Eight Months Later...

Sooooooooooo...it's POSSIBLE that I've been slightly busy these past 8 months. Fall semester, Swine Flu, Ethan hospitalized in December, Christmas, Spring semester...blah, blah, blah.

Only 10 more weeks of school...EVER. At least that's how I see it...for now. I may be able to post again once graduated. I may be able to have a life again...other than doing careplans, papers, practicing dosage calc., and...oh...and learning those oh-so-important skills a nurse needs to know ("what's a stethescope?" :)

Until then...I'll try to recap (other than what's already been recapped) in my short, fast-forwarded way (it's almost midnight and I need the sleep whenever I can get it).

• Kenzie: Kenzie has had an AWESOME year. Awesome. She was accepted into the MAP program at school and has done exceptional all year. It's not an easy class by any means, but she needed it. She keeps bringing home the "A's" (obviously gets that from me!).
• She's totally and completely addicted to reading. That girl has read more books this year...this month...than I've read in my lifetime!!!
• She's gettin' TALL! She's grown 3 inches in the past 8 months!!!!! Soon the girl will be taller than me!
• Cheerleading!!!! We wrapped up her 5th year of cheerleading last month. She was on the Youth Team this year and they did FABULOUS! We didn't always get first...in fact...we rarely did. We usually placed 2nd while the rest of our teams would place 1st. I LOVINGLY referred to our team as "The Bridesmaid Team" (haha...get it? Always the bridesmaid...okay...moving on). We had an amazing year and made SO many memories...especially at our two competitions in Louisville, KY. (Ethan made it to his first out-of-town competition w/ us! He had a great time playing with his friend, Alex.)
  (Still...cheer will never, EVER be the same without our MAXWELL GIRLS!!!!) Okay...proud mommy moment coming up.....now... So, for about 3 stinkin' years, Kenzie has been "on the verge" of her back handspring. Even "had it" SEVERAL times. Finally, the week before our last competition, I think the coaches were as fed up as I was with this "on the verge" stuff! They stopped practice and made ALL of the girls stand in a circle around Kenzie until she "got it" - FOR REAL! After some coaxing...she FINALLLLLY did it! Immediately, Coach Lindsay said "It's in the routine now!". WHAT?!?! I'm not sure who was more nervous...me or Kenzie! They made her practice several more times then made the girls ATTACK HER! :) Love those coaches. I am proud to say that, not only did she do it in their last competition, but also in their Showcase two weeks ago...and is STILL doing them! Yay! :) She just had evaluations for next year and I can't believe how much her jumps have improved. Maybe it's her height? lol (She was just told by Coach Lindsay tonight that she is now one of the "tall girls"! lol)
• Soccer: She's come a long way from the shy, 5-year-old, laying on the sidelines with Lexi, picking flowers, cheering on the sidelines when she's actually IN the game, little girl! Although they have won only 1 game (tied another last week with one goal made by Kenzie)...they are still a team with SO MUCH heart! They play against these teams that look like they should be in college! :) Our girls...well...God love them!!!! :) Kenzie is doing well, though. She's still getting used to the difference in activity between cheer and soccer! lol!

Ethan has had a big year...in good ways and in not-so-good ways. There is a lot to say, but Iwill save that for my next post as I don't think I can make it much longer and he deserves to have the details spilled just as much as his sister (plus, with how competitive they are...as soon as he takes any interest in this blog and SHOULD I write more on one than the other...it's ALLLLLL over! lol) Those two compete with eachother over EVERYTHING. They crack me up. I will closse with a few quotes from my oh-so-funny little man....

"A Jedi never leaves his saber. Unless it's Spring Break...and I'm not on Spring Break!" - E

"I need some "bad shirts" (shirts w/ guitars, skulls, motorcycles)". When asked why?, he replied, "Because bad boys wear bad shirts...and girls like bad boys!" - E

"I'm glad I'm not a girl. Then I'd have two kinds of stomach aches. This kind (referring to his stomach hurting) and the baby kind. When the baby comes out, your body breaks apart then goes back together." - E (Huh????? lol)

Back To School...

Kenzie started 3rd grade and Ethan started kindergarten...and mommy was FORCED to let go...I mean...I haven't...but I can manage for 3 hours I guess. I still followed him to school and watched him come in from the bus :) He looked so nervous...which made me run to the car to let out a good cry. Kenzie said he looked at her on the bus (they have assigned seats and aren't allowed to sit together...tell me...how stupid is that?!?). Annnnyway...she said he looked scared/sad on the bus and that she started to get teary and nervous for him (she MAY be getting a little hormonal). She worried about him ALL day until she knew he'd be home and safe. Awwwwwwwwwwwe. Now, why don't they act all sweet like that when they are TOGETHER? Anyway...she loves her class (It's 3rd and 4th grade combined. It pushes her and she needs it...plus...her friend two doors down is in the same class which makes it even better!) Ethan loves school and LOVES riding the bus...even when his sister chooses to be driven to school. Ugh! :) After the first day, we celebrated Kenzie's 9th birthday with cupcakes and dinner at Olive Garden.

