Fall - My Favourite time of year!

It has been a beautiful Fall. I feel so happy right now. I think part of it is because I love the Fall. The leaves are almost done falling off the trees and are sprinkling the ground with red, yellow and orange colors. The air is crisp. We have had a couple of snowfalls but they only lasted a few days and there is no snow on the ground now. The Fall holds a lot of important events for us. Let me update you all on the Watters' life this Fall.

Caeleb started grade one at the brand new Copperfield school at the beginning of September. It is a 10 minute walk away on a path going around a beautiful pond. Chris walks him there in the morning (school starts at 8:20) and I take the other kids and pick him up in the afternoon at 3:20. He is doing so well at school. He is starting to read simple books and he loves to write his own simple books that have to do with his favourite things - Harry Potter, The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings (he doesn't read or watch the Hobbit or Lord of the Rings but he plays some Lego computer games with Chris) and tonight he wrote the Jungle book with pictures and words too. He likes Math and Science as well. When I have taken the kids to the park by the pond, sometimes Caeleb is out with his school class for recess. Kind of fun to see them and have him close during the day.

Elva started preschool. She is going to Mahogany preschool which goes from 9:00 to 11:00 on Tuesday and Thursdays and is run by two Moms in our ward. There are only 9 kids (mostly from our ward) and it is a little more affordable than other preschools which helps when we are on a tight budget ($160 a month as opposed to Caeleb's $200/month preschool). Elva likes to do the crafts and she seems to like her classmates.

At 13 and 1/2 months, Mary is walking! She has been cruising on furniture for a few weeks now. She took her first step by herself a couple of days ago and today she took about 5 steps by herself several times throughout the day. Soon she will be running and there will be no stopping her. She crawls up and down the stairs like a pro and just started opening up cupboards and pulling things out and making big messes so life just got even more busy. She picked up something the other day and pretended it was a phone saying "I...I" (for Hi). She has about 6 teeth and we love her big toothy grin and her cute little giggles. She also likes to put things in her mouth - even more than the other two did if my memory serves me right. And she has had her share of tumbles. She tumbled head first off of Mom and Dad's kitchen couch a few months ago, she somersaulted head first down our stairs a few weeks ago, and yesterday she fell off of our bed. But she is a tough little girl!

Chris is busy busy with school. I feel for him. It has been a rough go and the classes are hard. I have mentally prepared myself that this school journey may take a bit longer than originally anticipated but I still hope that that might not be true and that we will keep on schedule. But we will get there no matter how long it takes.  I hope I can be a good support for him as he carries a heavy load.

I started work again on October 3rd and I have felt many prayers come my way. They have helped so much! This time around I was extra anxious to start work again but it is going  well so far and while this work, family, school  juggling act is stressful, it is definitely doable. I feel so very blessed for my job and I know I can do it!

Chris and I went 'temple hopping' again for Chris' birthday (September 14)/our Anniversary (October 24). We went to Billings Montana September 23 and 24 and did a session at the temple there on the Friday. Mom and Dad have been there before and that is where we got the idea. The temple is central to our Marriage. Chris started us on a temple hopping journey for our Honeymoon and now it has become a special thing for us to do. When life starts to not make sense, the temple helps to bring perspective back to our marriage and family. We are working for something eternal here and the temple helps us remember that when life's stumbling blocks come around.. We used our petro points to stay in a hotel in Billings. We also enjoyed the hot tub at the hotel, eating out, and the beautiful scenic drive 6 hours both ways. Thanks to Mom and Dad for watching Mary and Camellia and Doug for watching Elva and Caeleb. We got back Saturday evening in time for me to watch Women's conference in Mountain View and we went to church with Mom and Dad on Sunday in Champion. Chris and I hope to make it to the Regina temple in the next few years as well as several in Utah. (Temples we have been to so far  - we were counting them on our drive - Cardston, Calgary, Edmonton, Billings, Vancouver, Spokane, Tri-cities, Portland, Seattle, Salt Lake, Provo, Rexburg - just me - Idaho Falls, Nauvoo, Guayaquil, Oakland - just Chris - Toronto, Jordon River, Manila, Palmyra). We hope to add many more temple visits in our lifetime. Our actual 7th anniversary was on Oct 24. We had our traditional Lasagna and Moose Tracks ice cream supper (the meal we had on our first date). It was a simple but great evening.

September Birthdays were good. We had an  (attempted) Harry Potter Hogwarts/Lord of the Rings cake for Caeleb and Chris' birthday  on the 14th and Caeleb got some generic lego and some pieced together Harry Potter lego figurines done by Elva. He got his Halloween Harry Potter costume from the Nelsons, a cool little Elephant figurine from Grandma and Grandpa Watters that moves when light shines on it and some money from Nana and Papa. Mary had a chocolate cake for her 1st birthday on the 19th which she dug into with her face like it was no ones business. She got the Zoo set that has been passed along in our family and seemed quite satisfied about that. What am I doing going on about gifts. I probably missed mentioning some gifts but I will fill them in when I remember. Thanks to everyone who made these days special.  I can not believe I have a 6 year old Caeleb and 1 year old Mary.

