend, would you? Depends on what my plans for the weekend are.

What is the current advertisement on the side of the screen? Skinovative laser hair removal...hook me up! (Don't forget, this was on Facebook.)

What are you looking forward to in the next few months? End of the semster, Christmas, Halloween, nice weather

It's midnight. Who are you texting? That could be a dnagerous question.

It's Wednesday afternoon, where are you usually? Maybe napping after clinicals.

Honestly, if you could have ANYONE in the world, who would it be? I'd prefer to NOT answer this question. And what kind of "have" are we talking???

Your Christmas list consists of? Am I receiving? Is this dream world? I'd ask for a wonderful vacation.

You're going to New York for school shopping, where do you go first? I haven't the slightest. I only window-shopped for a few hours in NYC.

You need a new pair of jeans, what store do you go to first? Someplace where they sell jeans.

How do you feel about your hair? It's awfully dark lately.

What movie is in your DVD player? DVD player in the hosue isn't hooked up.

If you could move away, no questions asked, where would you move? Someplace near an ocean.

How much do looks matter to you in a guy/girl? There's gotta be something there to spark an interest. But ya know, as long as I find them attractive.

What's the greatest thing that happened to you today? Quinlynne Lucille Paige giving me an eskimo kiss.

How many TRUE best friends do you have? 3 or 4

What would you change about your life right now? I don't really need to list that on here. If you know me, you know what I'd change.

What’s the best feeling in the world? Holding that precious baby in your arms, knowing God trusts YOU to take care of him/her for Him.

OK, I'm going to tag 3 people to put this on their Blogs, too. I choose.....drumroll please..... Angie, Natalie, and Sally.

Angie is a great friend of mine. She is hilarious. She blogs exactly how she speaks, and it's hilarious. You'll have to catch her on a big rant sometime....if you could hear her telling the story- you'd die laughing, too. She is extremely talented in so many areas. She is kind of going through a rough patch right now. If you know of anyone who is willing to hire a non-idiotic woman who is a quick learner and masters everything....hit her up! I love her.

Natalie and I have known each other for quite a while. We grew up together. Lots of activities at church together as youth. She is a beautiful woman. Her posts on her blog are hilarious as well. She's very witty....and, like most of my friends, tends to speak her mind. She and her family just had to make a quick relocation, so she's busy making her house a home, but look in on her blog. Go back, read previous posts...you'll love her.

Sally and I go to church together presently. She is also extremely talented. (Am I not friends with anyone who is a dumb, untalented, sloth???) She is married to a busy medical student. They have 3 kids and that keeps Sally pretty darn busy. However, she finds time to blog in there somewhere. She amazes me.

Memories

2009-09-18T03:39:00.005-05:00

Oh how I miss these days:

This was at Logan Salat's birthday party. Her bib was bigger than her. But- it was red, white & blue. So was her outfit. She was about 7 weeks old here.

Look at those little leg rolls.

Hat & mittens from Grandi & Poppa on her 1st Christmas. She went right down for a nap after this.

Pork chops, dinner rolls, butter, etc.

2009-09-14T22:33:00.003-05:00

So, I don't know how many of you would consider yourselves "big girls" (it's not like I have a huge following- but I like to pretend I do). There is no getting around it; I am a big girl. There, I've said it. I feel as though I'm in an AA meeting. (Not that I've ever been to an AA meeting, either...but you always hear that on TV.) Anyhow, as a big girl, you get to hear lots of reasons why men like big girls. (Also, I always have a really hard time believing a man is attracted to a big girl. In my mind they always like the small girls.) So, you hear "I like a woman with a little meat on her bones," (most common); "I don't like small girls,"; "Why would I want to gnaw on a bone when I can have the whole piece of meat?"; "Throw that girl a pork chop, she's too skinny,"; etc. Are you getting the picture?

Well last week my clinical group met after clinicals to go over a presentation we are going to be giving. We met at the TCC Metro location. I cannot help but people-watch while I am anywhere. So, this rather "healthy" young lady walked by. She was probably 5'5", weighed around 325 lbs. Yes, this is obese, but far from the largest person I've ever seen. What got me though was the fact that she was wearing a strapless sundress. YES- I said a STRAPLESS sundress. Similar to this one:

This dress would not have been a bad idea if she had been waering a tshirt underneath, or a little cardigan on top. But the only thing this young gal had on underneath was her strapless bra.

