Thankful

On the drive home from the Oregon Coast today, I asked everyone to tell me their 3 favorite things from our Thanksgiving weekend at the beach. We all agreed on the favorites, and also agreed that it was impossible to narrow it down to just three things.

Here's the list, with a few photos. We have much to be thankful for, and this weekend is no exception.

1. Playing tag with the waves. This was wildly exciting, and even more so when we were doing it last night in the dark and a huge wave came in and knocked Emma and then Madeline down. The girls were soaked head to toe, Kolby and I soaked up to our waists from fishing them out, but everyone was still laughing. Lily demanded soggy Cartwheels of Joy from everyone before we could return to the house to warm up.

2. Swing Dancing on Thanksgiving. After the dishes were done, the pie polished off, and the food digested, Milo and Robin started the dance party. It was a ton of fun, and I'm determined to get Kolby and I some swing dancing lessons, especially since this was a high point for both girls.

3. A highlight for Kolby and I were the very sweet toasts Cameron and Jean gave on Thanksgiving. We adore our friends, old and new. I am very thankful for the supportive group of friends we've found in the Northwest over the last 10 years.

4. Cooking with friends is ALWAYS a favorite of mine. My cooking and baking began on Tuesday with the girls at home (we made stuffing, cranberries, pumpkin gooey cake, and pumpkin pies), and continued on Thursday at the beach house with friends. I love a crowded busy kitchen. (And the kitchen at the beach house was beautiful!)

The kids even made butter while the adults cooked.

5. The kids loved playing "Wolves and Antelopes" in the beach grass in the backyard. And also night games on the lawn with the dads.

6. The window seat. Oh, how I loved the window seat. Not sure if it was the seat or the view or the windows or what, but it was definitely my favorite spot in the house.

And a few more random pictures from the weekend. We spent an afternoon in Cannon Beach, which always requires a stop at our favorite fish market for fish and chips.

You may mock the Snuggie, but could you read the Beach Bods edition of Star magazine and stay warm at the same time without it? I didn't think so. We even got the Brits to wear them.

And there was plenty of fierce Wii gaming happening. By the end of the weekend, I'm pretty sure there was crying involved.

Enough about the Squeaky Wheels

Okay, how about an update on the humans who live with the cats. We are much less destructive, but maybe you are tired of hearing about the cats?

Kolby is really enjoying (to varying degrees, depending on the day) working with the Bing team at work. He spent a few days at the ad agency in NYC this week. Highlights of his week were hanging out with his friend Will in his dressing room for a couple hours, and then meeting up with our friend Jeff who was also in town on business.
Can I just give a little plug for Bing? I have it set as my home page, and opening my browser every morning is my little moment of beauty to start the day. The daily photos are always so gorgeous. I want to be the person whose job it is to search for beautiful photographs. I heart Bing. (And not just because it pays the bills.)

I finished my clinicals for the quarter, and things are really winding down with school. I can't say I loved clinicals. I felt like I lacked competence and confidence, and that is uncomfortable. But by the end I was more in my groove, and I'm looking forward to a more interesting clinical experience next quarter. Classes are going well, with just a few more things to get thru--a medication administration test next week, a couple more lectures, and one last exam. Whew.

We've started our home search. I'm feeling ambivalent about that. Renting is so nice (except when your cat climbs the walls). But I am ready to have our own place again.

The girls are doing great. They love school. They are taking Spanish before school on Mondays and Wednesdays. They have friends over a few times a week and still have rockclimbing on Fridays.

A couple weeks ago I went to the salmon hatchery with Madeline's class. I thought it would be a snoozer, but it was actually very cool. Ya'll will get a trip to the salmon hatchery when you come visit.

And next week Amelia's class is making pumpkin pie, cornbread, and stew for a feast so I will be helping in her classroom all week. Pictures to follow...

Forensics

In the last week I've noticed long scratches on the walls next to our closets. Long scratches all up the wall (both sides of the corner), with paint and drywall dust along the floor.

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

I knew who the suspects were. But I couldn't determine a motive for such a senseless crime. At first I thought it was to perch on top of the closet doors. Then my brilliant sister told me to keep my closet doors closed. But the number of scratches escalated drastically! Madeline had her theories. (She's been known to climb a few walls herself, so she had no problem getting into the mind of the Kitty Kriminal.)

Then today, as I was photographing the above evidence, the suspect returned to the scene of the crime and signed his confession.

Exhibit C:

(I love that Gabby is watching in horror, a witness to the crime).

Today Willow will be sporting a nice set of these restraints (and yes, they will be pink or purple as further punishment):

And I still need to find an appropriate deterrent for the serial TP Shredder, who is also getting more brazen with her crimes. Today she left this butchered roll of TP beside my bed. Just taunting me.