VX-770 Trial Begins in Children - CF Foundation

VX-770 Trial Begins in Children - CF Foundation

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Prayers.

My prayers are with Stellan and Family today....

Jer 29:11 (NIV) "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

http://www.mycharmingkids.net/

Okay, number 1 - I HATE layouts that I choose that are so cute when they are PREVIEWED then have some stupid crawler or random advertisment on your blog after you've applied it. Hate it...and it's stupid. :)

Number 2...I have 8 days left of school. Not 8 days from today, but 8 ACTUAL days of school. Am I going to make it? Will I actually pass? It's scary that, although I'm making B's in all classes currently, that ONE STINKIN' TEST can fail me for next semester (all classes MUST be passed to go on to next semester)...NO PRESSURE THOUGH! Ick. If I make it through...wow...what relief! One semester down...3 to go...HOPEFULLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The next 2 weekend will be full of STUDYING, STUDYING, STUDYING...NOTHING ELSE. It will hopefully be worth it. I must say, I heard that my classmates and teachers (classmates especially) would end up being like family to me. I had NO IDEA how true that was. I don't think I would have made it through this semester - classes and clinicals - without them. It's crazy! I couldn't ask for a better group of peers and teachers. Absolutely LOVE them :)

Number 3...How absolutely cute do I think it is that my bestestestest friend in the world has a ticker on her blog until I get there (nevermind the picture of the plane on it that makes me nauseous. Stacy...did you see this crap???? http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=7391144&page=1 (Panic attack after hearing about this!!!) But...I'll do it for you...because I LOVE YOU! lol! I just hope you'll love me when I can't walk straight coming off of the plane. Have a wheelchair waiting, please :) It's for your own good.

Number 4...I am procrastinating, need to go workout, get ready for school, and take care of my baby who is getting sick :( But, it had been 2 months since my last post and I was feeling like a blogging failure.

Number 5...since school started...I suck at so many other things. Ummmmm...Great Strides? I haven't had ANY time (besides the video) to put any time or effort towards it. Can't even make the meetings lately...well...that is school and the kids' sports schedules...but still feel awful about it. I don't have my letters out yet (one for my personal use...one for Kenzie's gym). I am a fundraising FAILURE. Ugh.

Okay...done procrastinating for a bit. Well, on this site anyway :)

Goodbye life...hello books, books, and more books!

I have no life right now (as evidenced by the last post!). My friends are now questioning my existence - I don't blame them. The only free time I have is...well...now...it's 12:48am and I'm exhausted!!!!!!! My brain is mush. I forget simple things (I know...many of you will think that is nothing new...but...seriously...it's much worse than before). I'm wondering how I can possibly be a nurse when I can't even remember how to spell my name!!!!!!!!! lol! Ugh.





Well, the good news is we had a snow day yesterday. A smart person would have done a lot of homework. I am NOT a smart person, apparently. I cleaned, did a minimal amount of reading (1 chapter in 2 hours IS NOW MINIMAL!!!!!!!) and enjoyed some time with my kids (well, okay...I spent most of that time drying them off from sledding, coming in, going back out, coming back in....you get it.) Now, Kenzie has another 2-hour delay tomorrow and Ethan's school was cancelled. I have to haul him to the doctors with me because I apparently didn't get enough immunizations (funny...it felt like MORE THAN ENOUGH!!!!!!!!!!) and I could be thrown out of the program if I don't get my last dose of the MMR vaccine. Great. I can't wait to tell all of the nurses tomorrow what they are doing wrong. I have a feeling they will appreciate my gift of knowledge!!!!!!!!! ;) Just helpin' them all out! lol!





Until the next time I get a millisecond to myself...





Amanda

Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!

http://ecard.ashland.edu/index.php?ecardYear=2004adm

Ahhhhhhhhh...two more weeks! Two more weeks and I'm FREEEEEE! Well, for about a month...and then it will be 1,000,000 times worse than this semester...but it's the journey...not the destination....RIGHT? Please...SOMEONE tell me I'm right!!!!! (and not you, Stacy S.! I don't want to hear your answer! lol!) Still...I will enjoy this month off...with the Christmas season and with my kids and family. I'll try to make it better than ever, since they won't see their mother until the summer (and that's only if I get the summer off! lol!) :) This week I will be getting the last round of immunizations (my doctor had NO SHOTS on file AND my records also indicated I'd had rubella before! Really? Would've been nice to know that! Of course...my records also stated that I had my tonsils out in April of 2003....when I was pregnant. Plus...I still have my tonsils! What kind of whack job is running my doctor's office????? They MAY need someone in there to "re-organize" or something! Well, at least I know I DEFINITELY have had all immunizations, no TB and my drug screening came back clean! Whew...that was a close one! lol! Kidding!