Halloween was fun. I worked the 2 evenings before and when I came home at midnight, I worked on my procrastinated project which was cutting 2 scarfs up and piecing/sewing them together to make Caeleb and Elva each Gryffindor scarfs to go with their costumes. They were the most adorable Harry Potter and Hermione and Mary was the cutest little Hedwig owl. It was a fun night trick or treating around the neighborhood - great weather too!

Well, life is great. I am sitting at our table, listening to Chris read Harry Potter to the kids up in their bed (well, the noise has since stopped so I think they may all be asleep). I have been blessed. Until the next post them...

Summer of 2016

Well, the summer is almost done. And being that I am using this as a journal right now, I think I will sum up all the fun we have had in the last couple of months. I don't want to forget it. It really has been a good summer. Chris started his studies the beginning of June and has been working hard on those. I am so proud of him and how hard he works. I was right in thinking that it will not be easy for him and our family, but he is studying hard and we are working on balancing study time, family life, finances, etc and we will make this work! I love him so much and would be lost without him. I hope he knows that.

I spent the summer watching Max and Sebastian on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and sometimes other days, along with my 3 kids. We mostly were over at their place as my friend Lindsey and her cat lived at our place June until beginning of August and Sebastian is allergic to cats. It was fun watching my kids play with Sebastian and Max. They are all such good kids. We could not all fit in the van so we mostly played in their house and at the nearby park. It has been such a blessing in our lives to watch these two boys.

July 1st found us at the farm with our Smith family. Mom's birthday is that day and I hope she had a good one. We went to a cousin's wedding reception in Lethbridge that night (Gennie). The next weekend, for Camellia and my birthday, Doug and Chris gave us a night in Waterton. We went out to eat and stayed at a hotel. It was wonderful to spend time with my Twin sister. She and I are so close and I am so grateful for her. She has helped me through a lot of rough times.

Chris, Lindsey and I took the kids to the Stampede grounds for kids day. We had the 5 kids (Max and Sebastian along with our 3) so it took the 3 of us to control the kids on the crowded train and stampede grounds. We had fun at the kids morning grandstand show, dog show and motorbike show. Even though kids days is busy, I like to go as it is free and I like to do something Stampedish every year. I also like to go downtown for the rope square pancake breakfast, stampede show and square dancing but that didn't happen this year.

July 21-24 was the Selman family reunion at Payne lake lodge by Mountain View and it was so wonderful! I love my Selman family and I do not get to see some of my cousin's, Aunts and Uncles very often. We had a blast visiting, going hiking, berry picking, swimming and visiting some more. We had a talent show and played games. We were sad that Uncle Ken was not able to be there as he passed away in February of this year. His wife Sandy and their 3 children came and it was good to visit with them. Even though Uncle Ken was not physically there, I know he was there in spirit. It brings peace to know that families are forever and that there is life after this life. This weekend was such a special time and I wish we could have a Selman family reunion every year.

Wednesday August 3rd we slowly made our way out to Victoria for our annual Watters family visit. We stopped at Lindsey's cabin on the Shuswap lake for Wednesday night and it was so worth the 2 hours out of the way travel on gravel roads to get to the very remote location. It was beautiful! We swam, had a bonfire and made smores and Lindsey's dad took us on a boat ride to a floating store. I really hope we can go again.

We made it the rest of the way to Victoria on Thursday. The Ferry ride is always a highlight for the kids. They like the playroom and the game room. The ocean is beautiful. I love the sights, smells and sounds and wish I could go out there more then once a year. But, it is expensive to ride the ferry and we are students at the moment. We spent the time visiting with family. Thank you LouAnn and Gary for letting us stay at your place. Rachel, Wendy and I had a great walk and talk around Elk lake. There was a BBQ at Rachel and Eric's nice spacious home. Rachel should be an interior designer. We had a game night there as well. Chris studied a lot at a local library during the day but we did manage to get out on a date to the breakwater. We also took the kids to Mount Doug. LouAnn and I took the kids up to Nanimo to visit Aunt Mary. I have not seen her in while so it was fun to see her. And I had some good talks with LouAnn. We started our journey back on Saturday and camped at the Hidden Valley campground by Salmon Arm (we stayed there a few years ago with Camellia and Nathan). We got up early on Sunday and made it back by 3:00 to finish church in our ward. We also had time to stop at the Calgary temple to walk around the grounds with the kids. I hope they learn to love the temple as much as I do.

Jared and Landon came to visit us around August 17th to 19th. Landon played so well with the kids. He is a great older cousin and adapts well to playing with different age groups. Jared played the guitar for us and we had a fun time singing an afternoon away while he accompanied us on the guitar. He is very talented.

