Friday, September 28, 2012

~Amazing Love's 1st Birthday Giveaway~

There's a big day coming on October 3rd.....Amazing Love's 1 year old birthday! I've enjoyed sharing my world with y'all over the past year. I love reading everyone's sweet and funny comments. I wanted to do something special to celebrate the big day. I thought, what's more fun than a GIVEAWAY?!? My friend Lindsay has always been very crafty & creative. She just recently opened her 1st Etsy shop.  She's just starting, so she doesn't have a ton of stuff, but I seriously would love to own everything she makes!  Y'all just wait, she's working on theses ADORABLE christmas stocking.  If I'm lucky, then maybe we can do a stocking giveaway in a couple months.  I LOVE the adorable monogrammed pillows that she's making and one lucky Amazing Love reader will have one in their home!
This grey chevron pillow could be yours!  You choose the color of your initials!!
How to enter:

  1. Click the blue "Join this site" button on the right side. Write a comment under this post telling me that you joined.
  2. Click here to like Lindsay's Facebook page. Come back and write a comment under this post telling me that you "liked her page".
  3. Pin this giveaway on Pinterest. {There's a little "Pin It" button conveniently located at the end of this post waiting on you.}  Write a comment under this post telling me that you pinned it.

On Wednesday, October 3rd~~Amazing Love's birthday~~I'll randomly choose a winner from the comments from this post and announce the big winner!!!  So you can enter just once or up to 3 times!!  Ready, set, GO...

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Friday, September 21, 2012

roasted sweet potatoes sticks

I know last time, I said that I was a horrible cook and would probably never make another food post again...but these are SO GOOD, I thought I might share.
Roasted sweet potato sticks and roasted red potatoes
4 sweet potatoes
a stick of butter
lots of brown sugar
cinnamon

Cut sweet potatoes long {this part is the worst, because they are so dang tough!}
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter, mix in brown sugar and cinnamon
In a large bowl, mix your sweet potatoes and the yummy, sugary mixture
Spread potatoes on a even {or almost even} layer on a baking sheet
Stir every 10 minutes.
Bake for 20-30 minutes or until tender
Enjoy!

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Thursday, September 20, 2012

breathing treatments and extra shifts

My lovely Lucy has caught a bad bug that has left her with a respiratory infection.  At 10 months, this is Lucy's 1st real illness, other than mild 2-3 day runny noses.  Ironically, history is repeating itself.  Bella was 10 months old with her 1st real illness...the exact same thing, a respiratory virus.  We are praying that Lucy does not develop the same asthma troubles that Bella has.  Bella has had a some intense "coughing spells"!  Maybe asthma attacks...I feel a little dramatic saying that, but they are pretty bad and require immediate breathing treatment, so I'm almost sure that's what it is.  We are giving all the meds exactly when they are due, to hopefully get these girls back to top-notch, spunky, cuteness in a few days!

Unfortunately I haven't won the lottery yet {not that we've even played any time recently}, so therefore, I have been working a lot lately.  I've been signing up for several extra days to make extra money...we have a long wish list...things that cost money.  We are going on vacation in a few weeks, we have preordered 2 iPhone 5s, our lawn mower has officially died, we have 2 sweet little girls' birthdays and Christmas coming up.  After saying it like that, I need to sign up for a lot more extra shifts!  So if I go MIA a little around here, that's what I'm up to...working, sleeping, family time, REPEAT.

Here's a few cute moments that I want share...
KK and Bella
A Princess playing in her Prince's boots.
Cute deer playing in our back yard:



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Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Favorite Movies

Jacob and I watch Netflix movies.  We haven't been to a movie theater together in years.  What's more convenient than making an online list and getting the movies in your mailbox?  Love it!  We usually watch 1-2 each week, depending on how busy we are.  We were discussing our favorites:

Jacob's Top 8:

  1. Tombstone
  2. Lonesome Dove
  3. Top Gun
  4. Gladiator
  5. Goodfellas
  6. Days of Thunder
  7. Seven Pounds
  8. Christmas Vacation



