I'm a Bag Lady

I work 12 hour shifts at night on Friday, Saturdays, and Sundays. There are many reasons I work this shift.
The number one reason being that it works for my family. Charles and I do not have to worry about childcare during the week or who has to take off work if one of them gets sick. He is there on the weekends and I am home all week. I can drop them off and pick them up from school, take them to after school activities and be involved in the PTA. I can attend every little school party and drive their teachers nuts.
The second reason I work this way is because it is good money. A nurse who works at night and on weekends gets a good deal more than a nurse who works during the day on a weekday.
The last reason is that I am lazy. It can be busy sometimes but the majority of the time, not so much. Doctors and important administrative people do not walk in and out at 2 in the morning if they can help it. It is calm and quiet. Very nice. I can just focus on my patients.
Because I work this way, I have decided that it is more financially beneficial and easier to just sleep at the hospital on Saturdays and Sundays. It is an 80 mile round trip back and forth to work. That comes out to about $40 dollars worth of gas a weekend if I slept at home. We save a ton of money if I drive up there on Fridays and drive home on Monday morning. Another benefit of sleeping at the hospital is that I don't have to beg my kids to let me sleep during the day because at my house I seem to be the go-to person for getting them what they must have. Charles can be right there in front of them and they still come looking for me. Why do kids do that?
So every Friday I pack for the weekend:

Yes, I need all of this. The blue bag is my food for 3 nights, my purse (with the infamous Kangeroo cup), my coupon binder, my luggage, and my laptop. I pack it all into my car:

Then when I get to work, and I haul it all to the third floor of the hospital. Of course, I do this all at the same time. I do not make two trips because I am lazy.

That is why my coworkers call me "The Bag Lady." Don't judge me.



We Had a Good Day

We have been very frugal at my house lately and it is starting to get a little old. So when I got paid today, we decided that we simply MUST go somewhere. We decided to go to Outback and see the Cars 2 movie that Chase has been dying to see. Every time he sees a commercial or picture from the movie he makes sure everybody in the room has paid it sufficient notice.

We went to Outback because I had a coupon. I have to say the Alice Spring Chicken is the best there. I don't think it would be that hard to make at home. Have any of you tried to make it? (This should be Kelli's next project, she does these great blogs on the stuff she cooks.)

Then we went to see Cars 2 which I have to say was pretty blah. It was not nearly as good as the first one but the kids loved it. Chase would yell at the screen when Mater got in trouble or Lightning was racing. We just let him because there was only two other people in the theater and they had kids too. There was a great Toy Story short at the beginning. I recorded the 5 minute Toy Story short on my phone which I know is highly illegal but I know we will be buying the movie when it comes out anyway. It turns out that the whole thing taped upside down, apparently I was holding the phone wrong. That is karma for you.  

After the movie we went to Baskin Robbins because I had a coupon (are you seeing a trend here?). Those poor people acted like they had never seen a coupon before in their lives, took four people standing around the register just to figure out what to do with the thing. In the end, we all got ice cream for around 5 bucks.

It was a great day!

P.S.-We didn't walk today but yesterday I took a picture of the little pond Macey keeps talking about.

The "Alligator Poop" pond

I Don't Know What I Am Doing

I have been blessed with some truly amazing kids. They are really well behaved and fun to be around. I consider myself an okay parent even though I am winging it most of the time. I just have one problem that is getting to be an issue.

Let me start by saying I have a three bedroom house. My husband and I have a room, Macey has her own room, and Chase has his own room. This is Macey's room. My husband and I spent a lot of time painting it those three different colors and she even has two beds to choose from.



 She has never slept in here. She claims she is too scared to sleep alone. So we bought a bunk-bed to put in Chase's room. This is a nice bunk-bed, those are double size beds you are looking at there. We even let them pick out their own comforter sets.

So PLEASE explain to me why I still wake up to this every morning!

That is my bed you are looking at there. These children are 7 and 9 years old! I have no clue as to how to get them to stay in their own beds, they start out there but somehow get lost and end up in bed with us.  Don't judge me but I have no clue what I am doing. It wouldn't be so bad except they are getting big and do not sleep up and down like normal people. They are all over the place! My husband usually ends up on the couch and there have been times that I have slept on that bunk bed.

So I decided that it was time to speak with Macey about this, maybe figure out what is going on in her little head. So on our walk this afternnon we had a serious discussion.



I explained to her in a very calm and motherly voice that she was 7 years old. She is a big girl now and about to enter the first grade. Everyone in our family needs to sleep well so we can be happy and healthy. I went on to explain that mommy and daddy are not sleeping well with two big kids in their bed. We need them to sleep in their own beds. 

Me: "Macey do you understand everything I just said."

Macey: "Yes."

Me: "What can I do for you to help you stay in your own bed?" 

Macey: "Look! There is the alligator poop pond!" (looking at the green pond)

Me: (very exasperated and pleading tone, losing it a little) "Macey! I need you to focus! Why won't you stay in your own bed?! What do I need to do?!"

