...And a Happy New Year

Another year has, somehow, already ended. I'm honestly surprised that it's the end of the year already. The older I get, the faster life goes.

I guess I'll have to include the obligatory Christmas pictures in this post. The holidays are one of the times when I really realize what the life of a nurse entails. I don't care so much about Christmas itself - I find the holidays in general are over-hyped and way over-commercialized, not to mention stressful. However, I do care about spending time with my family and the nice thing about the holidays is that everyone with an office job (which is the majority of the population) gets time off to spend with their loved ones. I like to say that the jobs that are the most crucial to the functioning of society are the only ones that never get to take holidays (which says a lot for those in government, ha ha). Obviously Mark and I are used to having to give up time with our own families so we can literally save other people's asses and generally I don't mind too much, since we both knew what we were getting into when we chose our careers and if we haven't accepted it by now we really ought to be reconsidering some decisions we've made. But this year I felt a bit resentful because I drew the short stick and got scheduled to work 7 PM - 7 AM Christmas Eve, and again 7 PM - 7 AM Christmas night. So I got to make the eternally frustrating and no-win decision between sleeping and spending a sliver of time with Mark and Mira. I'll admit it, I was grouchier than ever before about having to work an entire holiday. Before Mira I would prefer to work the holidays to get the extra money but now I want to spend time with her, especially since she's getting older and is really starting to notice when I'm not home.

But as I talked about briefly in a previous post, sometimes all you need is a fresh perspective to change your attitude. The PICU was very full over the holiday with a much higher than normal census for this time of year. That means there were all those families with critically ill children, stuck in a hospital for the holiday. As crappy as it is for me to spend my holiday working in a hospital, at least at the end of the 12 hours I can swipe my badge, clock out, go home and leave the hospital behind. These families can't do that. Sometimes I feel less altruistic about my job than other times, but the bottom line is I chose nursing as a career to help people, even if the timing is less than fantastic for my family. Sometimes this job feels more selfless than I ever planned on (and same for Mark's job).

So enough ranting about how the scheduler apparently hates my guts enough to give me a crappy holiday schedule. When I got home from work Christmas morning, I stayed up late so we could open presents with Mira. We didn't go too big because 1) she really wasn't expecting presents to start off with and 2) we figured she would get spoiled by her grandparents, which she did. Her big present from us was a Cabbage Patch doll. I remember my Cabbage Patch doll that I got as a kid and it was a bit nostalgic for me.

Mark and I also exchanged gifts. I gave Mark a pair of expensive running shoes that he's been eying, and Mark gave me a new camera to replace the one that took a dunk in the Atlantic last month. I'm still mad at myself for that but the new camera is, umm, freaking awesome! Mark definitely put a lot of thought and research into choosing it. We also got a ski rack for the SUV, which I'm very excited to try out.

After staying up as late as I deemed safe I crashed into bed so I could be somewhat rested before going back again. Mark took Mira out to see a movie in the theater with some family. Apparently after they got home she was so worn out from all the excitement all day that she actually fell asleep on the couch. I don't think, besides when she was a baby and would fall asleep all the time, she's ever fallen asleep on the couch before. Absolutely amazing.

That has got to be one of the cutest things I've ever seen.

Trying to coordinate with my family to exchange gifts with them has been a pain too, again mostly because of my work schedule. It took until today to get everyone's presents where they needed to go, except apparently I've got one from my dad that still needs to migrate my way so maybe we're not actually done. Besides working the entire holiday, I also decided I'd be nice and work an extra shift since we were so busy, which fell under the category of "Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time But Then I Regretted It." So that was close to 50 hours in one week. I'm really hoping I'll stop regretting my selfless act of altruism when payday comes around. But anyway, Mira made out like a bandit from my dad.

Then my Aunt Ellen found a dress that had Mira's name all over it so she sent it over. Mira was trying to pull it on over her clothes the second she pulled it out of the package. She's such a girly girl, I love it! And I got a chance to try out my new camera.

And she'll get even more when I can figure out what to get her with the money my grandparents sent. Maybe a new outfit for her doll. Yep, she's spoiled. I'm not sure now why I thought it was avoidable...

I took Mira to visit my mom today and she was so tired she fell asleep after we'd been driving for less than 5 minutes.

Not taking a nap every day has definitely resulted in a sleepier child. So when she does fall asleep we run with it. I decided I'd hang out in the car once we got home so she could get some sleep and while I was enjoying the silence I noticed this scene from The Birds happening in our yard.

And now for the obligatory New Year's Resolutions. I'd like to be more patient and less high-strung as a parent, for starters. I'd like to make a concerted effort to make more one-on-one time with Mark. I'd like to run a 10K. And I'd definitely like to learn to stop rushing around, all the time, and be more laid-back.

Check back in one year and we'll see how things went.

Have a very happy New Year!

Winter Weather Can't Slow Us Down

Now that we're going to be seeing white and freezing our extremities off for the next few months, it's time to get started with our winter activities. The one we were most looking forward to is skiing, although we've only been able to get up to the resort once since they opened about a month ago. Mark got switched to night shifts, which has made coordinating our schedules a nightmare. But we'll make it work.

