Hello pretty ocean, I am headed your way..

A hand full of days ago I blogged about a patient of mine that was really sick ("Another day at work.."). Well, I found out yesterday that he died at about 9 am that morning. I left at 7 am. I was so upset when I was told. When I entered this profession I really didn't think losing a patient would effect me this personally, but it does... I have rebounded though. You can't come to work each day and still be bogged down by yesterday... One more night of work and then I am headed to the beach. I will relax and let the stress of the job roll right on off of me!

Ugh Teenagers

I have a teenage brother and a teenage sister-n-law and I am definitely a sounding board for my mom and mother-n-law about all the trouble these two manage to get in... (I am exagerating a bit about my sister-n-law.. not so much about my brother. That boy tracks down trouble and then jumps in...) I found a cool website that listed some Mistakes Parents Makes With Teen Discipline and I thought I would copy and paste some of them. They are as follows:

1. Lack of consistency – While all children need consistent discipline, it’s even more important for teens. They get frustrated when a behavior is acceptable one day and not acceptable the next. The established rules need specific consequences. Realistic and consistent consequences demonstrate a “real world” view for teens. Creating house rules with consequences, then responding appropriately, provides all children with security and direction.

2. Punishing in anger – Sometimes parents only punish once they have reached the end of their patience. In reality, this allows teens to misbehave for a period of time before suffering any consequences. Not only is this confusing, it can also lead to abuse. Dealing with a teenager emotionally often produces dramatic immediate effects, but ultimately it creates a communication wall in the relationship. Consistent parenting, as described above, prevents punishing in anger. Stepping away from the situation to recover emotionally also proves helpful.

3. Irrelevant punishment – Whenever possible, the punishment should be reflective of wrongdoing. For example, if a teen returns home after curfew, limiting his nights out temporarily would be appropriate. A teen that doesn’t complete school work might be required to miss a social event to complete the work.

4. Accepting any behavior because of age – While it is a scientific fact that teens undergo traumatic emotional and physical changes, that fact should not be an excuse to be allowed to behave inappropriately. Often, teens who are allowed to behave badly do not grow out of that behavior as adults. Character is character at any age. Behavioral expectations should be related to what is right, not the age of the child.

5. Being a friend rather than a parent– Teens usually have more than enough social outlets. They need boundaries and safe, secure situations in which to grow. You are the provider of both, and when you act like a friend, your teen will lose security. Teens who view their parents as authority figures and providers are more likely to be close to them in adulthood.

6. You become the enemy – At times, you may feel like the enemy, and your teenager might actually refer to you as such. No matter how hurt you may feel, it’s important to remain the one person who consistently stands by your teenager. Friends and teachers will come and go. You will always be the parent. By establishing rules and consequences, you’re the one person in your teen’s life that holds him accountable no matter what. Even if we don’t like authority figures in our lives, they typically establish order and security.

7. Lose your sense of humor – It’s not funny when your teenager messes up, particularly when you’re left to clean up the mess. Losing your sense of humor won’t help. It may not seem funny at the time, but most challenging situations can eventually be viewed in a comical way. If your teen feels comfortable laughing and joking with you regularly, he’ll also be more likely to listen when you get serious.

8. Stopping your teen from failing at all costs – Some of life’s greatest lessons result from failing. Parents who micromanage their teens because they are afraid of their teen failing prevent their child from developing important life skills. As much as you don’t want to have to discipline your teen, letting him fail and living with the consequences can teach him more than your chosen punishment.

9. Several teens expressed that they want their parents to be parents. When the roles in the household become skewed, confusion and chaos soon follow. Teenagers with younger siblings tended to feel that their parents maintained their essential roles, while the youngest children and only children found their parents more likely to blur the lines between friend and parent. Teens who described their parents as tough disciplinarians also expressed feeling loved in the process.

Now that my teenage years are behind me (barely!) I can see the relevance of the advice above. I can also see how it's easier said than done!!

Pensacola 2009 Part II

Tuesday morning my mother-n-law Karla, Chase, and I are leaving for Pensacola, FL!! My Mom and Aunt Vickie are going to drive up there Thursday morning. I am sooo excited. It feels like a much needed get away. The pic below is an actual pic of Pensacola Beach. Chase and I went to Pensacola in January and it was mid-70's and sunny the whole time. This time it will be a lot warmer so I will be able to throw on a swim suit and enjoy the water!! Don't worry, I will be bringing my camera :)Pensacola is about 10 hrs away from Mtn Home and enjoys water from the Gulf of Mexico

Just another day at work...

I'm so tired. At work last night, I got a patient from another floor about midnight that wasn't doing very well and needed to be watched a little closer. He looked SICK. I hadn't seen someone who looked this miserable in a long time. Fastforward about 5 hrs later- we get his morning lab results back and his labs were a lot worse than they had been just a few hours earlier. He was sick to his stomache and vomiting. He was in renal failure. The color of his skin just didn't look right.... I called the doctor, received orders, carried them out... But when I got off this morning at 7 am I really felt like I didn't do a darn thing to help this man. He was still as miserable as when he arrived. I left feeling just awful. Anytime a patient goes bad on me, I always feel like it is my fault and that there was something I should have done to prevent it. I know this isn't rational.. but that's just how I feel. I think that is the hardest part of being a nurse. Sometimes I go home and just cry because I want so bad to make it better and I can't. It hits me hard and I take it personally. I will think about this man all morning.. I will worry about him and hope that he is getting better not worse.. I will lay down tonight and still be going through every scenario in my mind and hoping I made the right decision.. No, not the right decision-the BEST decision. I have come to learn that often there are many right decisions but you have to choose the best one. Sometimes this is a hard job.

