Lazy days of summer...

Yesterday as I was returning home from running errands, I was struck with the thought that summer is already half over. At what point did time start moving so quickly? Remember when we were kids and days seemed to last forever and summer felt more like 6 months long? Now I have my own little human calender marking off the months for me (has it really been 10 months since Monkey made his big debut?), and I am shocked how quickly time is going by. I remembered my favorite summer, the year before my sophomore year of high school. I was too young to work yet and so my day was spent volunteering at the nursing home or doing chores in the morning and floating around the pool all afternoon. So I realized it was when my schedule became hectic, a balance of work, school, activities, and tasks that time started to pick up. Time slowly picked up momentum through college and now that I am balancing being a wife, a mother, a nurse, and other things, it's humming along like a freight train. But these activities are what make my life meaningful and exciting, so I am grateful for that. I am also grateful that every once in while, God reminds me to stop in my tracks, take it all in, and live in awe of the moment, be it exciting or mundane. I hope your summer is treating you well and just for today, it slows down a little bit for you :).

A day in the life...

I got this little survey from my friend Laura's blog, A Blessed Life:

Outside My Window...it's a beautiful, sunny day and my lawn is begging to be landscaped, hopefully we will be getting started in September!
***
I am thinking ...about Monkey's MRI and trying to be confident that everything will be alright.
***
I am thankful for ...being married to a man who may not be perfect, but is perfect for me; the miracle of Monkey and the simple, overwhelming joy he brings me each day; the fact that I have a roof over my head and food in my belly every day; the wonderful group of friends and family I've been blessed with, I am a very lucky girl.
***
From the kitchen ...the kitchen is clean! After I am done with this, I am going to go mop the floor. A clean kitchen makes for a happy Stephanie.
***
I am wearing ... black knit Capri pants, a teal blue short sleeve shirt with a little pocket, and my very favorite LL Bean slippers.
***
I am creating ... our home! I am getting pictures up on the walls, finding furniture and accessories, and admiring each new little thing that makes our house feel cozy. I am also trying to create memories for us and traditions for our family :).
***
I am going ...to be productive today. The Hubs and I seem to alternate days of motivation to get house stuff done. Last night he did so much and I had no motivation, today we've swapped. It's difficult not having weekends together for both of us to work on a project at the same time.
***
I am reading ...Mainly all I am reading right now is Monkey's books to him and the occasional People magazine and blog. I have some books lined up that I'd like to read.
***
I am hoping ....that everything will be alright :)!
***
I am hearing ...Baby lullabies playing over the monitor while Monkey takes his nap.
***
Around the house ...Planning the landscape project for September, getting the basement set up by finding a desk, hanging some pictures, etc.
***
A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week ...Swim date with Jenny and Davis tomorrow, dermatologist appointment for me and Monkey, walking to the park this evening, and working this weekend. We are just packed full of excitement!

Tag, you're it!

IDK, my BFF Clinton

Before I begin, if today's title needs translating for you, click here for the commercial I am referencing....I am only fluent in texting acronyms because I am lucky enough to have an 18 year sister that keep me hip and cool, or at least she tries :). Today I was watching a rerun of "What Not to Wear" on TLC and I decided that if I could pick a BFF for the day, it would be Clinton Kelly. This is such an ironic choice because I have no clue when it comes to fashion, but I think is Clinton could bash my style, throw away my clothes, kick me in the knee, steal my wallet, and yet I would still just want to hug that man. I want to be able to vent my frustrations about being a 6'0 tall, apple shaped, plus size girl in this world and have him explain to me why plus size clothes makers think that if you are plus size, you possess the world's shortest torso and the worlds largest thighs. Oh well, after hearing the complaints of my slimmer counterparts and seeing more episodes of WNTW than I can count, I know I am not alone in my frustration. So I will not give up on fashion and resort wearing this or this. I will keeping trying, I'll listen to "Big Girls (You are Beautiful)" by Mika when one of my shirts gets dried and winds up half as long and twice as wide, and I will keep secretly hoping that maybe Clinton will show up here in Oz and offer to be my BFF and fashion guru for the day :).

Who would you pick as your BFF for the day?

WFMW - My favorite kitchen things...

Two little gadgets I couldn't live without right now are the teething feeder and the Pampered Chef steamer. The teether is perfect for my 9 month old who is gnawing on anything he can get his little hands on. The plastic ring and mesh bag unscrew and you can put in fresh fruit or veggies and let them chew away (with supervision of course). I like being able to give Monkey something besides plastic teethers and processed baby food. They do do just fine in the dishwasher and I got two for about $4. The Pampered Chef steamer is my go to gadget for veggies, fresh or frozen. You can toss the veggies in with some salt and pepper, cook for about 5 minutes and you are good to go. It is also great for reheating leftover hamburgers, barbecue etc. It retains the moisture when it's warming it up and you'd never guess it was leftovers. It was $10 and well worth the money for me :).
These little gadgets worked for me, check out other great stuff at Works For Me Wednesday at Rocks In My Dryer!

