Anyone know why my blog is having issues? I try to add another blog to the side bar and it won't work. Also, when I try to click on other blogs, they aren't coming up.... ideas?

I love you all! Merry Christmas!

Eat your hearts out!

So, yesterday, Aaron and I had his sisters come over and watch the little monsters and we spent the day Christmas shopping. And yup, got it ALL finished! Stocking stuffers and all. After the kids went to bed, we stayed up late watching the dark knight and wrapping. Got all the kid's gifts wrapped, now I only have 3 left to wrap for Aaron, and I'm DONE!

TA DA! that is my magic trick for the year.

I am quite impressed with myself. This will be the first year I won't be up late wrapping for the kids on Christmas Eve.

You know, after that last really whiny post, I thought a lot about my job. And, I've had some really amazing experiences while there. Thinking back to some posts of my sisters and my Aunt Lynda..... Lynda talked about life being a garbage truck and not getting dumped on. My work is like that a lot. And then some of my sisters talked about how being a mom is a combination of the really hard with the really wonderful. For the most part, mommy hood is just wonderful to me. I don't think I have enough time at home to really freak out around the kids. But, work is some of the highs and lows.
It has been hard for me lately. There has been one woman in my ward who has been rather nasty to me about it. You know, "I'm a stay at home mom because I make sacrifices. And women who work don't know how to sacrifice for their kids." If my situation allowed, I would be a stay at home mom. I've just had to come to grips that working is what God has planned
for me.
At my job, I encounter some of the worst of human society: The drug addicts standing in the hallway screaming at me "Get me my drugs you f$@&* b*$%h!" Sickos with every type of object stuck in every orifice. The worst are the perverts who like to brag about what they've done to land themselves in jail. The pitiful: the kids who go home, knowing they'll die in less than a week. All because they knew they couldn't stop taking heroin for one week, just to stay in the hospital for antibiotics. The young moms who come back time after time for attempted suicide. I look at it all and I think, God, where is your fireball? Because we are
READY!
Then, I see the most amazing of human qualities. We really are worth saving. Children in Halloween costumes screaming in the hallways, going to show Grandma or Grandpa their loot. Carolers visiting complete strangers. The young mother who lost her child, comforting those around her, giving them the plan of happiness. The ward that embraces the family that newly moves in. Staying at the wife's side 24 hours a day as her husband goes through chemo. The one that will stay with me always: The woman dying of cancer, heard the cries of a mentally retarded man in the room next to her, scared to be in the hospital. She had her children wheel her into his room every day to hug him, talk to him, calm him. She died during that stay. Her children still visit that young man and care for him, are the family that he doesn't have. I am still in awe at her strength, even while her body's strength gave out.
I have times like the last few weeks. Where the Lord puts it all into perspective. You see, the Lord has put me in charge of the care of His children, He has literally put their lives in my hands. And, whether or not I have prepared myself, whether or not I am worthy, He guides me on a daily basis. Every nurse knows about this. The ones who are not religious call it their gut instinct. It has nothing to do with instinct, but everything to do with that precious soul. I can't tell you what a blessing that inspiration is. I recently had someone ask me, how do you know? How do you prepare yourself to be so in touch to know what to say and how to act? I could only answer honestly, that it is not me, but God, and he will not let ANYONE fail. Any nurse would do the same, because it is what God wills.
I have had precious moments in the hospital as tender as those in the temple. I have witnessed the veil part as I have sat with dear friends as they have died. And, I am grateful that I was blessed to be present. Some experiences, are so precious to me, I feel I shouldn't even write them here.
So, my wonderful family.... This is why I work, this is why I choose to be a nurse. And, I want you to know, how wonderful you are. For, I know what you are worth. I know what the Lord will do for you and how dear you are to Him.
And, for those of my sisters who are struggling right now, if you are worth that much to Him, aren't you truly AMAZING? I love you!

Julie

Sorry guys. I knew about it, and had talked with Dad. I figured he'd call everyone. Of course he thought Mom would call, and Mom thought he would. If you want to call, wait a day or two to call her, she is exhausted. Maybe a text or email now. She needs to sleep for, like, the next 48 hours. Love you all!