Wendy and her 3 boys came out to visit us August 24th to 30th. She is an amazing mom! I can not imagine having to raise 3 kids by myself but she not only does that, she does an incredible job at it! And her little boys are growing up to be great young men. It was fun getting to know each one better. I obviously did not know Chris when he was a kid but I think Quinton is a bit like he might have been in personality and looks. I got a 8 foot trampoline on kijiji for $25 and Quinton pretty much set up the whole thing with a little help from his mother. He is a smart guy. And Calvin is hilarious. And Oliver is a cute little snuggler. It was great to bond better with Wendy and I hope she knows how much I admire her.

Caeleb and Elva did swimming lessons with Sterling and Liam at the Champion pool for the week of August 22 to 26th. They did very well. Caeleb has come so far from being scared of the water and Elva is a natural little swimmer. The cousins played well together in the pool and at the farm. I believe we will do the same thing next year. Thanks to Mom and Camellia for helping with the kids that week while I watched Mary, Max and Sebastian in Calgary.

Well, the weather is turning colder (it seemed like a cool and rainy summer) and I would not be surprised if we are in for a long, cold winter (though I hope not too long or too cold). I hope we get to enjoy the Fall though before the snow comes. I love the Fall! It is my favourite time of year! The last few nights, Chris and I have been going for walks after the kids have gone to bed. The air is crisp and I love it! I also love laying down beside Chris on our new little trampoline and looking at the stars. I love that Chis loves astronomy and can talk all about the stars, planets and universe.

Caeleb starts school tomorrow. Grade one here he comes! He is going to brand new Copperfield school which is only a 10 minute beautiful walk away around the nearest pond. We will miss the Spanish immersion but this school made more sense as we only have one vehicle and our finances are tighter. (I will have to do better at using my Spanish to teach my kids Spanish). I think Caeleb is excited but I know it will take some adjusting to all day school. However, I know he will do well. And Elva starts preschool next Tuesday. We feel like she will benefit from a year of preschool so we made this a priority. She is a spirited little girl, very bright and I know she will do well if she directs some of that extra energy into learning. I am excited for her. Elva gave herself a "back to school" haircut last Saturday morning after she went through my makeup bag and found my hair scissors. I guess she felt like a mullet should be her new style. Silly little Jean bean. Chris took her  for her first professional hair cut after that but there was little they could do. But she is cute no matter what. Nathan thinks the front of her hair looks a little like Haley Mills on the old parent trap. We are continuing to watch Max this year and we enjoy having him around. Even though she will not admit it, Elva likes her friend Max and they mostly play well together. It is fun to watch their imaginations run wild.

Mary is doing well. As cute as ever. She started crawling the first week in August (a little past 10 months old). She has her 4th tooth coming in. She says Dada and Mama with meaning. She is just starting to get into drawers and cupboards and she loves to eat everything except baby cereal (and sometimes she would rather throw cheerios on the ground instead of eat them). She still loves the jolly jumper and was jumping this morning. She is starting to get up on her knees but has not stood up yet. And she loves her brother and sister and they love her. Caeleb and Elva are a great help with her. They hold her hands during diaper changes, they sing to her when she is sad (which is not often), they play with her. They are so great with her. I love my family!

Lets see what the fall brings as I prepare to go back to work. I am nervous and feel a little like the weight of the world is on my shoulders with working but Chris is a great help with the kids and I plan working hard to get back to speed on the unit. I did my CPR course on September 1st in Lethbridge and that helped me gain more confidence in going back to work. I have done this twice before (going back to work after maternity leave) and I can do it again! Life is good! Go team Watters!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Challenges in Nursing

Sometimes life doesn't make sense. But I have concluded that it is my job to try and make sense of it. I will not always succeed in this area and perhaps I need to accept that it may be years down the road, maybe even after this life ends, before I understand why everything happens the way it does. Until then I will continue to try and make sense of the experiences I go through in life.

For some time now, I have been wanting to write a little about a very challenging experience I have had in my career as a nurse. It took until this past year to open up with several close family and friends about this experience. It happened years ago, but it has affected me so much and I am still trying to make sense of what happened. I am also trying to see all the positive that has come from this experience. I believe that by writing it down, I will discover even more good that has come from this experience.

When I served my 18 month mission in Ecuador, I was assigned to be the mission nurse. I was fairly new at nursing (I had worked part time in a special care nursery/postpartum unit for 16 months beforehand), and I was put into a new and challenging situation where another nurse and I were in charge of the health of about 180 missionaries from all over North and South America. Some of these missionaries only spoke Spanish so I had to learn Spanish in order to answer their health questions over the phone. The calls were literally at all hours of the day and night and some days were overwhelming with calls and medical concerns. It was tough! We dealt with appendicitis, gallstones, parasites, kidney stones, food poisoning, fungal infections, mental illness, accidents and much much more. We sent or had the missionaries pick up medications if we felt they were necessary (you could get most medications without a prescription in that country at that time). We would make appointments for sick missionaries with Ecuadorian doctors and accompany them to these appointments. We would even consult doctors from the States if there was a particularly hard case. I survived and so did those 180 missionaries. I know that I received help from above! I can't really explain it, but I know that I was able to succeed in this challenging assignment because God helped me use the knowledge I gained in school, apply critical thinking skills and develop confidence, perseverance and a hard work ethic, to take care of those missionaries. I look back on my mission as a humbling but positive time in my life.