Even though skiing has been tricky to make happen, there are other fun activities we've been up to lately. A couple weeks ago I took Mira sledding with my dad and sister Sara. Mira had a BLAST! We'd sit her on the front of the sled and she would giggle the whole ride down the hill.

Hitching a ride back up the hill with Auntie Sara.

Bonus: she got a really good nap afterwards.

The next winter sport we introduced her to was ice skating. I'll be honest, I wasn't so sure she was going to like this one, but clearly I don't know my own daughter very well if that's what I thought. She loved this too! It seems like anything active is something she'll enjoy, which is definitely a good thing.

Look at her cute little skates!!

We started her off with one of these cool little walker dealies that I wish they'd had for bigger people like me.

She dragged me around the rink.

After a few laps around the rink she got bored with the walker and wanted to hold our hands while we went around. She found out pretty fast that Mark is a much better skater than I am and would go fast with her, so eventually she didn't want me helping her.

And it's probably a good thing I didn't help her very much! I only fell down a couple of times but this is what my knees look like now:

Apparently skiing technique and skating technique aren't interchangeable. Both times I fell, I'd started to lose my balance so I instinctively responded the way I would if I were skiing and started to lose control: I crouched down and leaned forward. The crouching down probably wasn't too bad of an idea, but unlike skis, ice skates have toe picks. Just in case anyone was wondering, catching your toe pick and falling smack dab onto your knees on the ice is actually quite painful and I don't recommend it.

And who could forget the holidays? I'm not as stressed about the upcoming holidays as I normally feel I am, mostly because I'm excited to see Mira's reactions to getting her presents this year. We haven't talked very much about Santa - we've mentioned that someone named Santa will bring presents in the near future but that doesn't mean very much to her. And now that I think of it, Mira is not unaccustomed to receiving presents for no reason. (Last year we were walking through the jewelry section of the store and one of the salesmen gave Mira a teddy bear.) But she's old enough to get excited about receiving things so that will be fun.

It wouldn't be the holidays without a good party, and since Mark and I both missed out on our respective company parties because, surprise, we were both working our shifts, we went to an ugly Christmas sweater party at a friend's place. Apparently ugly Christmas sweater parties are all the rage now because when I went to find some ugly sweaters, there were absolutely none to be found, Christmas-themed or otherwise. Not even at the thrift stores did I find anything. So we made our own. (As a side note, going through Walmart getting supplies for our ugly sweaters and listening to all the terrible Christmas music gave me a headache and homicidal tendencies. I am so ready for that part of the holidays to be over.) Here are our creations:

As you can see, mine is definitely gaudy and just too much. It's a bit hard to see, but notice there's a bird on my shoulder.

Here's a closer look at the whole thing, if you can stand to look at it.

And here's Mark's seriously ugly sweater. All he did was pin an advent calendar to the front of his sweater and I think I have to give him the win for the most atrocious sweater.

Yep, that's pretty awful.

The Brat Years, Part 2

I keep swearing to myself that I will not take Mira into any store for the next 10 years because of how much work it is. It's always so much faster and easier for me to wait until she's asleep for the night and then run out to do the grocery shopping then. As we all know, however, this is not always possible. 

A couple weeks ago Mark and I were out with Mira and we had to stop by the store for one thing. It's just one thing, I thought, and I have help this time. How bad could it be?

Mistake number 1 accomplished.

Before we even went into the store I told Mira that we were not going to get a cart. We were just going to run in, grab our one item, and leave. So, we weren't going to get a small shopping cart that she could push around. We weren't going to get one of those carts with the car she could "drive" either. We weren't getting a cart, period. She nodded and said "K" as if she understood. Boy was I dense. As soon as we entered and she saw the rows of shopping carts, she wanted to get one. I reminded her that wasn't going to happen.

That was temper tantrum number one, and we hadn't even made it inside the store yet.

Mark carried her inside, which she didn't approve of so she started screaming, " I DOWN!! I DOWN!!" He tried to set her down but then she wanted to run off. I captured her and told her that her choices were to be carried by Daddy or to hold Daddy's hand. After temper tantrum number two she settled grudgingly on holding Daddy's hand. But of course she could still grab for everything at eye level and try to pull Mark any which way she could, so I grabbed what we needed and we hurried to the checkout.

While I was waiting to pay, Mark saw a friend of ours so he carried Mira through the line so he could stand and chat. As I was handling the transaction, I could see Mark trying to talk while holding a flailing, arching, kicking child who was still screaming, "I DOWN!! I DOWN!!!" Finally we made it out of the store and I remarked that this was why I didn't like to bring Mira into any store.

Mark appeared surprised and said, "What? I thought she was perfect!"

While I recover from my moment of flabbergasted speechlessness, I would like to point out that while Mira's behavior is perfectly appropriate for her age, it doesn't mean I enjoy dealing with it. And maybe Mark would like to volunteer to do all the grocery shopping with Mira from now on.