I leaned over to my friend next to me and said "Just 'cause they make it in your size don't mean you need to wear it,". Apparently one of the men in my goup heard me say it, but had not seen the young lass. He said...are you ready for this???? "I like a little butter with my bread'". I almost fell off the chair. That was a new one on me. I asked him if he had seen the young lady, as she was on her way around again. When he caught the lovely vision, he told me I was in fact, right.

So- two things in one day. A young lady committing a major fashion faux pas, and a new saying. Anyone else like a little butter with their bread??

Rear end

2009-09-11T22:18:00.003-05:00

Let me just rant for a few seconds. (By the way- isn't that a cute little rear end?)

Am I totally uptight, or is there entirely too much usage of the word (I'm going to actually write it out once, in case you're wondering and can't figure it out) ass on TV & radio nowadays? I consider myself to be rather liberal, but seriously? I don't want to hear it, and I certainly don't want my child (or anyone else's child under my watchful eye) hearing it. I haven't even watched the show "Dance your ___ Off" because I'm pretty off-put by the title. People are saying it in clips that we see for sitcoms, it's on the radio, in commercials, everything. I don't think I should have to worry so much about the language that will be on TV in the middle of the day or early evening....especially when I have it tuned in to ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, etc. I don't consider TBS or TNT to be especially "risky" TV stations, but gaaawwwwleeee (pronounced like Gomer Pyle is saying it)! Also- I'm attacked by this little 3 letter word when I'm driving in my car listening to the radio. I will admit, I was listening to a country station recently & they announced a new song. Kind of a catchy tune. But the first few words, and the repeated lyrics, are "I've got my toes in the water, ___ in the sand". Seriously? What the heck? Please tell me I'm not the only person who is noticing this. Am I just noticing it now because I'm more cognizant of things due to my 4 year old sponge?

New swing

2009-09-08T23:06:00.002-05:00

Quinlynne has a new fun swing in the tree of the front yard. I'll get around to pics of it soon. Thank you for the swing, Havens! On Sunday after church Quinlynne had me out there pushing her in the swing. I took the opportunity to quiz her on a few things. It went a little something like this:

me: What's momma's name?

Q: Shandowin

me: How old is momma?

Q: 33

me: What's momma's favorite color? (she better get this right, we just talked about it!)

Q: Red (Good girl!)

me: What's momma's favorite food? (Does she know what shrimp are, really?)

Q: carwots (Well, that makes me sound healthy.)

me: What's momma's favorite thing to do?

Q: Ummmmm....homework. (This almost made me laugh aloud. But, since that's what she sees me do most often & what I tell her I need to do, it makes sense.)

me: Where does momma work? (She won't get this one.)

Q: Hospitaws

There was more quizzing, but it's so much fun to see how well your kid knows you. I was surprised that she knew I worked in hospitals. I want to know where she gets that carrots are my favorite food, though?!?!

My Dad

2009-09-04T23:41:00.004-05:00

OK, again, I've been on the home computer. I wanted to share some pics of my dad with you. I realize that some of you never knew my dad. I hope that through some of these pictures, you'll feel like you knew him a little bit. There is this one: my 1st Easter...or maybe it was my 2nd, I don't really remember that particular day.

My dad letting his precious little girl (none other than me) open his birthday present. My dad and his sister, my Aunt Di. Check out those ears he has! When my mom was pregnant both times, my Granny (Mom's mom) used to say that she was gonna have to tape ears back if the baby came out with my dad's ears. I'll have to find some Navy pictures....his ears STILL stuck out, even when he was in the Navy.

This one is just funny to me. Dad had a new truck, and he was pointing to the fact that it's a Peterbilt. Not long after Dad died, my friend Brenda called & left me a voicemail. In a teary voice she said "I just pulled up behind a truck that had a bumper sticker reading 'Old truckers never die. They just get a new Peterbilt',". That is TOTALLY something my dad would have found hilarious.

There's this one of my parents with friends of theirs, the O'Dells. We had gone up to see them when they lived in Indiana.

