Four and A Half Pounds and Covered With Fur

This year, I have been longing for Christmas. Very early, I know, but I fell in love with our Christmas tree last year and this year it's going to be more of an event. Decorating the tree while listening to good old Christmas songs, drinking coffee and eating cinnamon rolls. Sounds wonderful, yes?

Apparently, Josh must have known all this. So my Christmas present came early. It has four paws.
I have now become a member of the rapidly multiplying group 'owners of yorkies.' Yes, I kind of judge myself. But she's ridiculously cute and we needed a pup under ten pounds. We had been planning on getting ourselves a pound puppy in November, but some friends of ours needed to get rid of their second yorkie and I had no puppy to hold. So, we now have a three year old snuggle bug named Roxie.

For the record: No, she doesn't like baths, but she does receive them quite frequently. No, she doesn't sleep with us. (Unless one of us gets up and leaves the house earlier than the other. Then she gets to lie on the bed ON TOP of the covers. I can't stand the thought of a dog being in our sheets. *Shudder.*) No, I don't carry her around in a purse. That would be another shudder. Yes, she is currently sleeping on my lap curled into a tiny ball.

Now, all I need is the Christmas tree.

Riding the Elevator to the Fifth Floor

A new job is like a new beginning. Except with the old me. So, not much has actually changed except that I'm the new blood- once again at the bottom of the totem pole longing to work my way up. To be an accomplished nurse. To have fresh RNs look at me one day and think, "Wow, I hope I'm as good of a nurse as she is one day."

Also, different? I don't cry before I have to go to work anymore. Which is really a fantastic change. Pretty sure I could get used to that. Working in the OB is so completely different that the ICU (and here, all my nursing friends think 'duh.') But really, I am amazed by the change in the atmosphere. We have toddlers running through our hallways chattering about the "new bebies" and how cute they are. We have sixteen year olds, blissfully unaware of how their lives are going to change when they take this tiny baby home. And we have thirty-five year olds who have 32,000 questions, because they have a slightly better idea what is going on.

I am still in the honeymoon phase of work in the OB. But so far, it is looking like I made the right decision. My back isn't killing me when I get home from a 12 hour shift. I am not crying over the death of my patient or wondering if I would have saved a life if I had pushed the doctor just a little harder. No, it's not all fun and games in OB. Sometimes, the tragedy here is far worse than in the ICU. But it's rare. More common? The celebration of life. A nervous set of parents scared to death about this little life that is now their responsibility. The flutter in your heart when a six pound person quiets as your lift them from their crib. Charting with one hand while you hold a tiny, sleeping baby in the other.

I do not know the future. I have no idea where I am supposed to go in this life. I'm sure I would be scared to death if I saw the plans God has laid before me. But while He holds me here, I will be content. I will choose to learn and grow. And I will keep my life as a sacrifice before Him.

2 Bedrooms is 2 Bedrooms Too Small

I never realized how small our apartment is. Well, until we had family come to visit. (Side note: we hope they come again soon. :) My mom and sister came into town Tuesday afternoon with three children under the age of 3. And it was.... wonderful! I did learn within two minutes, however, how "unchildproof" my house is. But that is life and it is worth a few broken things to spend time with family.

The twins are five months old and I have deemed them absolutely fantastic as well as quite gorgeous. Their blue eyes are stunning and we're all holding our breath, hoping they will stay blue. They have moved to the smiley (and drooling) stage, so I acted like an idiot the whole week, always hoping for another grin and chortle. On a side note: they are looking more and more identical, so I painted their toenails different colors for a cheat way to tell them apart. Both mom and I had to check out their feet constantly.

Tuesday was spent talking, cooking, and catching up. My sleep habits are way out of wack recently (I'm going to blame night shift), so I actually fell asleep from 6-9pm. I hope they didn't consider me a rude hostess. I tried to stay awake, I really did!