Ahh the tranquility is over... for a moment

Just wondering... why do people think nurses are their personal slaves whose only purpose in life is to be their own drug dealer? Of course, I shouldn't care about any other patient. And if don't spend my every moment in thier room waiting at their beck and call I am a heartless B@#*& whose incompetent. Some nights I wonder why I do this job. Yeah, I'm having fun at work right now.



PS... and yeah, I did just get called that. Got in trouble for telling her it was innapropriate and I wouldn't put up with it.

So, I'm at work, it has slowed down a little and I am trying to stay awake. So, I thought I would say 'hi'. Life is pretty mellow. No drama except for the ins and outs of work and mommy hood.

Shaun is walking now, and is FREAKING CUTE. Avery has all the boys in love with her and can't decide which one to marry. (no surprise there) McKenna is thriving in school, mostly because she has a teacher she adores. Jack (the dog) is a spaz and has helped me lose 4 lbs trying to keep him exercised. Aaron just bought the new Gears of Wars now that fishing season will soon be drawing to a close. He is addicted to way too many things. ;)

Our fridge was on the edge of death, so we bought a new one before ALL of the food spoiled. That was exciting, but now I get to work all those extra shifts to be able to afford it. That and trying to get extra money for Christmas, I'm working about 50 hours a week. So fun! I am the new Webelos leader. I could use help with that. Anyone have some good sheets on tracking on the different patches and badges? Anyone know of a good website resource? I would appreciate it. Webelos is a bit overwhelming, guess they thought enrichment wasn't enough for me and my schedule was too slow. I'm supposed to go back to school in Jan (work is expecting it) but I really can't bring myself to do it just yet. I think I am going to just wait, and if work has a problem, well, they could fire me. Yeah, right, only in my dreams.

my addendum

So, Bobbi and Butch came back. Bobbi kept smoking as soon as she left the hospital and didn't take her meds, so she ended up back on a ventilator. But, Butch wasn't allowed to visit even once. And, we had things arranged so the only people caring for Bobbi, nurses, aides, respiratory, even physical therapy, were all males. Oh darn......

As far as the crazy old lady goes. Yeah, she did apologize. But only after I went ballistic and she realized we had a HUGE audience. I was a little psycho. She started to apologize and I kept screaming at her 'No you're not! If you were sorry you would get out of the car and not drive!" I also kept screaming at her that driving was worth killing a kid to her. Yeah, she drove off very quickly.
When I got home and called the police, they said I should have called them from the parking lot. Then they could have talked to witnesses and whatever else it is they do. If I had called at the time, she could have been issued a ticket and forced to traffic court. Where a judge could have decided to send her to a MD for an eval. But, since I didn't, all they could do is go talk to her.
Avery cried for HOURS after that, she was so shaken up by actually being bonked by the car. Whenever we walk in a parking lot now, she tells me to look out for the crazy old ladies. And right after it happened, Kenna just said 'crazy old bat' I'm just glad she didn't pick up on some of the other words I said. Aaahhhh, the Proffitt side of me.

Life is good. Tonight we are going to go show Nanny and Granddad our costumes. Avery is going to be the Bride of Frankenstein. With her curly hair, I can make it stand straight up. And Kenna is going to be a kitty. I'm awful, I haven't done anything for Shaun because he won't be going trick or treat. Aaron's Aunt Gill (pronounced Jill, hey it's British) will be taking the girls trick or treating because I have to work, and there is no chance of getting it off. That's OK, I got Thanksgiving and Christmas off work, so it's a pretty fair trade.

I love you all!

I'll start breathing again......eventually

Freakishly horrible, sick, scary, awful, my heart is still in my throat.
I went to the grocery store today with the girls. We were walking holding hands. And this old lady starts backing up without ever looking. She actually bumps Avery with the car and I push Avery behind me. Does she stop? NO!!!!!! She kept backing up, into us! I kept pushing the girls back.
Finally I hit her car. Now most people something banging your trunk would make you stop. Not her. I think she was too deaf. So I just pounded the crap out of her car till I put a dent in the trunk. At first she screams at me for hitting the car, "I'm gonna make you pay for that dent, What are you kitting my car for?" Well, the Dad in me came out and I called her a demented psycho old bat who is too old to drive and to get the hell off the road. I think I may have said a few more words I probably shouldn't have in front of the girls.
Well, I just got off the phone with the police. I told them I was a little too mean, but they need to go talk to her. She needs to realize there is a time when enjoying the extra freedom of driving is not worth killing a kid.
OK.... I'm off my high horse. I just needed to share my terror with the rest of you. My breathing should slow down by tomorrow.