So, now I'm just PRAYING that the kids can get through this winter HEALTHY. Is that asking a lot? I mean, I know I have a child with a chronic disease that likes to pick up any and all viruses and bacteria his poor little body can find...but...I'm still praying for it. Truth be told, Kenzie had many more illnesses last year than Ethan. Might have been b/c it was her first year in school all day long. I need to remember that when Ethan goes into first grade (I've heard this theory before, too!). We ended up cancelling our New Year's Disney trip...for several reasons. #1- when I had this GREAT IDEA...I didn't know that it was everyone else's great idea as well. New Year's week is THE busiest week of the year. Had NO IDEA. #2- With school starting on the 12th, I would just like to spend those days relaxing, not waiting in line for a Dumbo ride for 2 hours. Plus, I want to make sure EVERYTHING is ready for school. #3- germs, germs, germs. #4- I have worried obsessively that Ethan would be sick around then (or we would get snowed in), and it would break my heart to have to cancel RIGHT before we leave b/c of that...and have him think it was his fault (same with Kenzie). And I would hate for the one sibling to put blame on the other...which is what siblings do (no matter how much they love eachother). So...as MUCH as I was completely looking forward to spending New Year's Eve in WDW, we will spend it at home. We will hopefully reschedule for the early summer...crossing my fingers.

Prayers going out to some of my friends' kids (w/ CF). They are sick today and that's just never a good thing w/ CF. Just miserable :(

Until next time....

Amanda

Okay...so it's been awhile since I last updated. I've.....been.....busy? No...not really. I'm only busy the day or so before my class when everything is due and I've procrastinated so much that I put the homework until then. lol!

Anyway...I got into the nursing program! I go for our first orientation tomorrow (Wednesday) and I'm soooo nervous....but sooooooooooo excited!

Other than that, the kids are in school and have somehow remained mostly healthy (Kenzie had 2 viruses w/n a week and a half; she also had her knee looked at by a sports med doctor (it's fine, but her knee cap moves to the side instead of up and down; Ethan had his knee x-rayed due to pain/not walking on it...it came back clear; Ethan also had clinic since I've last written...everything was GREAT! Gained 3 lbs. and a few INCHES!!!! Lungs were clear...cultures were clear. He's been having a dry cough the past few days....PLEASE GOD LET IT BE ALLERGIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We went on a field trip with his class yesterday to the post office! It was actually very cool. I learned things!!!!! lol! His class was the most well-behaved group of kids (pre-k nonetheless!) that I've EVER SEEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was in shock by the end of the trip! What did they do to them? Nyquil????????????? lol! Kidding....I hope. ;)

Well...now I'm off to get some stuff done...finally. Treadmill, clean, laundry, homework (if I get around to it! lol! j/k!), errands and breathing treatments! Yay!

eta: **My thoughts and prayers are with the bloggers "My Charming Kids" and "Confessions of a CF Husband" as they are going through some testing times. Prayers being said for Stellan (MCK) and Trisha (COCFH)...hang in there...both of you!**

21 Days.

21 days until the acceptance (or non-acceptance) letters go out for the nursing program. 21 days. Ugh. I'm going to slowly go crazy. Waiting...never been very good at it. I'm stressing myself out over the littest things.

Well, I might as well go and study and do homework. Not too creative on the whole blog thing today. I've used all of my creativeness on a paper it took around 10 hours to write (3 3/4 pages)...and it's still probably pretty bad.

21 DAYS....

My 5-year-old

Ethan turned 5 this past week. So bittersweet. I swear I can see and hear him growing as I write! We had a quite eventful week. Monday - I had class but not before Ethan and I were leaving Walmart only to find out my power steering had gone out. Great. I manually steered us to the local dealership...only to find out the warranty had run out on the 2nd of August. Of course it had. Tuesday - Oh...the night of Chuck E. Cheese. Hmmm...I think I would rather manually drive my car to a dealership ;) Wednesday was his actual birthday. We didn't do too much but let him open his presents (that he already knew he was getting because he snooped in my closet!) and I also agreed to let my OCDness go so that he could make a mess with his new toys. He also had soccer practice that night. Thursday - the kids had a dentist appointment. Ethan had everyone cracking up. I think it was when he was watching the dentist work on Kenzie and said "Um, what's up with that hook?" that we knew we were in trouble! He actually did well when it came time for his check-up, though! I was proud of him. Thursday night we went to "Meet the Teacher Night" at his new school (he starts this coming Wednesday). As we walked up to the school I held out my hand so that he would hold it. He didn't do anything. I asked if he wanted to hold hands (we always do). He said no. My heart....crushed. He gave me a quick hug and said "But I still love you". It was his big boy moment...but I wasn't ready for it. I am just not ready to let go of my baby. When we met the teacher, she asked me if this was going to be hard on me (I don't know if she meant in general or with the added CF stuff and worrying...maybe both) I started to choke up. lol! I told her with Kenzie's first day of pre-k I barely made it to the car before having a breakdown and that Ethan's the baby...and he's never been left with anyone but family, so...yeah...it's going to be tough. Ugh....



