The $3.00 (+One Afternoon) Sock Monkey

I try to make something for Ethan for his birthday and Christmas. If I don't do it then, when will I? I won't. As evidence of this fact, I present the Sock Monkey. I bought this pair of socks about a year ago at Marshall's, full of good intentions. They languished in a drawer, until today, when I pulled them out to make a Christmas present for Ethan. At first, I was afraid he'd be horribly ugly, but after getting one ear on, he turned into a pretty cute little guy, very appropriate for our little monkey. If it were up to me, I'd name him "Awesome" after a character on Chuck (just because I think the name's funny), but given Ethan's current naming trends (or lack thereof), I think the sock monkey will probably be called "Monkey."

The pattern came from ClubhouseB.com.

Clowning Around

 

Laundry

So, I am now at the point in my life where doing laundry is a major accomplishment. As in, "I did three loads of laundry today. So there, all you full-time working moms who shuttle three kids around to ball games after work and do laundry in the middle of the night when your family is asleep."

I have only two things to say about this:
1) How do you do it? and
2) Do you have any tips/pointers for washing car seat covers and high chair straps? because mine are looking grungy and the thought of washing them is a little overwhelming.

Things I Never Really Realized I Would Enjoy

I never imagined I would have a child who called himself "Eee Tee." We think of it as E.T., and I am convinced Matt tried to teach him "phone home," too.

I never thought I would have an echo to all my spoken thoughts. If I say, "Look, it's raining again. My goodness," Ethan walks around saying, "Rainin. Mye goo-noose. Rainin. Mye goo-moose," for ten minutes.

I actually never thought I would start talking out loud, non-stop, referring to myself in the third person, as in, "Hum. Mommy really does need to do something about her hair," while driving BY MYSELF to work.

I never really believed all those parents who insist you never get to go to the bathroom by yourself again. I thought I would just shut the door. Ha. Whatever.

I never really believed I would enjoy all of these things as much as I do.

Ethan and the Pumpkin

See the Album

Less Frustrated

So, about 1/3 of the frustrations below have been resolved, and I am waiting to hear about the rest (fellow students I'd called to see about changing schedules, MDs I'd called to see what their schedules are, etc.). I have to keep reminding myself of a song I know... "It Will Be Worth it All." I sure hope so. :) The NPs I have followed lately assure me they love what they do. This is one of the biggest encouragements I've had, along with the knowledge that other NP students are having the same problems.

FRUSTRATION

So, I just counted up. I have contacted 14 nurse practitioners and doctors trying to find preceptors for this semester. Fourteen, folks. And I started this process in early August. So, that makes about six weeks that I have been calling people to see if they will let me come in and see their patients with them. This is without counting all of the NPs I met at a recent East Texas Nurse Practitioners meeting, none of whom were in family or pediatric practice. Of the fourteen people I called, six agreed to work with me. Wonderful, except that the two in pediatrics work for a health system that doesn't (yet) have a contract with my school. So, that leaves four, one of whom only sees adults and already has a student, two of whom are MDs who don't see children, and one of whom is in cardiology.

Now I have a case study due in less than a week on a pediatric patient seen THIS SEMESTER, and guess what... I HAVE NOT SEEN ANY KIDS.

And my preceptor wants to come observe me on a certain Friday, but one preceptor is out of the office that day, the other one has a student that day, and the other two haven't e-mailed me back to let me know if they see patients on Fridays. Frankly, I wouldn't if I could avoid it. So, I have no idea how to ensure I will be doing clinicals that day, other than outright begging and pleading a complete stranger who happens to have MD or FNP after his/her name (and who is not one of the fourteen I have already called) to let me come in and see patients with them for several days prior to as well as on that particular day so that they can evaluate on a five-page form how well I interview, diagnose, treat and write up patients. (And, incidentally, if I find someone who will do this, I will have to rearrange the remainder of my clinical schedule and possibly childcare). Which brings me to my point: all of this has been so distracting from school that I doubt I will be examining, diagnosing, treating, and writing up very well by that point.

When I am an administrator at a nursing school that educates nurse practitioners, remind me to put a system in place that all students have an adequate clinical experience without having to beg people to work with them. That should only happen after graduation, if at all.

I was thinking earlier today that this whole experience will probably trigger some latent personality disorder or bipolar tendencies in me, so that by the time I finish, people will be saying things like, "She used to be such a nice, normal girl before she went to nurse practitioner school." AAARRRGH!!!!

Sewing Area Redux

So, I buckled down during a couple of Ethan's naps and straightened my sewing area, with pretty pleasing results. It'll stay this way until I start a new project. :)

Now, maybe I should work on the fabric/yarn/crafts/uniforms closet:

Sewing Area

Her sewing area:

My sewing area:


Needless to say, I am inspired to clean up and organize. I have no idea what the original blog post was about because I stopped reading as soon as I saw that neat, tidy sewing area with about as much space and storage as my own. I think I'll be looking for some fabric-covered boxes, or maybe make some for myself.

A Political PostOkay, okay, A Rant. Maybe even a Tirade.

Since this blog is mostly about me, and about parenting Ethan, and what we do and think about in our family, I'd love to post right now about how one of the most difficult aspects of parenting a baby is getting the crib sheets on the freaking mattress. (Because it is! and because we have ruined more than one crib sheet just trying to get it where it belongs.) But our family (and by that I mean Matt, and to a lesser extent, me) is pretty interested in politics, so I've got to add my two cents worth to the latest blog fall-out over Sarah Palin:

Apparently, Carol Fowler, the South Carolina Democratic Chairwoman, recently stated publicly that Sarah Palin's primary qualification for the VP ticket "seems to be that she hasn’t had an abortion.” Good work, Carol. You just offended mothers of special needs children, mothers of large families, fathers of both of the above, the governors of all 50 states, and particularly, the governors who have subsequently become President and Vice President. (I might add, that they haven't had abortions either, so maybe Ms. Fowler is on to something. Maybe I'll run for President in a few years, since by this standard, I am eminently qualified.)

This mean-spirited, immature, ludicrous comment, and others like it, are only more likely to increase public support for the McCain-Palin ticket, and my guess would be that many, if not most, parents of special needs children will consider voting Republican this year.

The only thing I can add, other than speculation on how soon this will start being referred to as "Fowler-gate," is that it is really the best anti-Dem strategy since the swift boat incident. Keep it up, Carol! Let's hear some more nastiness!

A further note: Ms. Fowler later apologized, and indicated that her remarks had been taken out of context. Of course. Probably a case of too little, too late, as the damage has been done.