Then came the really humbling experience. I was a very confident nurse when I came back from my mission. It was no easy task taking care of all those missionaries but I was successful. I felt like I was used as an instrument in the Lord's hands to help those in need and I believe I saw miracles on my mission. With confidence, I applied for my dream job in nursing and was hired right away. I dove into the orientation process with optimism. I was going to be the best nurse ever! But that was not to be. To this day, I still do not fully understand what happened next. A couple of months into the job, I made a huge medical error, giving a patient 10 x the dose of morphine he was supposed to receive by programing the wrong rate into an IV pump when the patient was on a continuous morphine infusion. It was at the end of my evening shift. Another nurse co-signed with the calculation and preparation. I hung the bag. It was not caught on night shift. He ended up being okay (just very sleepy and most likely a low respiratory rate if my memory serves me right) but I was not. I was very shaken.  I was also re learning how to work as a nurse in an English speaking country after so long in a foreign country and perhaps I was struggling to cope with a loved one who had just been diagnosed with a terminal illness. I do not know what my problem was.  The nurse educator started following me around which made me so nervous that I would often answer questions wrong when she fired them at me. Every wrong answer or little mistake (example, I accidently charted a leg measurement wrong)  took me further into a downward spiral of shattered self confidence, more wrong answers and more little mistakes. But I did not give up. Every day I anxiously got ready for work, said a prayer and tried my hardest even though it seemed like all my co-workers were against me. And then one day, it was over. I was fired. Perhaps I should have known it was coming but I was so busy fighting to do better that it caught me by surprise. I went home that day feeling defeated, alone and scared. In my mind, my manager looked at me as though I was worthless. She did not want anything to do with me after that day even though I wanted and desperately needed support in knowing how to move forward. How was I going to provide for myself? Did I waste 4 years of my life working so hard for a nursing degree (ironically, I did very well in school)? Would I ever be able to practice nursing again? Why did God allow this to happen when I worked so hard on my Mission? I cried myself to sleep many a night during that time.

But I could not give up! There had to be a reason that I was a nurse. I had something to offer. I knew I did. So the day after being fired, not knowing where to go from there, I did some research and signed up for some nursing refresher courses. I studied so hard and with faith and courage walked into a new hospital, selected a random unit and talked to the manager about doing a preceptorship there that would allow for me to complete the clinical portion of a course I was taking. I gave it my all during that time and after my clinical was completed I was hired for a temporary position on that unit.

The story does not end there. Due to being fired from my previous job, I was subjected to a disciplinary action from the nurses registering office that I was under when working at that job. It took over two years for this to be completed and I felt like I was on pins and needles that entire time awaiting an unknown future. I had to go through an investigation process involving an interrogation meeting and I had to have a lawyer support me through a Hearing/court type experience. I was newly married at that time and was very sick as I was pregnant with our first child. My mother was such a support to me and came with me to lawyer meetings and Hearings. My husband was an amazing support to me as well and loved me no matter what happened. My new manager and charge nurse were also very supportive and even showed up at a Hearing to offer support. At those Hearings, I had to swear on a bible before being questioned and I had to listen to old co-workers testify against me. It was so horrible to hear people talk about me like I was a criminal. I felt like I was the scum of the earth. And being so sick in pregnancy, I had to hold my urges to vomit while sitting for hours listening to a room full of people talk about me while deciding my fate in nursing. I know it is not the same as some people who have gone through much worse court experiences involving car accidents or other incidents where they are to blame. At the same time, I empathize with these people as I know what it is like to feel like I am the worst person ever. I know what it is like to ache for the ability to go back in time and change the past.

There is a happy ending to this story. The case was dropped and I was free to continue nursing with no restrictions. Perhaps the case was dropped as the unit I had worked for had some flaws and could be held accountable for some of the bad experiences I had there. I remember my lawyer looking at some of the things that were said about me like they were the most ridiculous concerns. Perhaps, in a way, my quiet, sensitive nature had made me a scapegoat. I am not one to assign blame to others. In fact, a downfall of mine is taking too much blame upon myself - I tend to soak it all up.  Regardless of why the case was dropped, I count it as a huge blessing in my life that I can continue working, especially now that I am helping to provide for our family.

And so I have been left to pick up the pieces of my self confidence and put them back together. I am not yet where I hope to be but I am getting there. I know I am a good nurse and I need to remember the moments that prove that to me. Last year, during one of my last shifts before going on maternity leave, one of my patient's told me that she thought I was "a great nurse." I was gentle and kind, knowledgeable and efficient in getting all my tasks done. Most of all, that patient knew that I cared about her and truly wanted the best for her. I believe my patients know that. A sincere caring attitude makes me the successful nurse that I am today. And although I still struggle with anxiety each time I prepare to work a shift, I know that when I enter the hospital, I will focus, the anxiety with disappear and I will do my very best. Even though I am not perfect and I struggle at times, I am the nurse that I need to be and I am good enough!