Megan's Top 6:
  1. Steel Magnolias
  2. Fried Green Tomatoes
  3. Christmas Vacation
  4. The Family Stone
  5. Blind Side
  6. Cold Mountain
 


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Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Floating Sod

A few weeks ago Jacob went picked up a pallet of sod.  Our ditch was beginning to wash and had some low areas, even exposing our gas line.  So he & his brother filled some dirt in and laid the sod over it.  It looked so much better.  Labor day, a quick flood came and washed the sod down to the end of the ditch.  UGH!!!!  We were so frustrated, but didn't want to waste the $50 of sod.  We marched our butts out there, slipped, slid and fell in the mud, picked up, unrolled the soaking wet, mud filled squares one-by-one and tried to place them in. I sported stubburn mud under my fingernails for 2 days! Last week we had a couple of perfect showers to hopefully allow the sod to take root.

Then it happened AGAIN...
Jacob went out there, stood in the rain and just watched as our sod floated away again.  (Reminds me of Christmas Vacation when Clark had that determined/crazed look on his face.)  We are going to call this one a loss and work on the ditch-project another time!

Correction:  I would've just called it a loss, but while I was swapping over summer/winter clothes in the girls rooms (a 3 hour chore)...he went outside and moved them back into place!  However, it's a gully-washer right now, I'm just waiting to see them start floating again!


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Monday, September 17, 2012

love/hate

Love

  • my husband
  • my family
  • snuggles with my girls
  • eating carbs
  • when people make me laugh
  • when someone gets all road-raging at me and I wave excitedly at them like they are honking because they are happy to see me (it makes them even more mad. haha)
  • the rare moment when I'm 5 minutes early
  • a really great photo of a really great moment
  • the feeling of fall
  • a massage
  • hosting parties
  • integrity in a person
  • finding a great deal
  • the magic of Christmas
  • compliments
  • riding on a boat on the lake in my swimsuit on a sunny day
  • feeling pretty
  • making lists
  • sitting around a bonfire
  • encouraging others
  • accomplishing something that I once thought I couldn't~completing a half-marathon~losing 25 pounds after baby #2
  • blue hydrangeas
  • crape myrtle trees & weeping willows 
  • the south and my southern accent
  • the iPhone
  • taking naps
  • occasional rainy days
  • real forgiveness
  • a genuine person
  • when I get someone the perfect gift
  • sweet tea
  • walking barefoot on soft grass


Hate

  • roaches
  • making people angry or sad
  • commercials during a movie
  • cleaning the bathrooms
  • slow internet
  • feeling rushed
  • bad breath breathing in my face & BO in my personal space.  HYGIENE PEOPLE!
  • interruptions during a conversation
  • having to work hard to look good
  • paying bills
  • my feet
  • my handwriting
  • slow drivers in my way
  • cooking
  • arguing
  • politics
  • abortion
  • hatefulness
  • when my ottor box pulls my hair
  • weeds, the way the look and the chore of pulling them


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Thursday, September 13, 2012

outside with my babies

My cousin texted us and wanted to do a get together at Mamaw's house.  Of course everyone was in and the next Sunday we were packing our plates & mouth full of delicious food.  Then like EVERY time we are over there, we gathered in the front yard, chasing one another, throwing the football and rolling in the soft grass.  A little piece of heaven on earth~spending time with family.  I told Jacob on the way home that I hope in 50 years, I am watching our grand and great-grand-children play in our yard.

Wonderful way to spend a Sunday afternoon...rolling in the grass with my girls at my Mamaw's house.



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Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Before & After...now the reality check.