I've been tagged

You've been tagged

The Rules Are-
1. Link to the person that tagged you, and post the rules on your blog. http://vidal12home.blogspot.com/

2. Share 7 random and/or wierd facts about yourself.

3. Tag 7 random people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs.

4. Let each person know they've ben tagged, by leaving a comment on their blog.


Ok! ME:

1. I don't like to go out much. I used to love to go out and hang out with friends. But my favorite thing to do now is stay at home and watch movies with Aaron or play 'Cosmic Cows' with the girls. I think part of it is because I am so busy anyway. My girlfriends have a hard time getting me to go out with them.

2. I am a master at probably the most disgusting part of being in a hospital: catheters. Some of my friends call me "The catheter Queen" and call me for a particularly difficult 'stick'

3. I have the bestest in laws in the world!! Esther, Aaron's sister, is my best friend. And I love hanging out with the fam. His cute grandparents call me. His mom and dad check in on me to make sure I'm doing ok. I am so sad when one of them decides to move away. (yeah, I'm pointing my finger at YOU, Ruthie and Jared!) When I tease Aaron saying they love me more than him, he says, "I already know that." hehehe No psycho in laws for me :)

4. I can sleep anytime, anywhere, for any length of time. Once, when Aaron took the girls to my mother in laws house, I think I slept for a grand total of 20 hours! Still had a hard time waking up.

5. I am book smart, medicine smart, but am really a huge ditz. Life is kept organized through lists and piles of paper. Drives Aaron crazy how flaky I can be.

6. I'm a pretty darn good cook. I can make gourmet meals and killer fish tacos. There is only one place in Utah that makes better fish tacos. And it's because of their jalapeno cilantro sauce. We love to barbeque, every year for the Fourth of July we have a huge barbeque for Aaron's family. But, I hate to clean up the mess of cooking!

7. My house is an ark. I love animals. Have lots. We have: a five foot long snake (ball python) named Jezebel. A lizard (leopard gecko) named Spotty. An 80 gallon aquarium with Ruby Nosed Tetras, Discus fish, Kuhli loaches, and fresh water shrimp. And....... drum roll please..... a PUPPY!!!



So, I couldn't make the cute little graphic for this thing work, sorry guys. Again, blogging is too technical for me.
The people I tag:
Ruthie I know Grant has already done this. ;)
Kricket
Esther
Mark AND Alicia
Rachel
Dad

As for the puppy news, you'll have to wait for more of that later!

P.S.

This FREAKING CUTE background is thanks to my sister, Lauri. She took pity on me and did the background for me. She even put on it a picture of my favoritest place in the world, Currant creek. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. Yeah, she love me. :)

Life.......

So, Dad yelled at me today for not updating my blog. So I am taking a few moments just to write. Sorry no pictures today.

Well, I am now officially a Cardiac Nurse. Got the results back and I got a 100%, I'm happy. I killed myself taking those courses. Now I just have to finish the Critical Care coursework and I'll feel a little more human........

I'm feeling a hundred times better. Still have a nagging cough that won't quite go away. That's ok, its the norm with pneumonia. And I find I HAVE to make myself slow down and rest. I do get tired quickly. But, my Dr keeps saying that is a good thing. Maybe I'll actually listen to him for once........

Shaun just had his first b-day on Thurs. We had a lot of fun. I just couldn't bring myself to having everyone over for cake. So, it was just our little family. And, I REALLY enjoyed it. Shaun got to take all the time in the world with his toys. And there was no stress. We got him a little push car, firetruck. Complete with flashing light. He went crazy for it. The funny thing is, he wouldn't leave it alone. He was so pissed when we took him away from it for cake. He took one lick of cake off my finger and then was done. He cracks me up...........

Avery just had her last game of soccer on Saturday. She got a medal. So funny. "Mom, is this medal real metal? Wow! It must be worth a lot." She is still so pleased with her medal. It looks like this new medication she is on will finally do the trick for her croup. Her cough has been so much better........