As for making sense of this experience, I believe there has been much good that has come of it. I am extra careful at not making rash decisions whether it be at work or home. For example, I do a thorough job of doing medication checks and of researching new medications before I give them. I will always ask another nurse for help if I am feeling overwhelmed or if I am unsure about something. I am more sympathetic to my patients' individual experiences. I also am more sensitive to my co-workers, friends and family and all they have to deal with. If I see a co-worker struggling, I offer advice or lend a helping hand because I know how it feels to be overwhelmed. I try to be understanding and give everyone the benefit of the doubt. I have more charity for those around me. I do not know what my future holds but I do know that I can let my experiences shape me for the better and I know that this experience has and will continue to help shape me into the best person that I can be.

 

Reflections on Mothering and Nursing

 

How being a Mother has made me a better Nurse

I love to write! It makes thoughts real to me and I learn more from them when I put them down on paper. While being on Maternity leave this last year, I have given my all to being a mother and caregiver (not only have I cared for my 3 children but I have also been taking care of my friend’s 2 small boys). That being said, I have not focused a lot on my nursing profession except for reading my emails from work, reading some nursing documents on the CARNA website and talking to my manager and co-workers every once in a while. Now as I get ready to go back to work in October, I need to focus on registering for nursing practice once again. In my past two maternity leaves, I completed nursing modules from Grant McEwan University. I have done several modules throughout the years and they have helped my practice in various ways. However, I did not feel right about doing that this year. My husband is going to school and having two parents studying for test deadlines is a lot for my kids to handle. Instead, I focused on being a mom and recording my mothering experiences. And you know something; being a mother has helped me so much in being a competent and confident nurse. Let me explain by talking about different aspects of nursing.

Safety: So picture this. I have gone over to my friend’s house almost every weekday this summer to watch 5 kids (kind of like being in charge of 5 patients at the hospital). The first day I went over there I immediately did my “safety rounds.” Blind strings hanging in the house went up and out of reach. Some sort of baby gate was needed for the stairs. I took down a heavy TV from its table so it could not be a danger. I talked to the kids about safety issues with furniture. Small toys (I have a 10 month old) and magnets were put in a box out of reach. Are there sharp objects within reach of the kids. Other thoughts have gone through my head repeatedly as well. How does my baby do at swallowing? Is she coughing and sputtering as she eats? Do I puree her food or is she ready for minced food? Every day while I work with the kids, I do my frequent rounds. If the older kids are playing in the basement while I make a meal, I listen for them and check on them frequently. Kids may think their parents have eyes in the back of their heads and sometimes I feel like I do. Or at least I have developed a mother’s intuition just like experienced nurses have a nursing intuition. I am always on my guard when it comes to safety. Safe proofing an environment comes quite easy to me since I have had kids. When working on a medical unit, I often deal with patients who need me to watch out for their safety as they are incapable of doing so. I feel confident and competent in this area of nursing!

Knowledge: One of my children has had quite the history of respiratory problems. With one Neonatal ICU admission and two Pediatric ICU admissions (from high flow oxygen to being on a ventilator and oscillator), many ER visits, daily medications, numerous doctor’s appointments, countless nights of worry with many hours of medical research on my part, I would have to say my knowledge in respiratory illness has definitely increased since having kids. And since respiratory illness is a focus for the medical unit I work on, I feel quite at home going to work.

Critical thinking: It could be said that I had a hand in saving my daughters life. At 18 months old, my daughter contacted a serious viral with secondary bacterial infection. She looked quite sick so I took her to Emergency. They sent us home. Her oxygen levels and heartrate were fine but she was working hard to breath and her respiratory rate was climbing. I was monitoring her vital signs at home. I took her back to Emergency. I am so glad I took her back before her heartrate was affected. She was wearing down and most likely would have required substantial resuscitation if I had not had mothers’/nurses’ intuition combined with critical thinking. As it was, she needed full respiratory support for over week. I don’t want to imagine what would have happened if I had waited.

Physical strength: You know you are physically strong when you can push a stroller filled with 4 kids around the zoo, up and down hills might I add, for hours at a time. And try hiking in the mountains with a chubby baby on your back, or carrying two crying toddlers at the same time. I now have strong muscles and stamina, thanks to being a mother! And no worries, I rarely have injuries as nursing has taught me how to lift in the correct way. Lifting patients does not scare me as it used too as I am now more confident in my ability to do so.