Ok!!!  I get it!  I'm starting to learn what my body is going to do the rest of my life.  In my teens, I could eat whatever~whenever and have this thin, hour-glass figure.  After high school about 20 pounds snuck up on me, but I still didn't look that bad. Then I had a baby, lost all but 10 pounds.  Then I had another baby and my post baby body looked disgusting and I was desperate to look better than what I had evolved into.  GAG!
The day after Christmas I started a diet and started exercising.   I had hit rock bottom.  From December until June, I slowly lost 25 chubby, flabby pounds!  Never had I been happier with how I looked because I had earned it!  I was constantly having to motivate myself.  But I stayed in-check.  If I had a bad day the very next day, I was back on track.  Keeping my eyes on my goal weight.  I made this realistic goal weight range.  My range is 5 pounds.  As long as I fluctuate in my healthy range, then I am happy.  I hit it in June, went on vacation in July.  After the vacation, I really started relaxing.  I wasn't counting calories anymore or exercising.  I watched my diet closely a couple weeks prior to my 10 year high school reunion in August.  
Since then it's been a free-for-all.  I'm having a little bit of a pity party because I really wanted to hit my goal weight and be done with it!  Ya know, like I went to school and I FINALLY graduated, and that's it...I earned my degree...I'm done!  I trained for a half marathon...I barely crossed the finish line...I'm done!  {Even though for some cRaZy reason, I kinda, in a way, might want to do another one...just to beat my horrible time-but don't hold me to it.} 

My reality check is that I'm 28, not 18, I'm not getting younger.  The good ol' days where I ate whatever whenever are over.  sniff, sniff  I have to find a balance of eating healthier, exercising some and enjoying good food occasionally.  If I can't find that balance, then I'm going to be FAT.  I was not happy then!  I NEED to be healthier to be happier!

A couple of weeks ago, that sexy man standing next to me in that picture up there, he told me that he was going to work hard for his six-pack abs to show.  I believe him!  He's someone when he puts his mind to something, he does it!  We haven't seen his abs since high school.  He's dieted in the past by increasing his protein & cutting carbs, but he's really like less-than-2000-calorie-DIETING now!  I need that kind of motivation to help me everyday.  To watch him make better choices, so I will too.  I'm reluctantly going to join him.  We have a beach vacation coming up in October.  So at least it'll give me a goal to look forward to.  I'm 3 pounds over my healthy range and that stops TODAY! 


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Tuesday, September 11, 2012

A Day in the Life of a Labor & Delivery Nurse......PUSH!!!!!!!!!

I'm excited to be joining in on my 1st link up!
linkup
I found Where We Can Live Like Jack and Sally through Mama Laughlin. And Holly is hosting this link up! To those who may be checking me out through them...WELCOME! I hope you enjoy it and stick around for a while.
 
A couple weeks ago I did 'A Day in the Life' on an off day, so I thought I would give you a glimpse into a typical work day for me.  I have been a L&D nurse for the past 7 years.  Even though what I do is basically the same...no 2 days are the same! This was somewhat of a typical work day for me.  It was actually my most laid back work day of that week.  I would love to share some of the EXPLICIT DETAILS of my day...obviously I was very careful to protect all patient's information & personal details. As much as I enjoy blogging & sharing my world with y'all...I'm not willing to break the law (HIPPA) or lose my job. But in all it's vague glory, I think you'll find my day interesting....
{excuse the poor quality of the cell phone pics, a nurse can't carry around a large camera all day.}
{I used military time because that's what is used in the medical field.}

0445-alarm clock goes off...SNOOZE!

0454-drag myself out of bed.  Check out the gapped-up eye brow that I waxed off last night & attempt to color it in with make-up. (There are a few things in life that I try to save money and waxing my own eye brows is one of them...I might should reconsider and go to the salon.  Me & ol' Sally Hansen didn't do such a great job this time!!)

0521- in kitchen. Fix my lunch & coffee, Lucy's bottle, Bella's morning asthma meds and her snack-OJ & animal crackers (we are out of Cheerios & goldfish-her usual).

0530-get Bella up. She's upset about it. She was enjoying her sleep. She cries a good 10 minutes.

0540-wake Lucy up. Thankfully she's a happy girl.

0548-Run downstairs with both girls, one on each hip. Load up the car, as Jacob gives Bella her meds and asks me "Why are you taking my picture?!?".  "I'm doing my 1st link-up next week.  It'll be a "Day in the Life.  Have a good day.  Love you.  Bye!!"  

0550-now running late, but on the road.

