Basketball Boys

These boys are Marshall's. No doubt about it.

Cleaning It Up

So lately I've had a total lack of energy. I blamed it on just about everything, and everyone told me I had such good excuses, but I was tired of making excuses. I pretty much fell asleep during a scan last week at clinical. I was watching a tech, closed my eyes, and caught myself just before I went head first into the patient's bed. I felt just a little bit dumb.
I tried to pinpoint why I was so tired, and decided that half of the problem was my diet. I don't have problems with exercising, I love to run. I generally get enough sleep. I only work one night a week and Marsh is great to let me sleep in on Fridays and take a Sunday afternoon nap. I seriously eat a lot of foods that just aren't good for me, and while I believe in eating cookies and candy, I need to stop at 1 serving and not eat the whole bag. So last Tuesday I decided I was going to clean up. I can't believe what a difference it's made, and it's only been about a week! Making sure to drink a lot of water, fresh fruits and veggies, lean protein, good carbs. Like I said before, I don't deprive myself of sweets, but I watch the calories on the sweets. I've not only noticed a difference in my energy levels, my skin seems clearer, my bowels seem happier with me (yes, I had to add that), my tummy isn't 20 weeks pregnant looking bloated like it usually is, and I'm just feeling good. Tonight when I came home from school, I had enough energy to play with the boys AND clean the kitchen. Doesn't seem like much, but normally I don't have enough energy to do anything after a long clinical day, so this was huge for me.
A friend of mine that I'm at clinical with right now and I set up a challenge. I've always wanted to get down to my pre pregnancy weight from before Chan, but I've always hung onto 10-15 lbs. I know I by no means need to lose weight, but it would be a fun milestone to hit. We set goals for each week, are tracking and encouraging each other and are going to reward ourselves for the milestones we hit. I'm currently 12 lbs away from pre pregnancy Chandler weight and I'm excited to have a goal in mind. Random ramblings, yes. Good for me to write them down, yes. :)

Pampers Blogger Day

This last Monday through Wednesday, I attended a blogger event for Pampers at headquarters in Cincinnati, OH. I'm one of 21 ambassadors for Pampers and so they gave us the chance to all come out for a blogger day. It's fun to be an ambassador for a product that I believe in and have used with both my boys. I got there Monday at about 3ish, and the first thing we did was go on a P&G archives tour. This was really interesting, and there are some brands that I wasn't aware of that P&G owned. Pampers has actually been around for 50 years and it was fun to see the history behind it. The picture below is actually the first Pampers baby. Isn't it scary? Looks like a man on a baby's body, lol.





After that, we headed out to Drees Park/Pavillion. We had an incredible view of Cincinnati and I got to visit with some of the bloggers and PR reps and get to know a little more about everyone.


They had this adorable and yummy Pampers cake.



The next day was packed with a lot of different things. We spent the day at Baby Care, Pampers Headquarters. We started the morning by sharing what we are doing for our Miracle Missions. Pampers gave each of us as Ambassadors $1000 to do a random act of kindness as part of their 50 year celebration. Mine is still in the works, but I'm donating to our local homeless shelter, and also putting together gift baskets for mom/baby refugees. It was incredibly touching to hear about what everyone was doing for their Miracles Mission.


Next, we got a chance to hear from and interview Rosie Pope. She's a maternity clothing designer, and also has her own reality show, Pregnant in Heels, on Bravo. She was incredibly gracious and adorable. All of us bloggers designed a diaper and Rosie got to choose her top 3. Mine wasn't one of the top 3, but it was fun to design anyways!






We spent the afternoon discussing different ideas, taking a tour of the facility, seeing changes and new designs on Pampers Cruisers and learning about 3 new apps that Pampers has in the works. (One is actually already out, and it's pretty darn cool. It's called Hello Baby if you are interested in downloading it.) They gave us new ipad2's so we could try out the new app which was a big surprise.

At the end of the day, we took a quiz to see who remembered the most information from the day. I ended up getting the most right on the quiz and won a year's supply of diapers! It came in coupon format, so I can save them and use them with our next baby. :)

Overall it was such a fun trip and I'm looking forward to the next time we get together!

Blankies

When both of the boys were born, my mom gave them each a nice fleece type blanket that would grow with them. Granted, they aren't big enough for an adult, but perfect for a child. They have their names embroidered on them and have become favorites of both the boys. They sleep with them every night. They will sometimes walk around the house wrapped up in them when they are cold, especially Rowan. Chandler's is yellow with ducks, and Rowan's is blue with a transportation theme.