McKenna, is still just as funny as ever. She just lost a tooth. And has been telling everyone how the toof fairy poofed her toof. She had to run over to the neighbors in her pjs to tell them all about it.........

So, I am alive. We are doing so much better. Dare I say it? Things are going good.

Im feeling better now....

I am now off my pity party. My nervous breakdown is officially over. I figure I should give you all a background to my little breakdown I had last week. So..... I got pneumonia. I mean I have been SICK. Still not quite over it yet. I was so sick my lung capacity actually went down to 60%. So you can imagine, I couldn't breathe, was exhausted, coughed so much my chest hurt all the time. Well, the night before, my new manager gave me a hard time for calling in sick for the next 3 days. She actually made me drive in to work at 11:00 at night with a doctors note.

So Saturday comes, and Aaron goes fishing for the WHOLE day. I was OK with that, he'd been planning this trip for weeks, but it was hard on me. My children could smell that I was weak! I lay down to take a nap with Shaun, and when I wake up, the girls had a food fight. They had ground popcorn and graham crackers into the carpet in the family room and the hallway and the kitchen floor had a fine powder covering it. OK, breathe deep, I don't yell, I just hand them the broom and vacuum and go downstairs with the baby to work on my blog. Well, then you know what happens, I lose it. Of course it only got better. When I got upstairs, the girls pulled every blanket, pillow, sheet, and stuffed animal off their beds and made a fort in the middle of the graham cracker-popcorn sand dune.

I ended up just sitting down and crying. McKenna just looked at me and said: "Oh, Dad's gonna beat our butts!" And suddenly they were furiously cleaning. I called Aaron and he came home early to help me out.

Of course, there's still no sheets on their beds. I haven't gotten enough energy to do that yet. The pneumonia is clearing up. Sometimes I have a hard time breathing. I'm on a lot of steroids to try to bring down the inflammation that has built up in my lungs. I tried to go back to work last night. That didn't turn out too good. I'm gonna wait till next week to go back.

So my house isn't perfect, but I'm starting to feel better. I'm no longer insane. And I don't cough so hard I puke. So it IS getting better. Hey, at least I don't have to mop Ike out of my house like some people I know. And Julie, Ruthie, you guys are in my prayers. At least your safe!

I give up

That's it! I give up! Maybe it's the fact that I am worn out from having 3 sick kids, or maybe it's the fact that this pneumonia has finally kicked my butt. It could be that my house is a complete disaster. Or I am tired of working full time and trying to be a mommy. All those classes and meetings work is making me take added to home work, dance, class projects, soccer, you know "family stuff." But I am POOPED. I mean lay on the couch and watch disinterestedly as the kids try to kill each other.
Somehow I killed my cute blog. The sunflowers stopped showing up, instead there was a stupid "Upgrade NOW!" I tried to fix it and got this all white beauty.
I tried to post a few pictures, and it will not accept the HTML from slide.com.
SO.......... I GIVE UP! I am done trying to make this piece of crap look cute. Don't know when I'll get pictures on either. Sorry folks..... too tired and this is one more thing taking up energy. If pictures get on here, it will have to be Aaron to do it.
As far as us being sick, we're OK, I promise. I'm the only one who got pneumonia. We think we figured out why Avery's getting croup and how to prevent it. And I am going to sleep for for the next year.

All in the name of Mommy

This is a funny story I just found. I thought it would be a fun one to post for the day......