0552-call and talk to my Daddy on our way to work.  We pass one another on the road & for the past 6 years, every time I go to work, I call him and talk for a few minutes.  *It's our time*

0602-drop them off at Mrs Betty's (home daycare). Mrs Betty reminds me that Lucy is completely out of formula...Jacob forgot to tell me! I call mama who lives in the same neighborhood in hopes that she has some to take to her.

0631-dang! I'm on empty! Stop, pump gas.  Fuss about how expensive gas prices are and how I should've filled up last night.

0652-park, badge on, rush upstairs. Clock in 1 minute late.  ugh!  Throw my stuff in my locker, go to the conference room to get my assignment and report.

0745-assist with a circumcision. Poor baby :-(   I'm glad I have girls!

0805-mama texts me back. She didn't have any formula.  SHOOT.  I hope Lucy is enjoying her 1st day of whole milk.

0820-visit with a co-worker who's in labor. 
(yes, I got permission to post this picture!)

0845-Discharge a pregnant patient who came in complaining of indigestion. (What I want to tell her~'yep hun, your stomach is up around your chest because there's a baby where your stomach used to be. It's called normal discomforts of pregnancy.  It sucks, I remember.  Go the full 40 and it'll all be over.')

0920-I like to think that I'm pretty good at starting IVs, but today proved me wrong. I couldn't get an IV & felt like a loser for hurting the girl.

0930-give a tour of a room to an expecting mother that just moved to the area.

0950-listened as my boss tells me the story of 2 children's books: The Littlest Angel & The Tale of 3 Trees. Watched her get teary eyed & cry at the desk! But they sound good...I plan on getting them.

1005-did postpartum teaching to a new mother. Gave instructions on things like how much bleeding to expect, hormone changes, how to treat her hemorrhoids, postpartum depression, pertussis prevention, how to cut the baby's nails, how to bath the baby, use of a bulb syringe, jaundice, car seat safety, how often it should be peeing, pooping, eating & sleeping, talked about shaken baby syndrome, colic, vaccines, when to call the doctor, on-and-on-and-on.....

1028-glance at the outside world

1030-get a full admission history a patient who thinks she's in labor.  Get her to sign a gazzillion consents.  Not really, just feels like it.

1040-vaginal exam

1100-give a shot in the butt

1115-ignored the fact that I brought my lunch to go "just look" & see what the cafeteria is serving today. Glance at what's in the gift shop as I breeze by. Wish I had some of that cute stuff! Dang it! 
They are serving 2 of my favorites!! I get a half of a buffalo chicken wrap as my 1st meal and a 6 piece fried shrimp with a side of fried okra as my 2nd meal. FATTY!  But it was good!

1145-regret eating all that fat-girl food

1200-really regret it when I see what the hubs posted on Facebook...he tagged me in it because I said I wanted to start back watching what I ate. Guilt!

1245-vaginal exam.

1400 (2pm)-successfully get an IV on the 1st attempt.   Whew, now I feel like a talented, skilled nurse again.

1450 (2:50pm)-hold a patient all hunched over while she gets an epidural, while I monitor her vital signs, IV fluids and her baby on the monitor.

1505 (3:05pm)- Insert a foley catheter in a bladder.  Vaginal exam.

1515 (3:15pm)-Heavily hint to the baby daddy, who is an attorney, to let me come to him to get a will written at a deep discount since they have a spectacular nurse taking care of them. (It's been on mine and the hubs To-Do List for the past couple of years)  He just smiled and gave me a business card.  I'm not sure if he heard the DEEP DISCOUNT part?!?!?

1545 (3:45pm)- hold a numb leg back as the doctor breaks the vagina dam.  Change several pads that are completely soaked with amniotic fluid.

1620 (4:20pm)- guilty pleasure.  Strawberry protein smoothie and a marshmallow bar

1640 (4:40pm)-  Vag exam.  Flip and flop positions with a patient who is completely numb...dead weight...cannot help move lower body at all.  Start sweating a little bit.

1700 (5pm)- vow with another co-worker not to say another filthy word for the rest of the day.  That's a little goal I'm working on...small achievable goals are easiest...right?!?