Some drama and bad dancing...

The festivities of the 4th of July holiday and my slightly wacky work schedule lately has prevented me from being a good little blogger...well, that and sometimes I sit here and stare at my screen and think "How can I make the fact that all I accomplished today was vacuuming, making dinner, and fooding Monkey with 75% accuracy interesting??" Sensing that our life was a little low on drama, Monkey woke me up with a loud scream at about 3 a.m. last night. The next 9 hours were full of very little sleeping, some snuggling, LOTS of crying, and more bodily fluids than I care to talk about. So at noon we packed up and headed to the Urgent Care and learned he had two issues: a viral flu bug and constipation (which, to keep it G-rated, I would have sworn was impossible given what I had seen the night before). So one X-ray and minimally invasive procedure later, I was heading home with a much happier, still feverish Monkey. It made me realize how spoiled I am with a happy baby, I didn't get my first smile of the day until this afternoon and by then I really needed it :).

Todays new slang term is "time suck," which is used to describe sites that you sit and read or play when you know you should be sleeping, using the restroom, doing something MUCH more constructive, etc. My current time suck is iTunes. Inspired by "Top 100 hits of the 90's" on VH1, I found a few songs I had forgotten about to download (just try to sit still while listening to "Groove Is In The Heart" By Dee Lite!). I keep my iShuffle plugged into speakers in the kitchen and had a big realization yesterday: I have to enjoy this small window of time when Monkey actually enjoys my singing and laughs at my dancing, because soon he will embarrassed by both :).

Hope your week is drama free and full of sweet dance moves!

Tag, you're it!

Just some fun....

10 Years Ago:
I was a freshman in college, having a blast as a student athletic trainer, living in the dorms, and enjoying typical rowdy college behavior. Sure, people bash on the whole JuCo thing, but I can honestly say that those were two of the funnest years of my life :).

Things on my to do list today:
-Pack for our trip this weekend!
-Mop the floor, it's been the victim of flying baby food
-Study for my CPN (Certified Pediatric Nurse) exam while Monkey is napping
-Get a picture of the day for our picture blog
-Run to the store

If I suddenly became a billionaire:
Pay off student loans for us and our siblings, send our parents on vacation, take another cruise, build a new house, and make big donation to Children's Mercy (Hrmm...Bryan Tower has a nice ring to it!). I'd also like to start scholarships in honor of a few friends and family.

Three of my bad habits:
1. Biting my nails when I'm nervous
2. Being slow to call/e-mail people back
3. Speeding...not all the time, mainly on my way to work without Monkey in the car :)

Five jobs I have had:
Town East Square/Castelton Square Customer Service Desk
Bank Teller
Flint Hills Lanes Snack Shack Goddess
Nursing home CNA (Nurse's Aide)
Pediatric RN, Relief Charge Nurse

Five things people don't know about me:
1. I'm a little OCD about certain things, I will check my curling iron 4 times before I leave the house, I have to have towels folded a certain way, etc.
2. I like most kinds of music but I am sucker for oldies (1950-1960's)
3. If I had the chance to move anywhere in the world, I would probably still stay in the Midwest
4. I'm scared of heights
5. I'm bound and determined to see all 50 states

You've been tagged!

I need to be watered...

Monkey and I headed to our local pool today and I realized that the days of a pool with just a diving board are becoming a thing of the past. When I was little, we'd beg my my mom to drive us to the neighboring town 20 minutes away because they had an awesome waterslide. You stand there for 15 minutes, inching your way up the flaming hot metal staircase just for that 30 second ride, and then climb the ladder and get back in line again, The pool we went to today had at least 5 slides, a lazy river, a big tower that doused you with buckets of water...basically what you'd only see if you went to a water park back in my day. Since I am a total water loving fish, I was in heaven. Of course, Monkey and I were relegated to the kiddy pool, which with it's synchronized fountains was definitely not boring. But I have decided that some people take yearly trips to Vegas or go skiing in Colorado, but my ideal yearly vacation spot would definitely be more of the sun, sand, and surf persuasion. Give me lots of sunscreen, a boogie board, a shady place to rest when I need a break and I am in heaven. So for a brief moment today, I imagined I was on a beach somewhere, soaking in the sun, and the roar of the pool crowd was replaced by crashing waves. If I can't be on the beach, our pool will suffice, but I need to be watered (beach watered) next year :)!