Wednesday we went clothes shopping for the kids... This was tricky with three adults to even out the three kids. I now understand why Rachel can't get out of the house. Good grief! :) Shopping was followed by Christian's first visit to Chuck E. Cheese. We were more excited than Christian- until he saw the basketball hoops and the "key-tars" they were playing up on stage. Suddenly we couldn't keep him in the booth. He took two rides and then was very insistent that he only wanted to "play hoop! Basketball! Hoops! Hoops!" Simon should be proud.

Thursday's main event was the Quad City Zoo. Yes, I have been getting to go to the zoo a lot. Is it great? Yes, it is. It was fun to see the zoo through a child's eyes again. Helping Christian search for the animals in the cages, trying to help him pet the sheep, laughing as he asked to pet the tigers. It was a good time. The girls were pretty fantastic troopers as well. We messed with their nap schedules to be at the zoo all morning, but they're precious little things. (As long as their not both crying at the same time... they have fantastic lungs aboard those tiny bodies.

Favorite parts of the week: Watching Christian's face light up when one of the twins would smile at him. Hugs and kisses from Christian before bed every night. Selah's laugh. Jadah's dimples. Sharing conversation and a bag of corn nuts with my mother and sister. Christian's first poo-poo in the toilet. (Yes, that was a wonderful moment full of celebration).

It was a wonderful week.

Weekend Getaway. The First Ever.

I guess it is pathetic to be behind on blogging when it's only my second post. But I'm a busy woman. And currently I've been more interested in piecing my quilt than signing on the internet. I suppose late is better than never.

Josh and I finally had our anniversary get away a weekend or two ago. I mentioned the zoo and science center in my previous post. I'm very proud to announce we worked both into our schedule. I worked a twelve hour shift Thursday night, then we left Friday morning for the zoo. I am learning how to function without sleep for up to 36 hours. I think that is my record so far. On the way to Des Moines, we found this awesome eatery called "5&Diner." It was exactly the kind of diner I was hoping for, with jukebox, bar stools, and a server who reminded us of Vi from Grease.



















Anywho, back to the zoo. Josh and I have found most zoos pale in comparison to the Toledo, San Diego, and Denver zoos, so we try to skip the comparison. I always feel like a child at the zoo- I'm so excited to see the animals; Josh is a little more like a grown up. He holds my hand and makes sure I don't run off. Also, he keeps me moving- otherwise I might be tempted to sit and watch the giraffes or elephants for hours. I did get him to take me through the aquarium and aviary twice, because I wanted to watch jellyfish a bit longer. My mind is so blown by those deadly little things.






We stayed at a fantastic little B&B near Drake University in Des Moines. It was our first bed and breakfast, so it was with trepidation we stood outside the front door, wondering if we knock or just go in. Our hostess solved the dilemma by opening the door for us. Hurdle one, down. Phew. Our room was fantastic- we had rented the master suite for two nights, so it came with a king bed, sitting area, and ginormous bathroom! The plan for dinner was The Cheesecake Factory. Unbeknown to us, it was apparently National Cheesecake Day. So the place was swarming. However, all cheesecake was half price. It was indeed our lucky day.

Saturday morning we ate breakfast with two professors who were visiting for a seminar at Drake. I believe the topic was ancient music. The only word to sum our our conversation is 'hilarious.' Nothing like an effeminate professor regaling us with stories of weddings gone awry, his miserable health, and blunders in traveling. Breakfast was followed by a trip to the science center. The two highlights were watching Inception in the IMAX and playing in the kids' activity center. I would like to report that we made better rockets and kept our dropped egg more intact than the other couple our age in there. Ha! We followed up our science adventure with Spaghetti Works and then a quick visit to the Italian Heritage Festival. I must admit, we felt like posers, so we left real quick. The rest of the day was consumed with napping, movies, and a 10pm run to Jimmy Johns. Subs so fast, you'll freak!

And then the next day we went home and I worked another 12 hour shift.