Good Morning

This is what I come home to.... My sweet babies :)

Zoooom!

I just have to brag on the new camera a little bit!.. The first pic you can just barely see the coin tossers in the middle of the field. That was just a normal pic where I was not zoomed in. The second pic is zoomed in on the coin tossers in the middle of the field. The zoom on this thing is incredible!

MHHS Bombers

There is nothing like a hometown football game! Yesterday was the Bombers first home game of the season and my brother is a starting Senior so Chase and I were there to cheer him on. It was P-A-C-K-E-D. We were playing the Harrison Goblins (a big rival) so both the home and visitor stands were full.

The cheerleaders did a dancing routine before the game started. They did a good job cheering on the crowd!

I loved watching the two boys walk out to the coin toss holding hands. It shows unity. (Can you tell I'm from Texas?? I think the love of football is bred in us.) I actually don't like football games on TV and don't have a fav professional team but I love being in the stands and watching a game. The energy and excitement are contagious.

My little bubba is #12. Go Justin!!!

Such a cutie!

Final score 35-28, a Bomber win!!

Visiting the Family

Thanks to Chase's excellent driving skills and Gertrude's great navigating capabilities (hehe) we made it to my grandma's!

I loooove her home. It is gorgeous! G-ma picked up some BBQ from Benny Bob's and we ate lunch and visited.

This is Maw Maw. She is my great grandma and the one I was really looking forward to seeing. She is a wonderful woman and has such great stories that she loves to tell. And I could not blog about her and not mention what a wizard she is in the kitchen!!!! I can not put into words how good her cookin' is. My top three favs: her sweet cream corn (and I am talking corn she shucked herself), her sweet potatoes on Thanksgiving, and her most famous Peanut Butter Cake. To put it simply, I love her!

We also got to tour the funeral home that my grandparents own. It has been up and running for about 16 months now and this was the first time I had got to see it. It was so cool to see my family's name on that sign!!

I didn't any pictures of the inside but it was beautiful! They really did a great job of making it warm and welcoming for grieving families. In Chase's words "it was kinda creepy to be in funeral home hanging out but it was very pretty" lol

After we hugged and kissed them goodbye, Chase and I stopped in Jonesboro at their Bed Bath and Beyond. We bought new sheets mmmm! They were expensive but oh so nice. We also ate dinner at El Acapulco. What a good day!

For more information: www.carneyfuneralhome.com

Mississippi County

Yesterday, Chase and I went to see my Grandma who lives in Blytheville, AR in Mississippi County. Talk about leaving the Ozarks!! The roads are straight as an arrow and there are rice and cotton fields for miles.

Although I have been there more times than I can count, I have never been the driver so therefore I never paid attention to how we got there. But I wasn't worried because we have a Garmin GPS (nicknamed Gertrude).... Oh how wrong I was.... Gertrude likes to take the scenic route which is usually the longest way possible. A three hour trip took four hours! She took us into MO and on a road that was being repaved and we could only go 9.2 miles an hour. For those of you who have ever been in the passenger seat while Chase was driving, you can imagine how well he was handling that :)!!! However, I must say the scenery was amazing.

PARK!!

There are 2 words to describe the experience of taking my dogs to the park: Wild and WET! I made the unfortunate decision to take them early in the morning when the dew was still fresh on the grass so, of course, they were soaked by the time we left. It was so much fun though! Suzie is wild on a normal day but at the park she lets it all out. Siera (the white one) just follows Suzie's lead.

Fujifilm Finepix S1500

I got a neeeeeeeeeew camera!!!! The Fujifilm Finepix S1500 is a big upgrade from my Kodak. Don't get me wrong, the kodak was great and served me well.. but I love this one sooo much more. Now, I am no photographer and I don't aspire to be one, but I do love pictures of the things and people I love. And having a good camera makes it so fun to document events and changes in your life. This is definitely going to kick start my blogging again because I am going to be taking this camera everywhere I go and snapping pictures like crazy and I know I will want to share them. The pictures of Sadie in my previous post were taken with the new camera. I could go on-and-on about all the cool features but I won't bore you.. even though I am sorely tempted to do so :)..... Thank you Chase for helping and encouraging me to get it!

Sadie

Everyone remembers their favorite childhood pet. My family had several through the years.. two hamsters, a mutt named Lacy, two german shepards Katie and Kasey, Tiger... But the favorite by far is Sadie. My Mom bought her the summer before I entered my sophomore year of highschool. She has been a joy ever since! She is a jack russell terrier and turned 7 this year. Her sweet brown eyes just get me everytime!!

My parents went out of town for the day yesterday and I went over to let her out. She still gets exited when I come over!

Sadie definitely holds a special place in my heart because she reminds me of highschool days and growing up. To her I say "Come to Sissy". To my schnauzers I say "Come to Momma".. :)

She has gotten chunkier in her old age lol :)

Spear Fishing

Everyone knows how much Chase has been enjoying scuba diving. BUT now I can benefit from this new hobby of his!!.. He bought a spear gun recently. It looks something like the picture above (I don't get too close. I'm wary of it... something about spears...).. Earlier today Chase went diving with a friend from work and he called me to let me know he "caught" two walleye!!!!! Now this is where I get the reward- fresh fish that my man caught!! I went to wal-mart today and got stuff for baked potatoes and sweet corn on the cob in preparation for dinner tonight. So excited!

This is a picture of catfish caught in Bull Shoals Lake with a spear gun.

Love you babe!