Sophia Anne

Phia

Soph

Sophie

Snuggler

Snuggle-Buggle

Snuggle-Bear

Snuggle-Bird

Cuddler

Cuddle-Bug

Cutie

Cutie-Patootie

Princess

Beautiful

Baby o'Mine

Sweetie Pie

Sugar Booger

Kid

Buggle

Bug-a-Boo

Honeybee

This post was inspired by a friend's post from a while back . . . loved it, Beth!

The new job

June has been a busy month in the Libby house, as is evidenced by my lack of posts. With laundry in the wash, the kid in bed, a big batch of baby food put up in the freezer, and my latest sewing project almost done, it's time to pause the house stuff and write.

Back in January, when I started this blog, I mentioned my burnt-outedness in my very first post. And I am still tired of some parts of being a nurse, but when I weigh the pros and cons, it is worth it to me to go back to work on a very part time basis. If I work just one night a week, we can get rid of John's PT school loans years earlier than planned. I can nap when Sophia naps, and now she sleeps thru the night, so no need for John to get up with her when I am gone.

Also important in the decision to go back is that I really do love being a part of the disaster-relief team I belong to, and having gone thru all the effort to get on the team don't want to give it up, so need to keep my skills fresh.

Having thought all that thru, a couple months ago I started snooping around online to see who was hiring. Not so much. Especially not in what I think would be really fun, labor and delivery and postpartum. Eventually I did see that St. Mary's in Lewiston was hiring in the ICU.

Applied, went in for an interview, got the job. I am required to work four shifts in three months, including one weekend shift. No problem! So if I ever have a crazy month (or another kid!) I'm not locked into one shift a week.

I finished most of my hospital orientation stuff a couple weeks ago, and this past Monday and Thursday oriented to the unit. I have one more shift with another nurse on Tuesday night, then I'm DONE with orientation.

So now I have gotten two paychecks, and 100% went straight to school loans. And how gratifying to see the numbers going down!

At some point, I am hoping to orient to both postpartum and the ER. We discussed both in interviews, and I think it would be fun to mix it up. We shall see! At this point I am content to be back in the ICU. St. Mary's will certainly be different from working at MMC, but I think that is not necessarily a bad thing.

Another first!

Last Sunday John had to work, so Sophia and I visited Kristin and Ramsey's church and then had a quiet afternoon at home. Then John got home, and he had decided that we should dash out to Range Pond.

Off we went, John and Phia and me, to the beach for the first time with the Snuggler!

We pulled into the parking lot, and this is the sight that awaited us:

Sophia had stolen my book out of my bag somehow, and was "reading" on the way to the beach. Like mother, like daughter!

We settled in on our blanket, and all the while Little Miss was looking around at the new scenery. I wasn't sure she was too keen, but thought maybe she would like to go dip her feet into the water. After all, she loves her bath . . .

Mmm, that would be a no. No to the water, and no to sitting on the sand. Neither option is appreciated, thank you very much.

And with that, back to the blanket to recover by eating puffs. Because puffs make everything all better.

Phia may not have enjoyed her first time in the water, but she sure loved playing with Mommy and Daddy!

After a little more playtime, the Snuggler seemed to be interested in what was going on outside her little blanket area. Time for another try at a toe-dip in the water?

No, the verdict remains the same. She likes her blanket just fine, thank you very much. No need to go in the water.

Once mum and dad stopped trying to make the kid enjoy the water, all was well and the first trip to the beach was a resounding success.

Reason . . .

. . . to wear gloves when washing the dishes?

Because of the tupperware container of homemade hummus that was in the back of the fridge from the last time you made hummus . . . and you don't even remember when that was, so it must have been a LONG time ago.

Smoothie time!

Thanks to Jen Frost, I have started making "green smoothies." (More brown than green when you add in red fruit.) The first one I made was just a notch above plain old nasty, but today's was pretty good. The ingredients this time around were spinach, carrot, strawberries, banana, cranberries, and a tad bit of maple syrup. I learned my lesson last time about not using too much spinach, it packs a LOT of flavor.

Enjoy!