My dad and Aunt Di, with me & my brother. It's okay, you can say it....I resemble my Aunt Di. My mom & my cousin Penny informed me a few weekends ago that the older I get, the more I'm starting to resemble her. (Notice the freakin' chin all of us have. UGH! Dad tried to make me feel better by telling me "Don't worry baby, that chin can take a hit and you'll never even notice it." My response was "Whatever Dad. 'Cause I get in so many fights" However, my brother has been in a few & I think he found Dad's words true.)

And this one is the best. This is my dad with his friend, Henry. Henry was making fun of Dad's hat that he got when we were in Branson. Seriously, my dad could be so gaudy. But, this smile is forever ingrained in my mind. My dad had what could be described as nothing other than a sh*! eatin' grin. Can you not just hear his laugh that goes with it?

One day soon you'll get to see pictures of my Dad, brother & I at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally!

A rarity

2009-09-03T22:42:00.005-05:00

I have been spending some time on the home computer instead of my laptop lately. That leads me to look at old pictures on the computer. Such as this one:

I absolutely love this picture of Quinlynne & Aaron. She is so tickled, she can hardly contain herself. She absolutely loves my brother. And then there's this one:my dad feeding Quinlynne some plums & cereal. Since I was working full time, and Dad was home a lot due to his cancer...he helped out with Quinlynne way more than I ever would have anticipated. It truly shocked me. I love it, and miss him!

Then, there's these little goodies I ran onto:

Yes, that is me, Quinlynne, and her genetic materials donor...aka Adar, Butthead, Donor, Dumbass. Don't we look like one big, happy family? This was the first time he'd ever really spent any time with her. We had lunch together when she was 9 months old. (Don't I have a good fake sorority girl smile??) I know she does bare a striking resemblance to him. But, I'll go ahead and say it...she looks like my dad a great deal. Maybe I'm waxing sentimental because I'm stil in amazement that my little Miss Curly Q has already been here on this earth with me for 4 years. It truly, in all honesty, seems like she should just be toddling around. That's how I feel every time I look at her.

You know something crazy, one of the reasons I thought he (Donor) didn't want to have anything to do with me once I got pregnant was- I thought he was ashamed of me. I thought he was embarrassed to let anyone know he'd created a baby with me. My self-confidence was that low. I thought he was so much better looking than me. When I got these pictures I said to myself "What the crap was I smoking? Yes, he's attractive- quite good looking- but no better looking than me." Isn't it crazy what Satan can make us think about ourselves, if we let him in? Whatever the case- I will be greatful to him (Donor) forever. Why???? That's what you may be thinking. I am greatful to him for helping me make my beautiful, intelligent, loving, vivacious, caring daughter a possibility.

My day in surgery

2009-09-01T21:57:00.003-05:00

Today I was back in surgery again. I observed a Total Hip Replacement. First of all, I was totally shocked that the lady only had a spinal & conscious sedation. Seriously? Knock me out! I can see having conscious sedation during....say, an EGD, or a colonoscopy (normal- & I have had those done), or a cyst removed, or something of the such. But a hip replacement? Give me the big stuff! I mean, there is sawing, and hammering, and drilling. It's a pretty gruesome surgery. At the end of the surgery, they were transferring the patient onto her hospital bed from the OR table. I looked down on the floor and there was the lady's femoral head. Just. Lying. There. I said "is that the head of her femur?" They all started chanting for me to pick it up. I declined, as I did not have any gloves on. The circulating nurse bent down & picked it up and threw it in the trashcan.

After our time in the OR & PACU, we went to postconference. I told my instructor about the femoral head. She told me I was lucky, they usually throw the femoral head at the student. I guess I lucked out, because there was a med student in the room today, too. Couldn't hit two of us with it, so they just let it lie on the floor.

Birthday Girl

2009-08-31T20:27:00.006-05:00

This year Quinlynne turned 4 on August 22. It seems like she should still be my baby. I mean, she'll always be my baby girl, but it just does not seem possible that she is 4. Is this the way I'll feel about each subsequent birthday? Is this the way my mom feels about me??

I was really too poor to have a birthday party this year. I feel like such a terrible mom. I just told myself that I'll make up for it- she'll have a killer Sweet 16. I invited a two friends & their children, and my cousin (who also is my friend) and her sons over to help Quinlynne celebrate. (I only invited people who I'm not totally embarrassed to have over to my mom's house...where my daughter & I live because I'm too broke to afford our own place). I put out a slip-n-slide thing, a sprinkler, & Quinlynne's old cracked pool. The kids had a blast. Here are some pics.