A Whole New Ballgame

I started clinical in the Vascular Lab this semester. Even though I was feeling pretty good in generals last semester, Vascular is a WHOLE new ballgame. Our Vascular class in school isn't until this Fall, so it's a bit hard to grasp, and I really have to think about things and break them down. Monday was my first day and boy, was it a doozy. I watched carotids, ABI's, venous legs, and a venous arm mapping. So crazy and so incredibly confusing.
Now that I have about 31 hours under my belt this week, I'm feeling a bit more confident. Today I scanned about half of a leg by myself, but it's still so frustrating and mentally exhausting. I can't believe how much this brain of mine will hold, it's quite incredible. Here's about 3/4 of the veins in the leg that we scan, just because I need a picture. (Not a fan of all text posts. ;) Oh, and you would scan the veins in the leg to look for a blood clot. Veins collapse, so you push on them to collapse them to insure there isn't clot.)



I have a really great preceptor, and some other great techs to follow. I'm just hoping I can get a lot of it down in 8 weeks which is how long this semester is. Needless to say, I'm exhausted, my house is a complete disaster, and we've eaten out 2 of the last 3 nights.

In other news, the boys started a new preschool this week. Some of the stuff seems really weird about it, and the last two days, it sounds like Chan has watched a good amount of tv. I haven't been in there other than to tour it before we signed them up, so I'm feeling apprehensive as well. I had a good cry to my sister today, and Marshall and I aren't feeling all that great about it, so we are going to explore other options at this point. I want my babies taken well care of, and most definitely do not want them watching a ton of tv, that's not why I enrolled them in a preschool? I feel pretty blessed that my good friend has helped me watch them a lot, that's been my only saving grace this week.
To be quite honest, I've felt like a horrible mother the last few days. I'm at school while someone else is watching my kids and I'm not with them. Alas, another reason I cried today. To put things into perspective, I am about half done with my program, which means that I'm closer to getting to spend more time with my little men, and that much closer in being proficient in something that I seriously love. Marshall continues to be a rock and my support. For that, I am grateful.

So I guess that's it. I'm incredibly tired, but I'm looking forward to the fact that I can sleep in past 5 tomorrow, spend some much needed time with Chan and Rowan, do laundry until my heart is content, catch up on some blogging, and clean. Now please excuse me while I go pass out in my bed.

Just Like Me

You know how when your kids are born everyone tries to say, "Oh he looks just like you, or he looks just like your husband." ? I've gotten that with both the boys, but I don't think either of them are a spitting image of either of us. However, as the boys get a bit older, I see that one is more like me, and one is more like Marshall.

Chandler is just like.........me

• He's got my terribly dry skin, gets eczema if we don't lotion him down after baths.
• Today we went to the dentist, and it was confirmed that he has my teeth and my weird oddities. He's had 2 teeth filled, and has a few more cavities forming in between teeth. He's also got a molar that has 3 roots which is somewhat weird. His top teeth are twice as big as the baby ones he has which means that there is going to be some serious crowding. The dentist said there would be braces in his future. Me? I've had like every tooth in my mouth filled, and missing all 4 of my wisdom teeth and a permanent tooth for which I have had an implant.
• There's a weird bump on the back of Chan's head that I also have.
• He's got my hazel eyes.
• Although his hair is short, the texture is coarse, like mine.
• I catch glimpses of his side profile and I see myself.
• The middle of my top lip has a lot of shape and is smaller than the bottom. So is Chan's.
• His fingernail shape, just like mine. (Which I got from my dad.)
• He's tall and skinny, built just like me.

Rowan is just like.....Marshall

• Rowan has this crazy soft hair, just like Marsh
• He's got a pointed head, just like Marsh
• At the Dentist today, he commented on how great his teeth look and how he has strong enamel. Confession - we don't brush Rowan's teeth as much as we should, and they are perfect. Just like Marshall's.
• Their ears look a lot alike, from the shape to the detached earlobe.
• Rowan is also tall and thin, but built a bit more like Marshall. He and Chan have the same measurements around the neck and stomach.
• He has the LONGEST straight eyelashes, just like Marshall. (I've always teased Marsh about his eyelashes, say they look like horse lashes. Really it's because I like them so much. :) )
• Rowan's top lip is straight across, just like Marshall's.
  
• He does not have Marshall's brown eyes, but hazel like mine. Guess the hazel gene has been dominant.

Their mannerisms have both been learned, and I see a lot of Marshall and me in both of them. Chan is SO imaginative and I know it's due to Marshall. Rowan loves to cuddle, and so do I.
I sure love these boys, and it's fun to see their physical differences and who they are most like.