Catching up.....did you miss me?

I know - I am making this absence from blogging thing far too common. But absence makes the heart grow fonder, right? Things are starting to calm down in our household, so I thought I would grace my blog with my presence once again. Wasn't that nice of me? Yes. Yes it was.


You will notice Arlington holding Flat Stanley in a few of these pictures. Her little buddy from Florida, "S" sent her a Flat Stanley as part of a school project, so we have had to take him around to all kinds of places. The pictures here in the beginning of the blog are on Arlington's official last day of Kindergarten. My little girl is now a first grader! I of course I needed to dress her as cute as possible for her last day of Kindergarten. Unfortunately, her last day of school was a gym day. Oh well. Cuteness is more important than fitness (said the nurse). Am I right, girls??


I left for Boston on Arlington's last day of school. I put her on the bus, and then an hour later I was in the car with three of my nursing co-workers on my way to Boston for 5 days of conference and girl getaway. We had a blast! I wish I would have taken my camera, but it is so bulky, that I didn't want to cart it around with me the whole time. We arrived in Boston on Wednesday late afternoon and checked into our hotel. It was along the water and really beautiful. We went and registered and checked into the conference, and then went out to a leisurly dinner at a cute restaurant near the water. We sat and relaxed for a few hours, enjoying each other's company, and laughing. Then we went back to our hotel and relaxed in the hot tub for awhile. We met a few other nurses there and got to network a bit.


Thursday was conferences in the morning and walking around and visiting the tables and picking up information in the afternoon. After that we needed to relax, so we found a restaurant with a rooftop and got a drink before going to dinner. The sun was out, we were tired, and it was perfect. We went to dinner at a small Italian restaurant in the Little Italy section of Boston. We took a water taxi to get there, and it was really refreshing and fun. The food was FANTASTIC at our chosen hole in the wall restaurant. After that we went to the famous Mike's Bakery and got yummy dessert to take with us back to our room. At this point it was late, so we took a taxi home and ate our dessert together in the hotel room. We stayed up late and gossiped and talked.

Friday was a long day of conferences. We did start the morning with a leisurly breakfast compliments of our nursing supervisor. Then we were in conferences all day. We split up for most of the talks we listened to, so that we could later share what we learned. I learned a lot, and I met a ton of people. Since this was the NATIONAL school nursing conference, I met nurses from everywhere. Even Alaska was well represented! It was interesting to hear how a lot of people work, how many children they are responsible for, and so on. For the most part, I found that I am very lucky to be one nurse in a 250 kiddo school. I met several nurses from California where one nurse was responsible for 5000 kids! 5000 to one nurse??? Are you KIDDING? For all of you who know your school nurse - do you know how many kids she is responsible for in her state? Advocate for better school health care for you kids.

By the way - this is Arlington waving goodbye on her last day of school! So cute!!

Friday after conferences was our Connecticut nurses dinner. It was so yummy. We were there late, so we went back to the hotel and just sat and relaxed in the hot tub around 10:30pm. There were 8 other nurses in there! Nurses are night owls apparently. They were all wound up, so we didn't stay long.

Saturday was another long day of conferences. We decided to skip out on the last conference of the day and do some sight seeing. We were going to take a city tour, but our conseirge screwed up and when we got there, we didn't have tickets for the tour. Don't worry - I complained. Nicely. And I got a free breakfast for all 4 of us in the hotel restaurant for Sunday morning since I said something. Thank you very much.

But Saturday was fun. After the conference wrapped up, we went to dinner, did a little souvenier shopping for our kids, and then just people watched. People are amazing. Especially in a big city. It takes all kinds to make the world go around, people. We hit the hot tub one more time Saturday night, and then went to bed very, very tired. Our minds were full!

Sunday we had our complimentary breakfast, went to one more talk, and then packed and came home. I was home by 1:30pm, and was able to spend the afternoon relaxing with the family. I really missed them while I was away from them. It was awesome to have the opportunity for some girl time, a chance to go to the National School Nurses Convention and network with other school nurses (and realize there really aren't enough people caring for our kids in our schools), and just a little vacation. But I was glad to get home. And if there was any doubt that School Nurses are WAY more than bandaid/boo boo nurses, this weekend proved it. I met the real leaders in health care and school health reform this weekend.


While I was gone, Mat and Aunt Betty took the kids to our local beach. They had a full afternoon on Saturday and Mat said the kids were asking to go to bed Saturday night! It was the first nice day we have had in a long time, and all three kids loved the beach. Well, they all love the sand. Cainan is not a fan of the water, but he will play in the sand.


Sunday Mat and Aunt Betty got the sandbox together, and when I got home I helped put all the sand in there. So now we have a nice new sandbox next to our playset. It looks great. The cover is my favorite part. I can now cover it every night, leave to toys in it, and it will be better protected from rain, snow, bugs, etc. That is the plan, anyway. Now if I could just cover my plants to keep the deer from eating them......

Monday was Arlington's first day of Bible School. She will go to that 4 mornings this week from 9-12. She loves it. She went last year, and this year, a lot of her Kindergarten buddies are there too, so that made it even better. The babies are still too young, so next year for them. After I dropped Arlington off, I ran to work for 1 hour to do a little paperwork and turn in my papers from my conference. Then this afternoon, while the little ones slept, Aunt Betty and Arlington and I worked on a Kindergarten Scrapbook. I wanted to put a lot of her papers from the year in a book, and she wanted to help. It is going to be nice when it is done.


After the little ones woke up, we ran some errands, and then had some dinner, and did a little shopping. The kids did pretty well out. Mat had a dinner for a new hire tonight, so he wasn't with us. When we got home, we tried to deer protect our plants - armed with some "deer repellent" the store swears works. So we will see. I am pretty sure I am fighting a losing battle.


Today Aunt Betty and I and the little ones went shopping for some plants for my birthday to plant. We had a good time. We went while Arlington was at Bible school. This afternoon we planted all of the them and did some yard work while the little ones slept. After their naps we met Mat and we took Finley and Cainan to their first movie. We went to see "Up". Arlington has been wanting to see it, so we thought we would try taking everyone. It was a really cute movie - I highly recommend it. But bring some tissues because it has some sad parts! But Finley and Cainan did GREAT! They sat very still and watched and ate their weight in popcorn. We had Aunt Betty along, so each of us were responsible for one child, so that helps. A lot.

After the movie we went out to dinner and then Arlington got her very first pet. She has been wanting a pet, so we opted for a fish. She got a red Beta fish. I will take a picture of it once it is settled in its home. It is a male beta, but Arlington said "no it isn't. It is a girl and its name is Butterfly". Whatever. So now we have a new family member. Hopefully it lives the summer. Small goals, people, small goals.


So that is all. Aunt Betty goes home tomorrow and Mat's parents arrive on Friday. Mat's parents are bringing along my neice and nephew with them for their visit. My kids are going to be so excited to see their cousins! We are looking forward to having a house full of kids for a few days. It will be fun.

I will see you Saturday!