My little guy, Cade, is quite a talker. He loves to communicate and does it quite well. He talks to people constantly, whether we're in the library, the grocery store or at a drive-thru window. People often comment on how clearly he speaks for a just-turned-3-year-old. And you never have to ask him to turn up the volume. It's always fully cranked. There've been several embarrassing times that I've wished the meaning of his words would have been masked by a not-so-audible voice, but never have I wished this more than last week at Costco.
Halfway, through our shopping trip, nature called, so I took Cade with me into the restroom. If you'd been one of the ladies in the restroom that evening, this is what you would have heard coming from the second to the last stall:
'Mommy, are you gonna go potty?
Oh! Why are you putting toiwet paper on the potty, Mommy?
Oh! You gonna sit down on da toiwet paper now?
Mommy, what are you doing?
Mommy, are you gonna go stinkies on the potty?'
At this point I started mentally counting how many women had been in the bathroom when I walked in. Several stalls were full ... 4? 5? Maybe we could wait until they all left before I had to make my debut out of this stall and reveal my identity. Cade continued:
'Mommy, you ARE going stinkies aren't you?
Oh, dats a good girl, Mommy!
Are you gonna get some candy for going stinkies on the potty?
Let me see doze stinkies, Mommy!
Oh ... Mommy! I'm trying to see In dere.
Oh! I see dem. Dat is a very good girl, Mommy. You are gonna get some candy!'
I heard a few faint chuckles coming from the stalls on either side of me. Where is a screaming new born when you need her? Good grief. This was really getting embarrassing. I was definitely waiting a long time before exiting. Trying to divert him, I said, 'Why don't you look in Mommy's purse and see if you can find some candy. We'll both have some!'
'No, I'm trying to see doze more stinkies.
Oh! Mommy!'
He started to gag at this point.
'Uh - oh, Mommy. I fink I'm gonna frow up.
Mommy, doze stinkies are making me frow up!!
Dat is so gross!!'
As the gags became louder, so did the chuckles outside my stall. I quickly flushed the toilet in hopes of changing the subject. I began to reason with myself: OK. There are four other toilets. If I count four flushes, I can be reasonably assured that those who overheard this embarrassing monologue will be long gone.
'Mommy! Would you get off the potty, now? I want you to be done going stinkies! Get up! Get up!'
He grunted as he tried to pull me off. Now I could hear full-blown laughter. I bent down to count the feet outside my door.
'Oh, are you wooking under dere, Mommy?
You wooking under da door?
What were you wooking at?
Mommy? You wooking at the wady's feet?'
More laughter. I stood inside the locked door and tried to assess the situation.
'Mommy, it's time to wash our hands, now. We have to go out now, Mommy.'
He started pounding on the door. 'Mommy, don't you want to wash your hands? I want to go out!!'
I saw that my 'wait 'em out' plan was unraveling. I sheepishly opened the door, and found standing outside my stall, twenty to thirty ladies crowded around the stall, all smiling and starting to applaud. My first thought was complete embarrassment, then I thought, 'Where's the fine print on the 'motherhood contract' where I signed away every bit of my dignity and privacy?' But as my little boy gave me a big, cheeky grin while he rubbed bubbly soap between his chubby little hands, I thought, I'd sign it all away again, just to be known as Mommy to this little fellow.

LIFE! Does it ever mellow out?

OK, so a quick update. I know I haven't posted in a million years. We have been BUSY the last bit of summer. We went camping at Currant Creek, 2 days later we went to Bear Lake (Lauri and Toni eat your hearts out ;) THEN we went to Mom and Dad's for a week and a half. We got home in the early morning on Thursday, I had a meeting for work Thursday afternoon. Had to work Fri, Sat, and Sun. Avery had a soccer game Sat morning, afterwards we went school shopping. And school just started on Monday. And of course add to that our normal life of soccer Tuesdays and Saturdays and dance on Thursdays.
I will post pictures bit by bit of our vacations. I am willing to bet that by the time I post about California, it will probably be snowing and cold. But, hey, maybe that will be a good thing. And GINGER that stink, those pictures were from my camera, and she had to post some of my favorite ones! So, don't be surprised if you see them again! :o)

Guitar Hero

I am finally getting this blogging crap right.
So, we bought a Wii. And it was a GREAT idea. We spend quite a few nights having Guitar Hero and bowling championships. McKenna kills us all at bowling and Avery is quite the good guitar player. I thought I would give you all a glimpse at one of our competitions. It is so fun watching Avery's intensity as she's trying to "kill' Dad. (She doesn't have to worry about me, she wins every time.) McKenna loves to rock out and ham it up.
For your listening pleasure I have also included one of their favorite songs to play!

Live concert

NOW WHAT?

OK..... one of the things I liked about a blog was I liked the idea of changing my background to suit my mood. I do, and I lose a bunch of stuff from my blog. So, why did I lose my play list and side elements when I changed the background? And how do I keep it from happening again? HELP before I give this whole thing up!

