Shiny, Happy Person

Today has just been the most wonderful day - After taking most of the kids to school, I was able to go swimming with my Dad at the Y. I have been trying to get him to go for awhile. Then I was able to ride my bike to work in the sun...only to get there and find out they didn't need me and get to ride my bike back. With the extra hours, I was able to be a good mother - I somehow had reserves of good will to make a mocha-walnut bundt cake with all four of the kids and maintain some control. I got to read books with all of them and helped Isaac clean up his room. Now I am headed up to Kirkland with my in-laws because baby Caden's arrival is imminent tonight! (My SIL is in serious labor at the hospital and Ar is good with seeing the baby this weekend)....which is kind of a little funny, because I am taking a final in care of the childbearing woman tomorrow. I am planning that the car ride up and waiting at the hospital will provide lots of extra studying time :). After a rather long and challenging winter it is great to have such a wonderful day!

4 Biggerstaffs and a Bison

We took advantage of some decent weather and our annual pass and went to NW Trek for the first time this year. NW Trek is a zoo/animal park that focuses on Northwest animals like Cougars, Bears, and Moose. For me, it was an excuse to let the kids run around outside. The above pictures is Isaac and Hamda on the tram tour, the picture below is the Bison that they are staring at. NW Trek is pretty standard Field Trip fare for local school kids, but it was pretty empty on this Winter Sunday. The hour ride out was also a great time for me to get some studying done - the kids mostly conk out in the car. 

At home, Shkuri and I finally made spring rolls - the rolling could use some perfecting - but I think they turned out great! Everyone but Elias liked them. He kept on saying "I don't want dinner, I want food".  I am going to try and tackle Sushi soon. 

 

The kids are watching one episode of The Muppets before they go to bed, and I settle down into study. I was hoping to go until midnight, but I am out of sugar, so I am not sure if I will make it. I am also going to have to turn off the internet, as the blog, Stuff White People Like is way too addictive and a wee bit humiliating.  I was thinking of posting some thoughts about religion, but I think I will leave that to another time. A friend from church, who tends to be a bit into religious fads, has spent a lot of time talking about Ekhart Tolle - and I can tell you I am definitely not impressed with a couple of interviews I have seen. 

Flight of the Conchords

Because it is coming to finals week. Because I am too lazy and tired to come up with a real blog post - but too tired and lazy to stop watching You tube

Sushi & Spring Rolls

Today, the kids and I are going to hang out in the morning while Ariel goes Mountain Biking. On Saturdays, the get to eat cold cereal and play video games for one hour - then I think we will go to the park and the library.  I am coming upon my finals weeks - and I am going to have to start digging out some major reserves of time from somewhere. I have kind of been squeeking through this quarter, which won't fly for the finals. Usually, I just stay up late, which has been failing me of late. Even with coffee, I find myself just staring at the pages and not retaining anything. Yesterday Ar took the kids for a walk at the nature trail while I studied at a coffee shop for two hours - I really got a lot done outside of the house. 

 Another thing I accomplished this week was putting together a menu for the week. I have been working towards a weekly menu for awhile.  Trying to feed our family with healthy, decent food for a week is quite the art. I splurged on a new cookbook that has had a bunch of great ideas;  How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman.  We aren't vegetarians by any stretch, but I really like trying vegetarianish meals. When my finals are over, I am going to make a major effort to make spring rolls and sushi. I love both of these dishes, but have a major defect in my ability to wrap foods, so haven't successfully made them before.  

hematocrit & hemoglobin

My co-workers and I have often joked that as oncology nurses, at least we have job security. Something weird has happened lately, though. People have stopped gettting cancer in Olympia. In my infusion department - we used to have an average of 20-25 patients a day. Tomorrow we have six. We are also affected by the a change in medicare that lowers the threshold hematocrit & hemoglobin when they will pay for a blood transfustion, which also cuts into our business. It isn't just us, though, I am told that our local oncology practice is hurting for patients. It is certainly good news for all of those people not getting cancer, but still it is a little weird. I am also getting a little nervous for my job security. I happen to have one of the nicest nursing jobs in the hospital and I would really, really hate to see it go away.
On Sunday, we went and bought a 95 Jayco Tent Trailer. It is big and cozy and more than a little beat up, but it cost only a bit more than it would cost to rent one for the week, so it will work. We are starting to plan our summer camping trips already. I think we are going to reserve a week at the family campground in July and make it open to any friends that live nearby to come and hang out with us. Fishy met an untimely death yesterday - the circumstances were suspicious, although nothing could be proven.

Potager

Today we got out and actually did a small bit of gardening - Hamda, Isaac, and I weeded one raised bed that is going to be Isaac's this summer. I also sent in the deposit to do a CSA. I haven't done one for two years, but I was looking forward to joining again this summer. One of my great dreams in life is to have a potager (the French word for Kitchen Garden). I know exactly what it would look like; lots of raised vegetable beds, an orchard, and a fruit garden. I have absolutely been in love with them since visiting the Hamlet at Versailles (even though we went in January). 

The first three years we lived at our house, I did my darndest to turn our little 1/4 acre plot into a replica of a potager. Now I know that that was really stupid of me. My garden of my dreams requires a full time gardener who knows something about pruning, and mulching, and composting -which I don't.  Now I wish I had a gardener to do about 90% of the work, and I would be thrilled to pitch in the last 10%. Until then, I am going to keep the garden simple this year, and not stress about what it isn't. I want to enjoy doing it with the kids, too.  They each have one bed, and I am going to let them pick and plant what they would like.  

Baby Shower

My sister and brother in law are about two weeks away from having their first baby, Caden Free, and last night we went to their baby shower. I am very excited about a new cousin in the family, but I was a little aprehensive about spending the evening with people from their church home group in a weathly suburb of Seattle. I actually almost had heart failure when we walked into the house where the party was - facing three hours in a completely white house with lots of glass and my five and six year old (Elias and Shkuri stayed home with a grandma) made me very nervous.
Despite being a little anxious - everything went great, and I really enjoyed myself and Hamda loved all the attention she got (Isaac spent most of the night playing with his yo yo behind the couch). Ariel and I spent awhile talking to a couple that have just started the process to adopt children from Africa. I even really enjoyed the long group prayer session that they had for Jon, Ranae, and baby Caden - it was obvious people really cared about them and were happy for this time in their life. We are all so excited to meet baby Caden and can't wait for his safe arrival.