Recovery Time

I'm going to start with some additional pictures from Florida. I brought my camera with me and was taking pictures of Mira in the water when I obviously did not secure it well enough and it fell into the water. Just in case anyone was wondering, sea water kills cameras pretty much instantly. Sadly it's beyond repair. I'm really upset at myself for that. But a few days ago I decided I should see if, by any chance, the memory card had survived and guess what - it had!! So here are a few more shots of Mira, in which you will notice she becomes progressively wetter and wetter.

 And some pictures of Jacksonville Beach, and a couple pictures I got from Mark's phone.

Once we got back to Utah a few things happened. The first is that Mira has pretty much given up napping. Mega boo. The weird thing is even though she's been so used to naps she's still in a fairly good mood by the end of the day. I might push her bedtime forward a little just for my sanity some days though. She'll still nap a couple times a week but she's basically done. Watch out world, my afternoons just opened up!

The next thing that happened is we all had our turn getting sick. It started with Mark right about the time we got back with some nasty respiratory virus (which he's still battling, so even though I'm a nurse and not allowed to diagnose health problems I think his cold turned into bronchitis and he's also suffering from a case of male stubbornness). The next week it was my turn. Luckily our census is low at work so it was actually easy to get a day off without using a sick day. And even though we had our fingers crossed that Mira wouldn't be next, it was her turn too. We were at one of Mark's hockey games when I noticed she wasn't feeling well. She fell asleep in the middle of the game and I could feel her poor little body burning up through her clothes. I managed to get a few pictures of Mark before the game but I think from now on if I want to actually watch Mark play hockey I'm leaving Mira with someone else. We went to another game last week and I spent so much time chasing Mira I didn't get to see the game.

Too bad the shots are blurry. I should have brought my camera... oh, right.

The next day was Thanksgiving. I had been planning on taking Mira to my sister's for dinner with the family but when she decided halfway through the day that all she wanted to do was cuddle with me on the couch (not complaining about that but it's not normal for her to sit still) and her temperature was 104.1, our plans changed. Her temp was probably actually higher than that, since all we have is an oral thermometer and we couldn't get her to put the probe under her tongue, so her temperature with the probe just sitting in her mouth was 104.1. And of course we were out of children's Motrin so I had to run out and buy some. Normally I refuse to purchase anything on Thanksgiving or the day after, just on principle, but clearly I had to make an exception. Luckily her temp came down 6 degrees after Motrin (yikes) and I decided I was very thankful that I have access to medication on a holiday. My family understood why we weren't coming over (we had had Thanksgiving dinner with Mark's family the previous weekend so at least we got some turkey) and we spent the day on the couch.

I did end up taking Mira to the InstaCare once she was on day 5 of 100+ degree fevers and she developed a really nasty cough, but mostly because Mark was freaking out and really worried about her. My nurse brain was telling me that she could still be managed at home (good color, making wet diapers, no stridor or increased work of breathing, in no apparent distress) but I still took her in. She was diagnosed with croup, given a dose of steroids and a popsicle (she's going to love going to see doctors now), and we were sent on our way. And besides a little bit of a cough she's definitely over being sick. Yesterday she was upset about something and almost gave Mark a concussion with a puzzle piece. Okay that was an exaggeration, but she did chuck a puzzle piece at Mark's head and we're not really sure why. Good thing she was contrite after her time out.

The other thing that's happened is winter. And highs in the 20s. Which means lows in the single digits. But it came with some snow, which Mira was very excited about. She kept begging me to take her outside when it was like 16 degrees but she did have fun in the snow. We definitely gave her an appropriate middle name after all.

I showed her how to make a snow angel.

 And what better way to finish off than with a mug of hot chocolate?

A few days ago I took Mira to my mom's for a belated Hanukkah celebration. We missed the actual holiday because Mira was still sick. Mira got a few presents from her grandma, which she loved, of course.

On the way to Grandma's house.

Then we rode the new streetcar that goes through Sugarhouse. Mira was so excited to ride a "choo choo" and kept making references to the train we had ridden in St. Augustine. This girl loves trains!

And finally here are a bunch of random pictures.

Hanging out with Daddy waiting for Mommy to get home from work.

Grumpy face because I told her she couldn't sit on the coffee table.

Washing the dishes - or just playing in the water.

Taking her doll on a walk (before it snowed, obviously).

Disclaimer: she chose her outfit.

Wearing Mommy's glasses.

Eating one of her favorite snacks, nori.

"Smile!"

This was while she was sick, hence the binkie.

The last exciting bit of news is that Mark's daughter Jintelle has moved back to Utah with her boyfriend for awhile! So to celebrate we took them out to eat at out favorite Japanese restaurant. Actually it's the only Japanese restaurant for miles but they do have really good food, even if it's a bit Americanized. We took the occasion to order the chef's choice sashimi platter. Whoever says Japanese food is not an art form is deranged, to say the least.

 Impressive, right? And really good too.

Hope everyone is having a relatively stress-free and healthy holiday season!