Emotional strength and stress management: Nursing is definitely a profession that can be emotionally taxing. It is a very stressful job. I have seen many patients go through difficult things. Sickness can bring out the worst in people with no fault of their own. Sometimes patients on my unit will be aggressive or verbally abusive. Even co-workers can wear one down by their words and lack of empathy. I am a sensitive soul when it comes to emotion and stress. However, I believe that being a mother has helped strengthen me in this area. I simply can not let it get to me when my 3-year-old is tired, grumpy, saying mean things or howling at the top of her lungs for what seems like hours. I need to control my emotions. Getting upset at her will not solve the problem. She often does not know what she does. I simply find a solution (often bedtime for a tired little girl) and move on. I don’t let it effect me personally. This is something I am still working on but I am definitely improving in this area. I am learning to handle stress and control my emotions by raising my children. I am learning to let past experiences go and to move on. And I have seen this help me in my nursing career.

Strong stomach: I have a strong stomach! There is no doubt about that. And it has become stronger since having kids. I have changed thousands of diapers. I have developed the endurance to go from sick kid to sick kid for a good portion of the night, changing soiled bedding and clothes, giving baths and snuggles and then waking up a few short hours later to tackle the next day with a positive attitude. I don’t bat an eye when having to change a poopy diaper just a few minutes after changing the last one or needing to plop a little one in the bath as she is covered head to toe with her own feces. I just plug ahead and get the job done!

Time Management - planning, prioritizing: Let me take you through part of a day in my present life. I get up with the kids at around 6:30. We need to get the kids out the door and to my friends house by 7:30 to babysit. Often I get the kids clothes and baby bag ready the night before so that getting the kids ready is easier. Planning ahead certainly makes a difference when it comes getting things done on time. Who do I dress first? I need to change the baby’s diaper first thing or else I can almost be sure that she will soak through and then more time will be spent for cleanup. Prioritizing is the key! Did I put the extra car seats in the car the night before so we can all go to the zoo in the morning? You bet I did! Can we go to the store this afternoon? No, as the kids will nap in the car and then they will go to bed late which will not be good as we have another early start tomorrow. More thinking ahead. Are you getting the just of it? I am strengthening my ability to manage time which is certainly used in a successful nursing career.

Chocking: Yes, my son has chocked on something before. And yes, I did do Abdominal thrusts to get it out. Now I am more confident in my Basic Life Saving skills!

Unconditional love and caring: This has always been my best strength in nursing. This is why I chose to be a nurse in the first place. And my ability to love and care has only increased since I have had my little ones. My children do try my patience at times. Sometimes they are rough to each other and to me or say things that could hurt. But I will never stop loving them and caring for them! Thus it is with my patients. I need to have patience with my patients. And I need to forgive them and be a dedicated friend and caregiver when their illness may bring out a side in them that I do not wish to see. I will always go on loving and caring for those that I serve. It is just who I am!

When I go back to work, I will need to work very hard to strengthen the nursing skills that I have not used in a year. It will be a challenge but I know I can do it! While I will need to work hard on getting back to speed with my career, it is reassuring to know that being a mother has helped me develop more confidence and competence and has overall made me a better nurse! I feel so blessed to be a mother and a nurse.

 

 

Let It Go

We had a great time at the Selman family reunion this weekend. For Show-and-Tell Sarah prepared a video montage:

https://youtu.be/E_AKbvW75Cg

 

You can download a copy from this link.

New Adventures in Life

Well, I see that Chris just posted about his back to school adventure. Thank you Sweetheart. I don't believe I deserve all the credit that you wrote about but thank you anyways. I do believe that you can do whatever you set out to do in life!

I think Chris will be an excellent high school math/physics/computers teacher. I know that we will have ups and downs as he does full time school for the next few years. But this path feels right and as we go through the ups and downs, I pray that we will remember the answers that we have received while pondering this decision. We will have to be frugal in life (starving student phase once again) but that is something I am good at. I will go back to work in October and will keep my scheduled two shifts a week plus I hope to pick up one more shift a week on top of it. It is a bit nerve racking but I know I can do it and that it is what my Heavenly Father wants me to do and that I will be all the better for it.

For the first year Chris will do school online and it is a relief to know that he can watch the kids. I find it stressful having to find a babysitter. The next two years will most likely be at the University of Calgary. I am excited about the adventure after graduation when Chris is searching for a job. Who knows, maybe we will go to the Yukon or somewhere else remote. I will be up for anywhere. I think eventually we would like to settle in Southern Alberta. I do love to be close to family but I will make the best of wherever we go. Like I said before, I believe in Chris. He can do it!

Chris has two more days of work and then he goes full steam ahead with his online classes. His current job has seen him working many 12-14 hour days, many late nights till 2:00 am (sleep a few hours and then up again for a full day starting at 8:00 am), and working many weekends. The work with his present job never ends (hardly any breaks) and it is exhausting for him and I am glad he gets to say goodbye to it and start fresh.

Anyways, lets talk about the kids. They are doing well. Caeleb is having fun in Kindergarten. Last week he went on a field trip to the Children's Festival in downtown Calgary (I remember going to it when I was in grade 1 I believe). The other kids and I met him down there and we had fun seeing the exhibits and hearing the music. Caeleb is doing fairly well with learning Spanish at his Spanish bilingual school. But I think he will be like Chris in that Math and Science will be favourites of his. I guess time will tell. Caeleb loves "Jurassic park/world toys and games, anything Dinosaur and anything Star Wars".

