The Magic of an Ordinary Day

halloween photos

Here's some photos of my little princess.  Dwayne took her to pick out her costume and she picked a pink princess outfit with silver sparkly shoes that would have made Grandma Przadka proud.

school photo

Hannah's pre-K photos are back.  She's not smiling but things were a ton easier than they were last year.   At least she wasn't crying.

our trip to Sandia Crest

We enjoyed a nice hike, a little picnic and lots of sunshine!

growing pains

We are all going through them.

I am getting used to trying to establish myself at a place where six weeks ago I was a part-time flight nurse.  Trying not to be someone else in order to do my job.  Trying to get respect from men who don't know how to relate to a woman unless she is on her back.  Trying to learn so much when there is no handbook and where things can change from day to day. 

Thank goodness for the support and understanding of some of my colleagues.  I can do this job.  I know I can... some days are just a huge struggle.  The learning my job part is the easy part, it's dealing with the alpha males in the dispatch office that makes me want to bang my head against a wall.

Oh, and did I tell you I loved pilots before I had to do flight coordinating?  Now, not so much.

Dwayne is getting used to being the full time at-home person.  Cooking (as well as the planning and shopping) is one of his challenges and is something that he is working on.  I have my system because I have been doing it for so many years, but my system relies on almost everything being made from scratch.  And lots of times without a recipe.  He, at least at this point, doesn't have that ability.  So we are doing meal planning together and I am helping him out.

We are also getting used to balancing our finances while I go up in my income and he goes down (as he is working part-time now).  It was some pretty serious sticker shock when he got his first part-time paycheck. 

Hannah is getting used to a Papa run household which is different than a Mama run one.  A bit laxer, a bit looser with the rules.  I'm not saying that it's better or worse, just different. She (and I) are also getting used to spending less time together.  I try to have special Mother-daughter things with her.  Today we are taking a picnic lunch up to the top of Sandia Crest.  It's just a quick drive up the hill, but it will be fun. 

We'll all get through it just fine.  We are all just having to find our feet.

Picture day

I am sorting through some old photos that I have on my computer and came across some oldies but goodies that I thought I'd share:

Grandma and Grandpa meeting their granddaughter.  Dwayne looks a little tired, no?

My handsome hubby, learning to play cribbage while camping wih Mom, Dick and myself at Bandelier.

Dwayne and I on our backpacking trip in the Grand Canyon.  I don't remember doing much smiling as we were hiking uphill, but there you are.

And Lordy, here is a photo of me going to work --I'm sure I worked in a bar-- on halloween sometime in the 1980's.  Notice the dog bone in my hair and the possum on my belt.  Yikes.

That girl's got a million dollar smile!

The sun setting behind sunflowers, Albuquerque.

Have a great Saturday.  Remember, vote early and vote often!

a new 'do

I had a spa day yesterday, and after my totally relaxing and fabulous hot stone massage had a cut and color.  Here's my old style:

and here is my new style.  It, frankly, is a bit more highlighting than I wanted but it is growing on me.  And I'm of the "it's only hair" crowd -- I do this for awhile then try something different later if I'd like:

Princess Hannah

Hannah has turned into a princess.  Wait, she's always been kind of a princess.  But she is starting to do the dress-up, do Mommy's hair, dancing princess thing.

Her princess room is almost done.  We got carpet installed yesterday, Dwayne put up the bunkbed, curtains are hung, etc.  You can see the paint job I described before... it's really not garish, but very soft.

Look!  A clean carpet!  The other one was disgusting -- I tell ya, with six kids living in this house before we moved in (all with an ample supply of cherry kool-aid and ink it seems) that carpet was pretty rough. 

Hannah slept in the top bunk last night, and didn't crawl into bed with us until she woke up at 7:30 so it must have gone well.

Today is soccer day (we're giving it the old college try, and she's not crying at games anymore) but before that she had to give us a ballet performance:

She's all about Angelina Ballerina and uses a cat toy my Mom left behind as her twirling ribbon.  And she really is graceful and takes the music in mind when she dances.  She's not just spinning around in circles.

I bought tickets to the Nutcracker today!  I've been waiting for Hannah to be old enough, and now with all the interest she is showing in dancing I thought it would be a good year.  I have the music and she likes dancing to it.  I hope she enjoys herself.  We got seats in the first row of the mezzanine so if she gets a little antsy she can stand up without disturbing anyone else.  I can't wait!!

Myself, I am totally being a bum.  I am getting my hot stone massage (birthday gift from hubby) and then a cut and color.  Mmmmmm.

flight nurse tips

Here are my tips for anyone who wants to be or is a new flight nurse:

• When on call, never pass by the opportunity to eat, sleep or bathe,
• There is a fine line between being hydrated and completely miserable on a cross country flight in a Lear Jet with no bathroom.
• Go back to the gym.  Trust me on this one.
• While it is often instructed that you "turn and burn," never ever compromise your patient's safety.
• As much as a liberated, strong and independent woman as you are, let the firefighters/medics carry your bags once in awhile.  I think it makes them feel better. 
• You and your partner are IT.  There will be no reinforcements.  Always trust your gut, and always trust your partner.
• The same warped sense of humor that got you through all those crazy shifts at the hospital will work here.  It's just different terminology.
• Remember that a "sterile cockpit" means no bullshit below 10,000 feet. 
• Love your pilots, at least when you are riding with them.  Keep any smack talk for later.  Your landing can be rough or smooth, remember that.
• If you need an ER doc to do something (intubate, place lines, whatever) just tell him you won't transfer without it.  They will do it double-time because they wanted that patient gone like, yesterday.
• Guys, don't chew in the plane.  It's just gross.  I'm begging you.
• Even when you are dog-tired, remember what an awesome job you have!!!

beauty school dropout

I spent yesterday at the FAA mandated flight indoctrination class at Medflight.  Known as "ground school" by those in the aviation industry.  Since I will eventually be in charge of the dispatchers, and I need to be able to do dispatch myself I attended ground school yesterday. 

Today I am back to a clinical role and am attending an eight-hour ventilator class at Presbyterian.  Many people I know have gone through that class, and were surprised at how they were able to hold their attention for eight hours... the speaker, Dr. Magana, is a great teacher and a dynamic person.  I've worked with him on the unit and have also been in a class with him before.

Yesterday after I came home, Hannah decided she wanted to make my hair "beautiful and stylish" so she instructed me to lay on the floor and read my book so she could work on my hair.  Here is the result:

Funny, huh?

Wow

My blog has been nominated for a Love! This Blog Award from DivineCaroline.  You can click on the badge on the left to vote.  So if you love this blog go ahead and share the love!  Thanks!!