Well, I'm off to do homework...I'm behind in that and the house is a wreck which is just freaking me out...so I will be catching up this entire weekend :(



Hope everyone has a great Labor Day weekend!

Laughing Out Loud!

This cracked me up....first Bigfoot, now this...


For your viewing pleasure: http://www.tmz.com/2008/08/21/abominable-snowman-found/

Family.

Sometimes. I. Can't. Stand. Certain. People. In. My. Family.



They make me want to scream.



But...whatever. I need this----->





I may end up deleting this later...but...what's a blog for if I can't put out my thoughts...so...screw it. They piss me off to no end. As a parent...if you knew why....you'd understand.





Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuugh. *screams*

Nevermind

My friend Stacy and I put our BRILLIANT minds together and figured it out. Okay...it was more her brilliant mind telling my average mind what to do.

It's still under construction...obviously.

Customizing?

Does anyone know how to make a custom layout...I'm not really happy with the choices :( If anyone knows (b/c I'm too lazy to figure it out on my own, I guess! lol!) let me know!

Until then....here's a little bit of Christmas for you.... :)

Curious about Wonder Pets

I was watching the news, and I said "This is probably boring for you" to Ethan and changed it to Curious George. He said, "BORING". I said "you don't like it?" He said "I did when I was one!" EXCUSE ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So, he's watching Wonder Pets....like that's so much more MATURE!

What has happened?

90210 is starting again. The New Kids On The Block are back together. Cabbage Patch Kids, Carebears, My Little Ponies, Super Mario, TMNT, and Transformers are all back. I know there are more things I'm missing, but frankly, I'm way too tired too remember...please feel free to add if you can come up with any.

I'm still holding out for Friends and Party of Five's return....

Life with a 5-year-old

I am downstairs getting ready to leave when I realize the faucet in Ethan's bathroom has been running for quite awhile...and I hear laughing. Running faucet in Ethan's room + laughing = NO GOOD. I am yelling up there (in a hurry and too lazy to go upstairs), but he obviously can't hear me over the water and laughter, right? Well, he eventually makes his way to my room, but he's standing behind my door, peeking his head into my bathroom. Hmmmm...does someone not want me to see something? I ask him why his faucet was running so long...and to tell me the truth. In a serious tone, he says - "Mom, I need to learn how to spit." What? He goes on to say he needs to learn how to spit so he was putting water in his mouth and spitting in the sink. Then he comes through the door to show me his shirt. "AND, I got water all over my shirt." It was all I could do from spitting my toothpaste out when he's telling me this. He was so serious. It was like...mom...I'm a boy...and it must be done...so live with it. So...he obviously didn't get into trouble. Wow, good thing Kenzie wasn't here to give him her "be good to the earth" speech. Running water just to spit??????????

On the bright side....

Pure loveliness....

(that is, unless you don't like the Colts...but that's just foolishness!)

My lunch with SECOND GRADERS

Wow. That's about all I can say. Here I thought I lived in this utopic world (well, I thought MY KIDS DID for the time being)...that was UNTIL I had lunch with them. If you have kids in elementary (or will), I highly recommend doing this. Or maybe I don't. It sure was a wake up call...one I didn't really want. Not that it was awful...but these kids were being so mean to eachother. I really wasn't listening until I heard one boy say "Was I TALKING to YOU?" And then proceeded to say "You KNOW I can beat you up, right?" WHAT?????????????????????? SECOND GRADE?????????? I don't remember ANY of this happening in second grade. Either times have changed or I was OBLIVIOUS to it...or maybe both. Kenzie goes to a somewhat diverse school. Well, it wasn't so diverse when Nathan and I went there...but it's more diverse now. Anyway, these boys then started arguing about who can beat who up. Then they start arguing with a girl because she asked if they were brothers. They started calling her dumb because one boy was obviously "black" and the other "mixed" (their words, not mine). I wanted to pull this girl aside and just hug her. She asked a simple question and they were calling her all sorts of names (and then it came out that they were both mixed and DID ADMIT THEY DID IN FACT LOOK ALIKE!) So, we are in second grade and starting the bullying, the race issues...oh...and they were calling the teachers names too. Awesome. These are the kids my daughter is around every single day. I mean...I know this is the world...I guess I just didn't know it would start in second grade.

What do I say? What does she think? Should I have said something? This is new for me...

For now, I'll post a picture with this post of us in the more "simple" years....Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!