Elva is still the busiest kid of the lot. At 3 and 1/2, she is full of life! She loves her Ballet class and her recital is coming up in June. We will have to stop after that due to tightening of the finances but someday she may go back to dance or we are sure to find other activities to keep her busy. She loves to go to the park, go to 7-11 for treats, play peppa pig, babies and doggies with "momma", and devour kinder surprise eggs . She loves to talk and sing and live life to the fullest. She does not like getting her hair washed or combed!

Mary is 8 months old now and about 21.5 lbs. She got her 1st tooth (bottom left front) two weeks ago and is a lot happier since it poked through (Not saying she was really unhappy, just a little "off" when cutting that tooth). She honestly is the most content child I have ever met. You just plop her on the floor with 1 toy and she will be set for an hour of quiet play. She is not moving hardly at all. She just sits there (Has been sitting very well since about 6 months) and smiles at things going past. We were talking and laughing about it today. She does not need to move because with Caeleb and Elva in the home. The entertainment comes to her (swirling and whizzing around her)!

I am watching my friend Michelle's little boy 3 days a week while she works. She buys our family gifts in return for babysitting Max till the end of the summer. She got us zoo passes and so we try to go once a week. I love to take the kids to the zoo. There is a baby gorilla there now and that is fun to see. And Caeleb loves the dinosaur exhibit. Michelle also got us a bunk bed for Caeleb and Elva and a couch for the play room. Elva and Max play pretty well together (Elva is only a couple of weeks older than Max and they have grown up together). Although they do have there fighting moments each day, Elva is pretty spoiled to have a play mate.

We are down to one vehicle again. We sold Chris' Honda civic as it was costing too much to maintain and the little extra money will come in handy to pay for school. While it has been convenient to have two vehicles, I am excited to work together as a family in living a one vehicle life style. It simplifies our life and will bring us closer together.

We are building a garage. The builders are taking there sweet little time and have been at it for 6 weeks now but hopefully it will almost be finished by the end of next week. We are excited for our little house to feel complete with a garage in the back yard.

My friend Lindsey moved in to our home for a while. It is a full house (which is one of my favourite TV shows - I watch it all the time when I am working around the house and it makes me feel happy) and I love my full house! Lindsey is a wonderful friend and aunt to the kids. They adore her just like they adore their uncle Nathan. We feel blessed to have an Aunt Lindsey and Uncle Nathan in our lives.

Well that sums up our lives right now. Hope that all my blog followers are doing well too.

 

 

 

 

Back to school

So we will be starting a new adventure soon.

I have work with computers for most of my life. I started working on computers when I was in Grade 5. I was even employed by my elementary school while attending my elementary school to tutor teachers in using their computers.

But it is time for a change.

Starting June first I am heading back to school, and I hope to remain in school for the rest of my career. I plan to become a high school math/science teacher. Effective June first I will be working on a Mathematics degree from Athabasca University. September 2017 I will start an Education degree at the University of Calgary.

All of this is possible because of Katherine. She has an amazing gift for seeing the potential in others and encouraging to reach for that potential. She gave me the confidence to me ahead and believe that I can achieve any goal that we set.

She does so much to support me. She is an amazing mother. She is the master mind that keeps everything running smoothly around our home. And of top of it all, she works hard as a nurse. She makes of the difference whenever I fall short and is better than I could ever deserve.

Mary Mary (poem by me)

Mary Mary quite contrary,

how do your teeth grow.

With drool and tears

And ouches and more tears,

Til they have popped up all in a row.

 

(Yep, we are dealing with a slightly grumpy Mary these days and chances are she is teething. But really, she is such a good baby, I can not complain).

The beginnings of a new year.

Well, I better write about how this 2016 year has been treating us. It has had a bit of a sad start. My Mom's brother, my amazing uncle Ken passed away on February 11. He was diagnosed with Melanoma about a year and a half ago and in December he started going down hill. This is the first of my Aunts and Uncles that we have lost. It has been a trying time and I hurt for my Mom and for Uncle Ken's wife Sandy and their children but I know that we will see them again. Families are forever! Uncle Ken is known for his caring heart, his service to others through his talent of building things. He was Camellia and my Harry Potter buddy. He gave us some of the books and he took us out to see some of the movies. He would take us out for supper before hand and we would have fun talking. He was so generous to us. We love our uncle Ken and it will be a great reunion in the next life when we meet again.

The Kids are doing well. Elva started Angelina Ballerina dance lessons in January on Wednesday afternoon. She Loves it! And she looks adorable in her pink leotard and tutu and mouse ears (goes with the tv show about a dancing mouse). She also looks beautiful in the little red coat that she got from Kamille with her golden curls hanging down her back.

