Easter Day

I am certainly glad it is Sunday night, because this weekend has been quite the whirlwind. On the sly Ariel bought tickets to see Henry Rollins at the capital theatre downtown. While I knew a little bit about him (he is the former lead singer of the punk band Black Flag and now tours the world talking/ performing spoken word) I wasn't that excited to go.  Aimee owed us some babysitting, so I went and I am very glad we did. He was really incredible - he spoke for three hours non stop and he is a very intense guy. Ariel and I and our friends Jacob and Catherine all really enjoyed his talk. He told stories of his travels (he was in Islamabad when Benazair Bhutto was assasinated and basically travels to the most dangerous places in the world and walks around to meet people), his thoughts on politics (pretty standard liberal), and Iraq (he has spent extended periods of time on USO tours both in the country and with veterans in hospitals). Anyway, it was a very enjoyable, exciting, and thought provoking way to spend an evening.

 

 The rest of our weekend was spent getting ready for Easter dinner - we host Ariel's family for Easter every year, and it basically takes us all weekend to get ready and clean up after all 26 people come and go.  Everyone really seemed to enjoy themselves and the Easter Egg hunt is always a pretty big hit. Luckily, the torrential rain let up enough for us to spend ten minutes running around. It was especially fun to help dress the girls up in the Easter dresses....there was something very special about the process that made me feel even more like the girl's Mother. Now all is said and done I am quite beat, and I am really looking forward to finishing my last final on Thursday. 

Caden Free

Here is a link to my BIL's website with pictures of baby Caden. http://www.jonbiggerstaff.com/photogallery/photogallery2.html We drove up last night to Kirkland only to find that the labor was probably going to last a lot longer than we thought, so we loaded back in the car to go home. After about ten minutes on the freeway, we got a call that the Dr. decided to do a C-section because of cord compressions, so we headed back to the hospital in time to meet Caden after all.
It was a little strange, because the circumstances of the delivery were very similiar to when I had Isaac and ended up having a c-section because of fetal distress. Although it was nice for Jon and Ranae that she already had an epidural and he was able to go into the OR with her. In my case, I was attempting to go natural and things started to go bad quickly - there was a great deal of rushing around, they wouldn't let Ar in the OR and the anesthesiologist was running late, so they had to do part of the operation before they put me out (I feel my great claim to toughness is having had part of a surgery without any anesthesia). In the end, everything turned out great in both cases and beautiful healthy boys joined the Biggerstaff clan.

After getting back this morning around 4 am, I slept for a few hours, got the kids to school and somehow managed to score a good grade on my Care of the Childbearing Woman Final (Thank God for Coffee!!). At some point tonight, I know I am going to collapse in a heap, but it was all worth it. Tomorrow we are driving the kids up to meet their new baby cousin, and they are very excited.

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.