Aunt Connie's cousin, Cathy, sent Quinlynne an adorable birthday tutu (& a cool wallet). Quinlynne loved it.

Quinlynne, Drew & Isaiah on the slip-n-slide. They played in it so long that there was a huge mud puddle at the end.

Quinlynne & the boys in the pool.

Isaiah & Elijah looking so cute, brotherly & loving playing on the tractor.

Deacon & Isaiah deep in conversation on the tractor.

The parking lot for the party.

I will pot more pictures later. Believe me, I have plenty. I am too tired. I have to leave the house at 5:45 in the morning, and I have to get to sleep! Can you believe she's 4???

Party GIrl

2009-08-31T20:14:00.003-05:00

Last week in our Nursing Issues & Perspectives class we had to take a personality test. There were 4 categories. D, I, S & C. D's are the direct, on-track, group leader types. S's are the senstive, listener, nice people. C's are tne anal-retentive people, the ones who color code their schedules & plan everything out. I's are the people who like to have fun, who don't want to be bored with details when someone is telling them something to do...just get to the point. Apparently, I am a party girl. Would you ever have thought? Some of the characteristics fit me to a tee. Others...not so much. Like, I am apparently supposed to like working in groups. That is not really the case for me. But, I guess not every minute characteristic of each group fits everyone, huh? I never would have thought I'd fit this category, because my life is SOOOO far from a party! Although I do have some song (it may be a Beastie Boys song) going through my head..."HEEEEEY We want to PAAAARTAAAYYY!!!"

HINT

2009-08-29T00:47:00.002-05:00

Here's a hint of what's to come.....

as soon as I finish editing and saving all of the pics!

Here Kitty Kitty

2009-08-29T00:26:00.003-05:00

Here Kitty Kitty!!!!

I have had Purty for almost 8 years now. So we can safely say that she has been around longer than Quinlynne. Purty (she has that name because she ain't so purty) very much has her own little personality. Not the most loving kitty in the world. That is probably the reason I am so surprised that she is so patient and forgiving of Quinlynne and the love she shows to Purty. Purty lets Quinlynne pick her up under her front legs and carry her all over. She lets Quinlynne lie on her. She remains still while Quinlynne has her head in a vice grip, petting her. Purty must be polishing her halo for all the patience she shows with Quinlynne. (Purty is an outside kitty, so she still has all of her claws.) Quinlynne has now gained the responsibility of feeding Purty each day. Quinlynne assures me every day that she feeds Purty because she is Purty's Momma. When did Quinlynne become the mother to a cat that she is younger than??

2009-08-27T17:56:00.003-05:00

So, as you all know, I am in school again. And- if you don't know anyone who's been in nursing school- let me assure you that nursing school keeps the nursing student EXTREMELY busy. Housework, cooking, anything fun is now a foreign concept. Folding laundry takes time. During that time, all a nursing student can think about is the reading he/she could be doing. As I write this post, I am wracked with guilt because I am not writing a paper. It truly is terrible. So, I decided to teach my newly-turned 4 year-old daughter how to fold some laundry. I asked myself "is it important that the towels & washcloths look perfect, or that they're folded?" I dumped the load of towels onto the sofa & called Miss Thang in to fold. I told her that is how she can help momma with her homework. It worked! I had to get a picture!

In the OR

2009-08-25T21:24:00.003-05:00

Today was my 1st day in my OR clinical rotation. In past experiences, any time I have had to be in a sterile field, I always feel very sick & near passing out. So, I just knew it was going to happen to me. The floor I was on today- I observed 3 gynecological surgeries. I was hotter than hades int he room, sweating like crazy. But- I didn't get sick. Getting used to the mask & my glasses fogging up took a while, but I finally got my mask situated so the dang glasses didn't fog over. I got to place 2 foleys (what better patient to practice on than one who is asleep?), and I did them the first try! Tomorrow I don't anticipate any really big surgeries. However, I do anticipate getting in on some rather large surgeries next week.

My instructor came in during the 2nd surgery and asked me how I was doing. I said great! She told me she was sorry she hadn't made it around sooner, but one of my classmates had fainted in surgery. I feel so bad for my classmate, but glad it wasn't me!