Caeleb is liking Kindergarten. He loves to ask questions these days. Today it was "where is heaven." "What are spirits like." He loves to play games both board games and computer games.

Mary is such an adorable chubby thing. She is so good. At 5 and 1/2 months she is about 20 lbs and most of that is in her thighs and cheeks. She is so good. She will lay on the floor for up to an hour just talking to herself. She loves her jolly jumper and bumbo too as she likes to be upright. Still not rolling over but she gets on her side and she does her crunchies in trying to sit up. She has a laugh and smile to lighten up the room and she especially loves laughing and smiling at her brother.

I may add to this post but will get it posted now before I forget.

 

Christmas at the farm - 2015

It was a wonderful Christmas at the farm. Our Watters family went to the Calgary Nativity pageant on December 23rd. I tried to take the kids on the 22nd but Chris was at his work Christmas movie (Star Wars)/dinner party and when I got to Heritage park, I just couldn't get three kids into their snow gear and down the hill to the pageant by myself. It is hard to carry a baby and tired 3 year old and herd a 5 year old while keeping them all warm on a cold winters night.  I realized yet again how grateful I am for my husband. Caeleb was disappointed that we were not able to go that night so I promised we would come back the next evening and it was a good thing we did as Caeleb and Elva loved it. They were wide eyed and mesmerized the entire 15 minutes. Mary, on the other hand, joined in with the baby Jesus crying part and so I took her back to the van early. We got to the farm about 9:30 that night.

Christmas Eve day was fun. The Nelsons arrived and the kids made gingerbread houses and one haunted house (left over from Halloween).  They went outside and fed the chickens and made a snowman (well, a pile of snowman as the snow was not sticky at all). A beautiful winter day. It was a cold, snowy day which was perfect for Christmas. Nathan joined us at 5:30 and we had our Christmas Eve nativity program. We are so grateful Mary has joined us this year so that she could be our adorable baby Jesus. Caeleb was Joseph, Elva was Mary (confusing I know), Sterling was the wise man and Liam was the Shepard. Camellia and I did the music and Papa was the narrator. Oh, and Nana did a great job on the costumes. The kids were looking forward to it all day and they did a great job playing their parts. Tis the reason for the season. I hope the kids always remember what Christmas is about. And I pray they can grow close to the Savior and consider him a best friend throughout their lives. The kids went to bed about 7:30 pm and were up at 6:30 am. Santa was sure good to them this year. Maybe a little too good. I think they were overwhelmed with all the gifts (except Mary - she was a little clueless as to what was going on). Caeleb wrote Santa for Jurassic World toys and Elva asked for Paw Patrol. (They both even got letters back from Santa a few days before Christmas). Jurassic World toys and paw patrol toys were what they got. Mary got some yummy treats she can eat once she is 6 months old (she is such a good baby - that didn't even bother her at all. te he he). We were spoiled by our family members. Thanks to everyone. All the kids got some home sewed matching pajamas from Nana Smith and myself. Caeleb and Elva got some themed pajamas (elephant and paw patrol) from Grandma Watters. We ate a yummy ham dinner and cherry pie and visited and played with toys all day. I love the relaxing time of Christmas. It was nice not having to work this Christmas.

The next week was a fairly relaxed week. Chris had to work but it was definitely an easier work week. We had a few friends over for New Years Eve (Ryan, Tammy and Luke Michelson, Lindsey and Michelle) We played games with the kids and ate lots of appetizers. Lindsey and I were the only ones who made it till midnight - the movie Hook got us there after the others either went home or to bed around 1000. I took the kids to the farm on New Years day for a skating party at the Muellers (they live down the road from my parents). Caeleb and Elva tried skating for the first time. They did well but the skates were really to small for Caeleb (I need to invest in some more) and it was a chilly day. Camellia and I were in skating lessons for several years as little girls and we loved it so maybe my kids will like to skate too.

Caeleb is back to school now and is enjoying that and Elva has just started weekly Angelina Ballerina lessons. She loves to dance and I had to choose between tap and ballet (she does look a bit like Shirely Temple with her light curly hair and so she would look adorable tap dancing but I think ballet is more of a fit for this year). Elva loved her first class and got right into prancing around with the other little girls.

Mary is all grins and doubles chins. Her hair is lightening a bit but is still a darkish brown and pretty full. She loves her jolly jumper (got her started on that at about 3 months). She is happy and will lay on the floor for up to an hour just looking around. She is starting to jabber away at times but is mostly quiet and is a good baby all around. (Well, she is not that much of a consistent sleeper but neither were the other two so I am used to not much sleep).

I teach Relief Society and Chris is still the ward membership clerk. Teaching Relief Society is a challenge for me as I can get my words and thoughts jumbled up at times but I know it will teach me a lot and I have a lot of experiences and life lessons that I can share with the class. I do love my Relief Society. I feel at home there.

Life is good! I feel so richly blessed. I have several goals for 2016 but I think the one at the top of the list is to strengthen my relationship with my Savior and with my family members.