Babies, babies, and more babies.

Thursday, January 28, 2010 was a very exciting day for Jeff and I, more so for our friends but . . . hey, who doesn't love babies???

Our friends John (Jeff's best man in our wedding) and Megan had their twin girls, Emma and Maci. Also, that same day my friend Lisa and her husband Jeff had their son, Bennett. So, with that being the birthday day of a few new babies, Friday was baby meeting day.

Bennett Joshua 8lbs. 13oz. 21" long. A very BIG and very healthy baby boy!!!

Emma and Maci were taken by c-section. Emma was 6lbs. 2 oz. 18" long. She was baby A. This was one of her first photos. She required C-PAP for the first 24 hrs. (Actually, they both did) I just love this photo.

This is day 2. She had just been changed to 4L nasal cannula .

This is day 3. She is off ALL oxygen and doing very well. As you can see, she has better color. She looks like her daddy in this one!

Maci, AKA baby B, was 5lbs. 4oz, 19" long. The smaller of the two but less critical of the two. This photo is from day 2. You can see she is only on nasal cannula, 4L as well.

And this is Maci on day 3. She was also taken off of all oxygen and her color is much better as well.

To add to all of our baby meeting excitement, another friend of mine found out the sex of her baby. . . IT'S A BOY!!!! Congrats!!!

To all the new mommy and daddy's we wish you all the best. Congrats on your sweet, little, blessings from God. Our prayers are with you all for health and happiness.
And to sweet little Emma and Maci . . . we wish you to both come home soon.

One step closer!

This time last year I decided to go back to school. I have now completed 5 of my 6 classes in my independent study program. I just completed yet another class and am scheduled to test on Feb 2nd. At first, I was slightly hesitant about doing and independent study program but it's actually gone very well. It does take a lot of dedication to take self study classes but I've managed to do so. It's been nice because I can continue to work full time without having to go to weekend option and besides being able to "go to class" at 2am or during down time at work, I was able to cut ties with classes between Thanksgiving and New Years. This gave me the freedom to enjoy the holiday with my family and friends and not have the hassle of school, tests, and studying on top of working, prepping for Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas shopping, wrapping gifts, decorating, baking, and ringing in the New Year.

After I complete my next class I will then have the transition class to complete followed by clinicals. I'm very excited and proud of my progress. I love working in critical care but the further along I get in my classes and the closer I get to graduating with my Associates degree the more excited I get about being able to have the opportunity to look into positions in Pediatrics ICU or Neonatal ICU. Something I have wanted to do for a VERY long time. Who knows. . .maybe I will follow in the foot steps of my colleagues and go on for my BSN or even NP. Hum??? Well, maybe I will look into having babies first. LOL!! ; )

Niles Ice Festival

Hunter Ice Festival - Niles Michigan January 2010

Just one more reason I enjoy winter is the annual Hunter Ice Festival. We attend every year with Jeff's parents. This year however; due to scheduling conflicts we had to go without
them. =(

We did however; get to meet up with the Kuhlmans. After enjoying the cool walk around down town Niles looking at the ice sculptures we decided to pass on the home made ice cream (yes, I did said ice cream) that is served every year out of the ice cream stand ice sculpture in fridge temperatures. Crazy, I know. It's actually very cool though and a big hit!!! We then headed down to The Nugget for dinner before finishing up our ice sculpture sight seeing. Other events that are held at the ice festival are the hot chocolate stands, warming stations, the carve off between two carvers, and the wine tasting tent. I've included a few photos for you all to enjoy!

One of my favorites was this Clydesdale horse.

They even showed some Notre Dame Support. Go Irish!!

And last but not least. . . Dawn and I with the Martini glass. Appropriate since our new found favorite drink is a martini. (French martini's and Gauvatinit's to be exact.)

Tubing and Sledding

With a record snow fall of 27.2 inches of total snow fall since January 1 there are plenty of outdoor winter activities to participate in here in The Bend. Skiing - both cross country and down hill, tubing/sledding, snow boarding, ice festivals, ice skating, and much more. I have been having a great time and it's a great workout. = )

On Saturday, my friend Dawn and I took her youngest two kids,Kenz and Klay, to Elm Road to go tubing. We had so much fun. Klayton we brave enough to try the hand made snow ramp. We started with the small one and worked our way up to the bigger ones. He did great, even after taking a hard tumble. Kenzie wouldn't get up the guts to try the ramp but we had fun running triples on the tube. FYI - the more the weight in the front, the faster and further you go. LOL!!!

Florida bound. . .

I am very excited!! Today we booked our flight and rental car for our trip to Florida. It's just for a long wkend but hey, anything to get away from all this cold and snow. We are leaving on Thursday, March 4th and will come home on Tuesday March 9th. Fun, sun, foo-foo drinks, and volleyball here we come!!!

Celebrating with friends.

Hope everyone had a happy and safe New Year's. Jeff and I brought in 2010 with the Kuhlman's, as we do every year. We invite our closest friends, everyone brings their kids, we have great food, play Wii, set off fireworks, and celebrate!!! We wish health, wealth, and happiness to all. Happy Twenty-ten!!!