1730 (5:30pm)- more flipping and flopping, repositioning, adjusting the fetal monitors and fixing pillows just right and making sure her booty is covered all the way.  Answering lots of 1st time parents questions.

1840 (6:40pm)-laugh at the awesome t-shirt my mama sent me. I agree EVERYONE: WASH YOUR PART!

1900 (7pm)- offer to stay on-call for a friend, who isn't even working.  I felt bad that she would have to come in, so I stayed over for her.

1910 (7:10pm)- assist rushing a patient for a stat c-section.  Throwing things where they need to be.  Going over a mental checklist in record speed time.  Quick prayer while moving.

1916 (7:16pm)-Baby is fine!  Mama is fine!  I'm a sweaty stinkin mess, but now can exhale.

1940 (7:40pm)- Push a heavy bed with a mama and new baby in it to her new room, on carpet.  Still a sweaty, stinkin mess.

2000 (8pm)-massage a uterus, change pads with bloody clots on a patient who still cannot move.  Empty a urine catheter bag.

2040 (8:40pm)-tell my sweet patient and family congratulations and goodbye.

2045 (8:45pm)-check how my gapped-up eye brow is looking....not too shabby for working a 14 hour shift.  No one even noticed today or said, "Wow Megan, where's the middle of your eye brow?"  So I think I'll save my $15 every 2 weeks and keep trying to wax (and color in) my eye brows.

2050 (8:50pm)-get the ok from the charge nurse that I could go home and not stay until 11pm.  Yea!  Finally my work day comes to an end.  Jump in my car and crank the AC up.  I have been running for the past several hours & just want the cool air blowing in my face. My feet and legs feel tired.
my lunch that I packed that has sat untouched since this morning.

Carefully scan the almost empty parking deck for bad guys that are trying to kidnap and kill me.
Thankful post that my friend put on Facebook.  Makes me happy to help others!

2150 (9:50pm)- arrive home to a quiet house. Decide that I ate enough for lunch and should probably skip eating anything this late.  Opt for 2 Tylenol for a dull headache instead.

2200 (10pm)- shower, then sneak up to peek in on the 2 sleeping beauties.  Think about how I wish my time with them on my work days were more that 10 {sleepy, rushed} minutes in the mornings.

2230 (10:30pm)- quietly get into bed, make my To-Do List, scroll through Facebook & Instagram a little, plug up my phone and quickly dose off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This day would be considered a slower day than others.  Some other things I do that is not included on a regular basis are, but not limited to:

  • give newborn baths
  • hand and foot prints in baby books
  • coach a pushing patient for up to 2-3 hours (with no breaks)
  • catch a baby when it's not waiting for a doctor to get there...it's rare, but it happens
  • shave pubic hairs before a c-section 
  • help resuscitate newborns who come out premature or not breathing for whatever reason
  • take patients ice, water, cokes, crackers, and blankets
  • massage the lower back of a patient who is going natural because it's the only thing that helps her with the pain
  • tell the patient, who wants an epidural, when her platelets are too low that she will not be able to get an epidural.  Then coach her through a total natural labor and delivery that she was totally unprepared to do.
  • tell the patient that she isn't in labor and she has to go home and wait out the contractions until they get even stronger
  • tell the patient that her water isn't broken that she probably just peed on herself
  • ride on the bed, under the sheets, as the patient is being rushed to the OR while holding the cord to keep it from being compressed & keep her baby oxygenated.
  • stare at the fetal monitor strip the ENTIRE 12 hour shift of an ornery baby
  • comfort the patient who has to deliver her baby who's already gone to heaven 
  • do the weight, measurements, footprints, lock of hair of these angels to give to the parents
  • discuss disposition of their deceased angel...cremation or burial?
  • quickly wipe up the poop of a patient who is pushing and tell her it's no big deal when she asks "what is that smell, did I do that???"
  • help daddy's change their very 1st diapers ever
  • help new mothers breastfeed their baby
  • washing my hands a thousand times/day
  • scrub my forearm when va-jay-jay juice gets past my gloved hand
Seriously, the list goes on and on~~~  
My job is jammed packed full of exciting, gross, frustrating and tender moments.




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