Loving this weather

We are loving these nice warm days!  Daddy might not like them as much as we do, since most afternoons after work we can be found at the park rather than in the kitchen preparing dinner for when Daddy gets home.  Needless to say, dinners have been a bit later and perhaps thrown together last minute.  We've been too busy soaking in the sunshine to worry about dinner and baths being on time. 

Last weekend we were able to enjoy some family time in IA helping cousin Reece celebrate his birthday.  Unfortunately it rained all day Saturday so his soccer game was cancelled and we were stuck inside all day.  Mommy & Daddy did get to enjoy the evening outside with Uncle Brent & Aunt Lisa relaxing in the hot tube after bedtime though.  Sunday morning we decided to leave early and stop in Hollandale to see the Veldmans.  We got to see so many people, and meet sweet Ellison for the first time.  She is the sweetest little thing, not making a peep the whole time we were there.  I loved getting my little baby fix, and the kids loved riding on the golf cart with Aunt Susan. 

This past week I realized that this summer is going to be a bit crazy with schedules.  Nate has softball on Monday evenings, Ava will have soccer on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and I signed the kids up for swim lessons on Wednesday nights.  Aren't our kids too young to be this busy?  I finally bit the bullet and signed the kids up at the swim school near our house.  The lessons come with a pretty price tag, but I'm hoping that it's worth it.  I needed to get Grant into lessons, and I can't be with him in the water while Ava is at the community ed lessons.  So, we're going to give it a shot. 

Some of you may not know, but I'm going to be starting a new job on Monday.  The position is a "patient care supervisor".  I'm not sure why they call it this, as I don't do patient care.  Essentially, it's an assistant manager to these nurses and PCAs in the float pool.  I am very excited to start the position.  I'm ready for a change, and will enjoy not working weekends anymore.  However, Thursday was my last day on the floor doing patient care.  I was much more emotional about it than I thought I would be.  I have been taking care of patients at the bedside for the past 11 1/2 years.  I have worked along side some of the most amazing nurses, experiencing situations that I never imagined.  I have depended on them to help me in a crisis, have cried with them during tragedy, and laughed with them in situations where we wanted to cry but decided that laughter truly is the best medicine sometimes.  They celebrated with me when I got married and had my children.  These nurses that I work with are not just coworkers, they are my second family.  I will still see them, but in a different situation.  I will no longer be in the trenches, but instead in an office.  I will no longer be reassuring the scared patient, hugging the crying family member, assessing, medicating, and educating the patients.  This I will truly miss.  As physically, emotionally, and cognitively draining as this job is, I will indeed miss it.  So, after reading that I'm starting to wonder why I took a new job.  :)  In all honesty, I'm ready for a change.  I want to see "the other side" to get a better understanding of why things are the way they are in the hospital.  I'm excited to help guide and encourage new nurses that are joining the float pool.  And I'm hoping that I can help make/change policies that will help the bedside staff and the patients alike.  So, wish me luck as I put on my heels instead of my Dansko clogs Monday morning!

Another big development yesterday...Ava not only tried to ride her bike for the first time without training wheels yesterday, but she succeeded!  I asked Nate to take the training wheels off before he ran to the store with Grant.  I held onto Ava's seat while we went down the block and back.  By the time we got back to the house I was starting to let go.  Within 5 minutes she was riding down the street by herself.  She was almost crying before hand because she was so scared.  She was elated when she realized she was doing it herself.  What a proud moment for all of us.  :)  She's still a bit unsteady at times, and has to work on starting by herself.  I'm anticipating some scrapped knees this summer, but am so excited for her.  She's growing up so quickly!

What can I tell you about Grant.?  Well, he continues to do pretty good with potty training.  Some days are better than others (some days he has no accidents at school).  I'm not pushing it because I don't want to go through what I did with Ava.  If he's not potty trained in a few months then I guess I'll push it since I know he's capable of knowing when he has to go.  His latest shenanigans happened Thursday at school.  I picked him up from school and had to sign an incident report.  This isn't the first one for Grant.  It's usually because he's running and hits heads with somebody or falls.  That day is was, "Grant was looking at family pictures with all of us and then punched his friend in the eye".  What?!?  Whose kid just punches another kid in the face for no reason?!?  When I asked him about it he said he punched Marcus in the eyeball and then gave him a kiss.  Oh good, I'm glad you gave him a kiss.  That makes it ok to punch your friends in the face.  Geez!!! 

I think that about sums it up.  It's just me and the kids for a few days since Nate is in WI for work.  Thankfully Boppa is coming over tonight so he can take the kids to daycare on Monday morning.  They will start going full time this week since my new job is 4 days a week.  Wishing you all a wonderful week!
 

Cousin Andrew & Grant (they are only a week apart in age)

Thanks for lunch Aunt Carolyn & Uncle Rick!

The kids planted grass in their little bunny vases at Easter time.  Here they are trimming them up.  I seem to kill everything else, glad I can at least make grass grow.

I can not tell you how much Grant loves "driving" the car. It's always interesting starting the car up the next morning with the blinker, wiper,and  emergency break on with the radio cranked up.

Oh yes, I forgot to mention that Grant has been having hives on and off since Wednesday.  I ended up taking him to urgent care (there is nothing urgent about that place) yesterday evening because a friend PA of mine thought it could be a rebound reaction and go to his throat.  Thank God for our amazing neighbors who took Ava while we waited for 2 hours to find out that I should just continue giving him benadryl which I was already doing. 

My sweet babes heading off to church this morning.