Macey: (a little alarmed at my raised voice) "I don't know momma, I got no directions!"

I decided to end the conversation right there.

As a newborn nurse, I sometimes come across that parent that confesses that she has no idea what she is doing. I tell her that as long as she keeps the baby fed, clean, warm, and loved she will be fine. I need to start adding that whatever she does, don't let that baby sleep in your bed!





I'm a Little Lazy

It has been a while since I went walking. I used to walk around my neighborhood 3 or 4 days a week. I would get up early and walk before my husband had to leave for work, and then I sorta just stopped. I could list all the reasons why I stopped but they all sound pretty lame and whiny. Don't judge me but I am a little lazy.

It is no secret that I have gained some weight over the years. I had two kids and got a great job with very little movement involved. I work in the NICU and while it is stressful sometimes, I don't really move much. I sit by the bed and watch cardiac monitors the whole 12 hour shift. These excuses sound lame too but in the end it is just laziness that is the real culprit.

This is what I used to look like:

This is what I look like now:

No Lie...... okay, maybe I am exaggerating a little.

Anyway, so I have tried everything from Atkins to Alli to Adipex and nothing has helped. The real reason why none of this has helped is because I am lazy.

I found this App for my I-phone that is supposed to have me ready for a 5K in six weeks. It tells you when to walk and when to run at intervals so that slowly by the end of the 6 weeks you can run three miles! Well! Sign me up! I want to run a 5K next month! Yes, I will pay $4.99 for that! So, I bought it, and it sat on my phone for 6 weeks not being used. Why? Well, because I'm lazy.

So right about now is the time I was supposed to running the imaginary marathon that I was so excited about. This realization made me decide that I needed to start...today. So I grabbed the kids and went for a walk. Now a couple of things I did wrong right off the bat..

1. I left at 7:30 for an hour long walk.

2. I brought my cell phone with no where to put it. No pockets, no cool arm holder thing, nothing...

I had to bring my cell phone because I was scared I wouldn't make it the full circle around Openwood without having to call my awesome husband to come get me. I also had to have the App talk to me so I could train for this imaginary marathon in six weeks. So what did I do with the phone? Don't judge me but I stuffed it down my shirt right into my bra.

So off we go, kids are excited, and I am excited. The App blares from my chest to start walking, 5 minutes later it saids to run, then walk, then run. This is us:

We did good for a while.

Later: This is Macey wondering why I am no longer running when my chest clearly told us to run.

I did really good though for a lazy person. We talked and had a good time. Macey is really fun to talk to and Chase followed along smiling the whole time.

There are some nice houses in Openwood. Macey looked at one beautiful house and this is the conversation that took place:

Macey: "Why can't we have a house like that?"

Me: "Well, honey, we like our house and besides houses like that cost a lot of money."

Macey: (after pondering this for a moment) "I bet that house costs $30!"

The next cute thing she said was:

Macey: (after passing by a green pond) "That pond over there is yucky cause alligators pooped all in it!"

We ended up making the whole 3 miles without having to call my husband. It was slightly dark though cause it took us an hour. Macey wants to do it again tomorrow. I asked Chase if he wanted to and he promptly told me "No thank you" and went straight to his room.

Y'all be looking for me a marathon to run in six weeks! I am going to do it! .... or not, cause I can be a little lazy. 

Don't Judge Me But....

Hey!
My friend Kelli has an awesome blog with her thoughts and pictures of her family. She is so witty and funny. Sometimes in your life you can just meet people and wonder where they have been hiding. How can I not have known this awesome chick before now?! Anyway, if you want to check out her blog she is at msmanicmom.blogspot.com. So I was reading her blog about her daughter sneaking the cat food and I thought' "Hey! I got stuff to say too!" So I started this blog. I decided to call it "Don't Judge Me but...", because I find myself saying this a lot to my husband. For example,

Husband: "What did y'all eat for lunch today?"
Me: "Don't judge me but we didn't really wake up till 12:30 and have only had a bowl of popcorn since you walked in the door at 5:30."
or
Husband: "What is this dent in your car?"
Me: "Don't judge me but I have a problem with driving...and parking."

Anyway, a little about myself. My name is Deann. I have an awesome husband named Charles.

We have two beautiful children named Chase and Macey who are 9 and 7.

I am a registered nurse who works weekends at CMMC in Jackson. I have only worked with newborns since the day I graduated college so don't ask me about your heart medicine or hemorrhoids. I have no clue. 

I love staying connected with people on Facebook (look at it on my phone at least 20 times a day). I scrapbook every picture I own and I coupon. Couponing is my new passion and I started a facebook page called "Vicksburg Couponing" for those of you interested at all.

I am involved in the PTA at Beechwood Elementary and love going to MOPS (Mother's of Preschoolers) meetings at Bowmar Baptist. MOPS has been my favorite place to meet new people. I don't even have a preschooler anymore, I just keep hanging around like that poor kid on the playground that needs friends.     

Anyway, I hope you will follow me and listen to all my ramblings.......