Let's try this again

I thought technology was supposed to make my life easier!

I had taken these really funny pictures to go with that really funny story of Shaun being systematically turned into a girl. And, here I am, feeling so clever about myself. I know how to work this. Blogging is easy. I hurry and download the pictures from my new camera to the computer. They are so cute. Do I want to burn a copy of the pictures to a CD? my computer asks. No, I am IT savvy, I can do that later. Then I write the blog, oh everyone will love the story! I post my blog, then go to post the pictures. AND THEY ARE GONE! I can't find them when I browse under blogspot. I click back to my desktop, and somehow my pictures are lost in the circuitry of my computer. I swear, I was just looking at them. So, at one in the morning I am screaming curse words at the computer and am so glad my children are asleep and cannot hear. Finally I find the @#^^%#$#!#& pictures, who knows where. OK, I found them, so now I will copy them to a file that will be easy to find. Click, click copy. I am back on track. I close the photos and there is my desktop. Covered in over 400 labels for my pictures. Not only did the pictures go to the desktop, they multiplied from 60 to 400. And of course, I cannot find the 2 pictures I want to post. So, if at 2 in the morning you thought your ears were burning. That was me verbally abusing the spawn of Satan in metal form sitting on my desk. So, here I am days later, with a blog only partially completed unable to fix the mess. Every time I sit at my computer I now repeat my mantra......"I will not club the computer to death with the camera."

Oh....... and eventually you might get to see those pictures of Shaun

Oh, my poor boy

So..... the Sother day, I hear the girls just CRACKING up. I mean cackling with laughter. And I can also hear Shaun complaining. Not crying, not screaming, just complaining. Now, this is usually fairly common in my home. The girls will take him away to some corner of the house to play together. But, this time, I thought I would see what was going on. So, I find the kids all in the bathroom together. The girls had gotten earrings on him. And were trying to pin him down to put make up on as well. Lucky for him he almost weighs as much as McKenna. Avery made him happy again by giving him one of her toys to play with. He is going to be lucky to make it to manhood with any semblance of dignity intact....

I figured it out!

Woo hoo!
I am feeling like hot stuff at the moment. I just got a cute background. What else is more appropriate than an evergreen tree for living in the mountains? Of course, I was trying to find a fishing one. But, I couldn't. I'll have to try another website. Oh, and NO, it was NOT as easy as cute and paste. (Ahem.....Shelli and Lauri) All of my past posts went all dark and you could barely see them! It took me a while to figure out how to fix it, of course once I did, I realized it would be easy as pie. It really is a pain being technologically retarded in today's world.

LOOK what you guys made me do!!!!! I hope it is pretty obvious how much I love my family. I finally got the gumption and decided to tackle this beast. You know it only happened because of the (numerous) proddings I have received from you guys...... And look, I even managed to get in a slide show of my pictures! Of course, it only took me till one in the morning to figure it all out. Next stop, a cute background. But that will have to wait. One thing at a time. The weird thing is, I both love and hate doing this. Love it, because it is like electronic scrap booking. And I can keep in touch with my family all over the world. Hate it because it is so painfully slow to do. So my goal is to do a posting every two weeks. Pictures and all. So, really, only expect a new posting once a month.

The "scenery"

Pictures at arches

Arches

Let's see if I can do this, this is my fist time trying to add photos. It's a work in progress!. Maybe once I figure this out, I'll learn how to add cute snippets. But, one thing at a time!!! This is our trip to Arches and Dead Horse Point that we went on a few months ago. We camped overnight and the weather was windy and cold. We could barely keep the fire going. During the day the weather was perfect. And the desert flowers were just starting. The girls love hiking, they are better at it than Aaron and I. And Shaun loved his first camping trip. We went with Aaron's brother and sister in law, Mark and Alicia and their girl Maddy. And Madison was so funny on her little leash. Can you blame me for loving to live in Utah?

What am I getting myself into?

OK! OK! Look what you all have done to me. I am now creating my own blog. I just hope I can keep up. Personally I blame Lauri for her very funny and very cute blog. Of course the nice thing is, it is a million times easier to keep in touch and send info out this way than sending a hundred different emails. I'm not that hot at sending emails. Lets hope I'll be better at this.