Bump and Bliss go Bananas

A few months ago my parents renamed themselves. They are now Bump and Bliss.

Then they started booking vacation cruises willy-nilly.

And uninviting their children to Thanksgiving dinner.

And then today. Today I receive an email with pictures of my dad with a dead chicken around his neck and my mom with a pinata on her shoulder, wearing shorts and sarongs in November in Utah. I don't know. Brothers and sisters, I'm thinking their dementia may be progressing more quickly than we thought. They'll need to move in with one of us soon before they injure themselves. Good thing Jeremy is doing that big remodel.

You can't prove anything.

Grunk Prevention

Can you feel the calm? I can. I cleaned out both girls' rooms today. I swore I wouldn't do that anymore, that the girls should manage their own creative space and yadda yadda yadda, but the trash and crafts and clothes and stuffed animals were driving me to the point of hysteria. So a couple of big garbage bags later, there is peace in my life.

And now the Grunk will have to find a new house to visit.

Pet Therapy

I don't care what you think. I love my cats. Call me the Cat Lady. I don't even care. You know why? Because cat's rule.

If there was an Olympic event for sleeping (and I think there should be) cats would win the gold every time. Doesn't this just inspire you to go take a nap?

Also, it's a known fact that cats improve your guitar picking.
And they're good study buddies.

But if you ever get an email or IM from me that says something along the lines of: iiiiiii33333gg444444pppppppppp. It's actually from Mango. Don't open it.

We think she might have an addiction to kitty porn.

Mama said there'd be days like this

How's your day going? I spilled a bag of pee all over a carpeted floor before 7:00 am. The rest of the day decided to follow suit. I'm going to climb back in bed until the girls get home and hope Friday afternoon is a little less humiliating.

Adrenaline Rush

I'm in the middle of my third week of clinicals, which for this quarter is in adult rehab. This means we're working with a lot of elderly clients recovering from surgery or other health problems--they have been discharged from the hospital, but aren't quite ready to return home. Things have been pretty mellow in the "neighborhood." (That's what we call it. They do everything they can to keep it from feeling like a hospital). Mellow has been a good pace for learning the fundamentals, so I've really enjoyed it.

But today I was assigned a new client. She had some serious wounds and I got to observe the nurse doing dressing changes. Seriously fascinating stuff. And then unexpectedly, she had some complications related to other health issues, and things went from mellow to hopping pretty quickly. My "shift" passed in a flash. Now I cannot wait to get back tomorrow, and I'm really looking forward to clinicals next quarter which will be in a more acute setting. As much as I've enjoyed school so far, this was the first time in school that I've experienced the rush of adrenaline that I used to feel when I volunteered in the ER many moons ago--the rush that initially attracted me to nursing.

And that little rush is going to make the 10 hours of "care-planning" I will be doing for the rest of today worth it.

Halloween

I feel a little sad writing about this, because I don't want it to be over. Not so much because I love Halloween, but mostly because I'd been looking forward to it for weeks.

Last week got pretty hairy for me at school between studying for exams and doing my first complete "nursing care plan" which I'm certain will be the bane of my existence for the next two years. I missed Madeline's pumpkin carving party on Thursday night because I was knee deep in trying to finish it for my 6 am clinical. Then the next day I missed both girls' class parties because of that clinical. Luckily, Kolby took them to the pumpkin carving party, and then made up for my absence at the school with pounds and pounds of candy when he took them trick-or-treating at Microsoft after school.

Kolby and I went to a neighborhood Halloween party Friday night. It was a little lame. I mean I was a little lame. Snuggies were the best we could come up with for costumes. And they were so comfortable that I decided it was time to go home and go to bed at 9:30.

However, I was really just catching up on sleep for the part of the weekend I was looking forward to. Jeff and Sara, friends from Portland, came up to visit so they could trick or treat with us. Milo and Robin came up from Tacoma to join in as well. This was the first weekend since I started school that I completely ignored school obligations and relaxed. And it was heavenly. I made soup and bread for pre-trick or treating, and breakfast casseroles for in the morning. We sat around and talked, read gossip magazines, and played games. The kids created animal shows and counted their candy.

These are the only pictures I took of the girls in their costumes. I don't know how that happened. You can't even see the cute tights and glittery shoes they dragged Kolby to Target to buy for them so their outfits could be complete. (i.e. just like the ones in the picture on the packaging).

Milo and Robin win for the best costumes.

And Lily brought her furry friend Zoe to keep the kids entertained all night and take the pressure off the kittens.

It really was a perfect weekend. I need another one on the schedule to look forward to.