Week 125

July 20-26

Now that we are nearing our big departure from the lovely state of Florida we have suddenly become very busy! Pretty much everything is arranged as far as packers, movers, cleaners, inspection. As you know the new house is pretty much set up. My lovely brother Will graciously painted some of the bedrooms for me. I'm not usually super picky with paint colors, but the previous owners had big rainbow murals on the bedroom walls. I don't really think that will match Jack's future fire fighter themed room. Luckily I have a single brother with lots of time and who doesn't mind making some bonus cash while helping out his preggo sister. He said he would do it for free but I didn't mind paying him because painting is a pain in the ***.

The kids eating at their tiny table!

So anyways we are getting things ready and also trying to fit in last minute fun with our friends here. We are also trying to eat at all of our favorite restaurants one last time. There are so many unique places in our area that are not chains and we may never eat at again. :( I'm sure we will find new cuisine in Columbia.

Jack's favorite teachers!

Classroom!

Jack has continued to go to school. He goes about two to three times a week for 3 hours in the morning. He LOVES it! As soon as he hears he is going to school that day he wants to get dressed the minute he wakes up. I got to take some pictures of his cute little classroom. They are so organized and everything is labeled (and clean!). He will miss his friends and also his teachers Miss Lis and Miss Vivian! We are so lucky to have drop in child care for the wonderful price of $3/hr including meals. That is one perk I will miss in the military. Next year I guess I will sign Jack up for official preschool.

Pool time!!

We had a play date with Jack's buddy Madilynn. As most of you remember her mom (Andrea) is pregnant too, we are due around the same time. It's fun to hang out because we completely relate to each other having a small child and being very pregnant in the hot FL summer. We met up with them one afternoon at the base pool. Oh how I will miss that pool because it is so kid friendly I can just plop down in the water and let Jack run around freely to play. The day we went it was super busy, but Jack and Madilynn didn't seem to care. They played for quite awhile and were worn out by the time we left.

The adventures of Jack and Madilynn!

They actually did a pretty good job at taking turns.

Love this towel! So convenient!

This past weekend was my work baby shower thrown by the lovely Diane. At work everyone is pregnant it seems...but Jamie and I are due the same day!!! Diane invited all of the ER crew and graciously hosted a double baby shower for Jamie and I. As you can tell from the pictures Jamie is having a baby girl. I thought it was funny because we both kind of wore the same thing. Apparently the proper attire for an 8 month pregnant woman is a sundress in the appropriate color of the gender of the expectant child (white for me since I don't know) and sandals. Haha!

Yum! Compliments of Angelina!

It was so fun to see everyone outside of the hectic Emergency Room craziness! We had plenty of food, drinks, and CAKE! Angelina brought the most beautiful, delicious Publix (my FAVORITE) cake!!!!! Even some of the fire medics stopped by with their truck to hang out. For those of you who aren't familiar with what a fire medic is I will fill you in.

Our Fire Medics!

In FL at some fire stations the fire fighters are required to also become certified paramedics. Many 911 calls are more medically related, even the fire calls. So these guys/girls have certain days they are assigned to the fire truck and other days assigned to an ambulance. This is how we know so many fire fighters in the ER, they drop off patients to us. We really appreciate their hard work and we love them for what they do. Many states will probably soon adapt to this model of emergency services since they really do seem to overlap most of the time. Even Will (my brother the fire fighter) says he goes on tons of medical calls. If the fire truck is the first to respond, they have to secure the scene and stabilize any patients until an ambulance arrives. It saves lots of time when the fire fighters can do the things a paramedic would do. Ed has said he would love to go to paramedic school. I hope he does it because it is all very interesting stuff!!

Presents! :)

Okay I got off the subject....the BABY SHOWER was awesome. We played some fun games like measure a string and guess how big it needs to be to fit around the pregnant woman's belly. We got so many nice gifts from everyone. Stella the Great got me a Victoria's Secret Gift Card. I hope it does not have an expiration date because I am not even walking into that store until after the baby comes and I lose 50 pounds!!!! Hahaha!! Nice thought though. :) Everyone was like, "oh that gift is to be used to start on the next baby." I don't think so. We will have more kids, but not right away!

The Preggos!

The whole shower was a wonderful afternoon. Diane has the nicest house. Her little puppy dogs (Charlie and Carley) were also nice hosts. I have a million thank you notes to write, but it was all worth it! I'm going to be sad to leave all my friends. That is one nice thing about finally moving home...I don't have to leave everyone I have formed bonds with. I am very lucky that in my job there are many people my age with young kids. We hang out all the time outside of work to go on play dates, birthday parties, etc. I have been very fortunate!!!!

The lovely Diane. Awesome nurse and retired fire fighter!!!!

I remember when I first started in the ER I was soooo scared!!! It has been an amazing experience and I have learned so much about nursing. There are some VERY SMART, VERY DEDICATED nurses at the Wu ER. It is sad that they are getting treated so poorly with crappy insurance and low pay. It is a shame. I love you guys and I hope we keep in touch!!!!