Thursday, September 17, 2009

Is anyone out there?

I know it's my fault if not. I have not been great about keeping this updated! Today we are battling the flu. I have not quite succombed, but I fear it's my turn next. The girls are all feeling pretty crummy. Maddie actually seems to be on the mend, her temperature is back within normal limits today. That may mean she can go to school tomorrow, which would be good because she's missed 3 days this week - add that to the two days she missed because of her surgery and we're up to 5 absences since August 20th. That has to be some kind of record for the first month of school.

I am only about 2 weeks into the semester and already feel like I'm neck-deep. The good news is that I passed my first high acuity test. The bad news is it was probably the easiest one of the semester. On Tuesday our lecture in the class was on mixed acid base balances, nullifying effects, V/Q, oxyhemoglobin dissociation curves and other equally as mind-boggling topics. I know these terms don't mean much to you unless you work in healthcare, but don't worry - they don't mean much to me either. Not yet, anyways. I am working on it. Our test on this unit is a week from Monday and I'm desperately working to grasp all of this.

Graduation is 3 months from today!!!

Tuesday, September 01, 2009

What I did this summer

I thought that I had typed up a draft of the things we have done this summer, but I can't find it. My summer break was nearly 4 months long and it was really nice. It started out with the trip Aaron and I took to Disney World. What a vacation! The first time we've been on our own for a week in years. Maddie finished 1st grade at the end of May.

The twins are often (not always) easier to take out and do things with, so I've been a little more ambitious in my attempts to take them to do things when Aaron's at work. Sometimes it's gone really well, other times it's been just short of a nightmare. We've gone swimming, to the movie theater, to Lagoon, shopping...it's always an adventure. The girls enjoyed having grass in the backyard. to play on - and it's really nice to be able to say "Go play outside!" when they are stir-crazy and I need a little break from the crazy.

As a family we've been to This is the Place Heritage Park, the zoo, camping at Pineview, a weekend in Park City, and a trip with my family to Jackson Hole and Pinedale, Wyoming.

At the end of July we hosted a friend from Aaron's mission for several days. We spent them as tourists in our own city, which was fun. We toured the Oquirrh Hills Temple, went to a dinner show at Showtime Utah, Wheeler Farm, Park City, the State Capitol. We really enjoyed having him here and the girls really had fun getting to know him.

I nearly finished the painting in the living room, kitchen and family room. We found a couch and chair for the loft. Aaron put together a desk and bookcase for our room that will be nice to have this semester. The twins have real beds now, they had spent about 9 months on mattresses on the floor.

Oh - that reminds me. We've had a few mishaps this summer:
*Cami flooded the side yard, a window well and the basement the day before Father's Day.
*Maddie caught her shorts on a cupboard door in the kitchen, stripping the hinge out of the wood. I was able to fix it by breaking toothpicks up in the hole and screwing the hinge back into place. This was all done without Aaron knowing. Maddie couldn't handle the guilt and told him all about it a few days later. :)
*Cami and Brie were monkeys jumping on their beds and Cami jumped right through the slats of Brie's bed, breaking it into unusable pieces. Thank heavens for good return policies at Ikea.
*Maddie learned the story behind "Curiosity killed the cat" after playing with a utility knife even when she knew she shouldn't. An ER visit, 5 stitches, follow-up with a hand surgeon and a surgery later, she's on the mend and hopeful for full recovery. Physical therapy will likely follow once everything has had a chance to heal.

There you have it. A summary of our summer. My classes started yesterday and I'm already missing the freedom.