Fluids & Electrolytes

2009-08-23T22:53:00.002-05:00

Did anyone know that one could listen to two hours of lecture, online, about this? This is after reading 30...or maybe it's 20 pages in the dreaded Lewis textbook. Can you tell I'm mind-numb? Let me assure you though, you do NOT want to have a fluid & electrolyte imbalance. I had already known this, of course, from my time served on the Renal Floor at Hillcrest Medical Center (5 tower). Terrible, horrible things can happen. Part of this I watched occur in my dad during his illness. It's a sad sight. Make sure you drink enough fluid & watch your diet, people!

Blonde joke

2009-08-22T00:49:00.003-05:00

I got this joke in an email today. I thought it was rather funny. Sorry to all you blondes....

An old, blind cowboy wanders into an all-girl biker bar by mistake. He finds his way to a bar stool and orders some coffee. After sitting there for a while, he yells to the waitress, "Hey, you wanna hear a blonde joke?"

The bar immediately falls absolutely silent. In a very deep, husky voice, the woman next to him says, "Before you tell that joke, Cowboy, I think it is only fair, given that you are blind, that you should know five things:

1. The bartender is a blonde girl with a baseball bat.

2. The bouncer is a blonde girl.

3. I'm a 6-foot tall, 175-pound blonde woman with a black belt in karate.

4. The woman sitting next to me is blonde and a professional weightlifter.

5. The lady to your right is blonde and a professional wrestler .

Now, think about it seriously, Mister. Do you still wanna tell that joke?"

The blind cowboy thinks for a second, shakes his head, and mutters, "No...not if I'm gonna have to explain it five times."

Arachna-what?

2009-08-17T22:03:00.005-05:00

I am NOT a fan of spiders. And THESE:

are what have been showing up in our homes around these parts lately. I have found 3 or 4 of them in our house in the last month. Then, last night, our neighbor brought one over that she had found in her bathroom. How freakin' disgusting and scary are those? Seriously, how am I expected to rest peacefully with these things sharing the Earth with me? (Btw- these are called Wolf Spiders.)

Level 2 starting

2009-08-17T02:09:00.004-05:00

Well everyone, this will be me (picture above) until December. I must admit, I'm SOOOO not looking forward to this semester. I'm just going to have to keep my nose down & read, read, read each day. The reading is not very stimulating, either. If you ever need a cure for your imsomnia- just let me know & I'd be happy to run my Medical-Surgical Nursing textbook over to you. Please keep your fingers crossed for me, light a candle, say some prayers, whatever it is you can do- I'd appreciate it. I'm still quite uncertain about my ability to complete this difficult semester, but I'll "give it the ole college try"!

Tulsa Zoo 2009

2009-08-11T17:21:00.009-05:00

I finally got the gumption to take Quinlynne to the zoo. To say it was sweltering is like saying the the Grand Canyon is a creek bed. I hadn't told Quinlynne we were going to the zoo. Like I've said before, I try to not tell her plans for things. That way, if I have to cancel them, she's not disappointed. I was disappointed quite a bit when I was a kid & I remember how it felt.

I had planned to make it there at 9:00 when the zoo opens. Yeah, I didn't make that. I had to go get a TB test & run another errand, so it was about 11:00 when we made it there. Quinlynne was so stinkin' excited. She had to take Nicole with us into the zoo. Nicole is her preemie Cabbage Patch. We had the stroller for Nicole, but I told Quinlynne that she could feel free to climb in when she got tired.

We hit the elephants first. Quinlynne thought they were cool. She was amazed they ate "with their noses". We had to talk a bit about that.

We went all over the zoo with Quinlynne trying to tell me where we needed to go. Unfortunately, the Kodiak bear & the Polar bear were both dead. She did love posing in front of the Penguins though.

We made it to the zebras & giraffe and that was as far as Quinlynne could make it. She told me she was hot & she thought we should just go back to the van & cool down & maybe watch a movie. She sat in her stroller, took a drink of her water & told me she thought we really needed to go to Sonic & get a Sprite, because her water was hot- yuck!

Overall, we had a great day.....even though it was disgustingly hot.

Do they wobble to and fro?

2009-08-10T21:29:00.003-05:00

I tell you, Friday night Quinlynne was in rare form. Not only was she climbing the walls, she then came out of my bedroom like this.

Please do not judge the size of my undergarments. Just know that it serves a mighty purpose! I wish I would have had a camera the very first second she came down that hallway. Her little face looked so innocent & happy that she had this bra on. It was precious.

Then she let the bra fall to the strap length, and this is where the bra landed. Oh, how I hope for her sake that she never has to wear her bra here. May she always face the world right on.

THEN, Connie had her hold out her shirt and spell attic. A-T-T-I-C. Go ahead, try it yourselves. I'll hold. holding......... Don't you feel so bright??

Spiderman...where are you coming from??

2009-08-09T07:00:00.001-05:00

Aren't those the words to the Spiderman song? I can't really remember. I wasn't a HUGE fan. But, apparently my kid is kin to him. (By the way, I hate that expression..."kin to". Is it really that hard to say "related to"? Must we sound so backwoods? Ya reckon?)

I was talking to mom on Thursday night & I looked up, and this is what I found Quinlynne doing.

I was just getting ready to get on to her when she looked up at me and said "Huh! Can you believe I can do this???" I had to try to not laugh. Charles & Connie have always said that it's not IF she'll be climbing the roof, it's just a question of when. Maybe I can get her to hang the Christmas lights this year???

modest bather

2009-08-09T00:17:00.003-05:00

Last week I ran Quinlynne's bath water. I went in to do something in the kitchen leaving her with the instructions of "Get naked & get in the bath". I finished doing my food preparations & went to check on my offspring. This, is what I found.

I said "Quinlynne, you're taking a bath. You're supposed to have removed your bather BEFORE getting in." She told me that she just needed to wear it, and she was busy...I should go away. Talk about a modest bather...that's my daughter. Apparently Barbie & My Little Pony are big bathers, as well. She was very proud of her lying down in the water, she felt as though this is a big "swimming" step. Yay, Quinlynne!!!!

My brother's birthday

2009-08-08T02:09:00.004-05:00

My brother's birthday was July 26. So, we surprised him & drove up to Kansas. We finished up church with his fam, stayed around while both of them were set apart for their new callings, then went to "the Kansas house". We took three-way, which is the meal my brother likes for his birthday meal (when Olive Garden is not an option), & I made his dirt cake to tak for him. It was a pretty good day for him I think. I know Quinlynne & Abby had fun playing, we loved playing with Cadyn, & it was just good to spend time with family.

Aaron got a few gifts. If this is any indication of the way he's going to dress, I should just go ahead and purchase his polyester leisure suits. Dickie brand, here we come. (Just kidding, Aaron was trying on his figts & felt the need to pose like a dweeb. I love that little boy.

Plantar fasciitis

2009-08-07T00:36:00.002-05:00

Plantar fasciitis is a painful inflammatory condition of the foot caused by excessive wear to the plantar fascia or plantar aponeurosis that supports the arches of the foot or by biomechanical faults that cause abnormal pronation.[1] The pain usually is felt on the underside of the heel, and is often most intense with the first steps of the day. It is commonly associated with long periods of weight bearing or sudden changes in weight bearing or activity. Jobs that require a lot of walking on hard surfaces, shoes with little or no arch support, a sudden increase in weight and over activity are also associated with the condition.
Plantar fasciitis was formerly called "dog's heel" in the United Kingdom. It is sometimes known as "flip-flop disease" among US podiatrists. The condition often results in a heel spur on the calcaneus, in which case it is the underlying condition, and not the spur itself, which produces the pain.

This is not the first time I have suffered from plantar fasciitis. But I am here to tell you, this puppy his hurting. I am suffering from the symptoms of plantar fasciitis in my right heel. I hate it and can't wait for it to subside. I look like a serious idiot when trying to walk right now. Dang it!

More SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE

2009-08-04T11:39:00.003-05:00

Quinlynne & Abby are somewhat infatuated with playing So You Think You Can Dance. (I can relate, I used to play Charlie's Angels & Love Boat with my cousin, Chrystie.) So, we went to Kansas to help celebrate my brother's birthday. After church, Abby & Quinlynne dressed up and started playing. Here are some cute pics of this.

Yes, Abby is grabbing Quinlynne's rear. I don't know where she got this...shall I talk to my brother & SIL about their influence?

Poor Abby, she thinks she can pick up Quinlynne since she's older. I wonder if she realizes Quinlynne weighs close to what she weighs??