are just made for a nonfat latte + 3 pumps of raspberry.

I’ve been awake (minus an hour nap) since 5:30am Sunday morning.

Some days are made for two non-fat lattes + 3 pumps of raspberry. Today would be that day.

Oh, what a totally fab day.

Not to harp on how crappy my 9 nights of work were for me but I just was in a pit by the end of it. It had rained all 9 days which meant what little sunlight I get to see while I’m awake was comletely non-existent. I slept good and hard those days (especially since I was battling hives half of those 9 days and taking 50mg of Benadryl every morning) but it was the kind of rest that makes you still feel exhausted when you wake up. I was just in a funk. Bad mood, depressed about life, feeling taken advantage of at work, feeling useless at home-kind of funk.

So when the sun streamed rays of glorious sunshine into my room yesterday morning I knew God had released the sun to come out and play just for me and it was going to be a spectacular day.

[Granted, E telling me to "go to work" at 6:30am so he could sleep on my side of the bed made me the slightest bit sad - it also made me smile with delight that I was there in the early moments of the morning to see him wake up.]

I got some coffee and headed to the SBR to edit pictures and blog while E watched cartoons and ate Trix out of a bag in the game room.

By 7:30am X was up and they were both sitting with me looking at the pictures I took at the Rodeo reliving and recounting the fun they had the night before. I love that about pictures.

The kids and I went to Lifetime for E’s swimming lesson at 9:30 where he did really great. In the car X asked me to play a new Switchfoot song that she heard the day before. I was excited she liked it because it’s a song that is evoking major praise and worship from my the depths of my heart every time I hear it. I haven’t had a song do that in a really long time; the fact that X clung to it – singing along word for word after only hearing it one time – just made it that much cooler. Even E (who normally throws a fit when I put my music on) said, “I like that song.” Seriously awesome.

When we got home from swim lessons I grabbed my iPod and headed out for a run. I hadn’t ran in 3 weeks and I was itching to have my feet hit that pavement. All I could think as I ran was how grateful I was for the beautiful blue sky, the glowing sun, well behaved kids that morning, time off work, my husband, my friends, my home….you name it. It was such a spiritually recharging time for me (one reason I love running so much). God was so wonderfully bringing me out of my funk in a way only He can do.

After showering I called X in from outside to straighten her hair. E followed and hung out in the bathroom with us.

Let me clarify – because this is huge.

E chose hanging out in the bathroom with me over being outside where Daddy was.

I’m telling you that God was working in pretty cool ways. I was seeing it, loving it, and soaking in every ounce of it.

The kids and I were going downtown to the Magik Theatre to see “The True Story of the Three Little Pigs”. They were both super excited (as was Ryan who was getting a Saturday afternoon all to himself – something he totally deserves).

One minute E is in the kitchen waiting for me to make him a turkey sandwich and the next minute he’s out crashing his scooter in the driveway and busting his face completely up. It made for a few scary moments as we saw blood pouring from his mouth and his ear piercing cries of pain. He insisted he still wanted to see The 3 Little Pigs and eat “cock-orn” so once we cleaned him up and made sure no major damage was done we headed out.

And he happily ate popcorn and skittles and watched the performance, which was awesome! I highly recommend this to anyone in SA that hasn’t been before. Really good acting, witty enough for adults and entertaining enough to keep kids attention.

After the show the kids got autographs from the actors and a picture with the “Big Bad Wolf” – who really wasn’t bad at all (if you know the true story of the 3 Little Pigs).

After the show we went and played on this giant wooden playground near the theatre. Very cool.

One of those hidden in middle of downtown kind of places that I love to discover. Well, really Kara told me about it so it wasn’t like I discovered it on my own. Thanks, Kara!

The kids and I had a fabulous afternoon together.

Even with a busted lip and no nap, I still got smiles.

The entire drive home I was asked when they can go see If You Give a Moose a Muffin.

We stopped at HEB for some steaks to grill out, diet mt dew (Ryan was in withdraw), and wine. Essentials. We came home to a clean house and a refreshed Daddy who commented that someone seriously loves him [me] for bringing home happy kids, steak, dt mt dew, and wine.

It was a wonderful day. A day I totally needed and am so thankful for.

I feel human again.

After 8 years of living in Texas, we finally made it to the Rodeo.

Those not from Texas – the Rodeo is a BIG deal around here. It goes on for about 3 weeks and it’s all anybody seems to talk about. There is the actual bull riding and stock show and there’s is also the carnival and concerts that come along with it. I guess it’s like a version of the State Fair…except every city has their own Rodeo.

We started small and just went to the carnival.

We headed there late afternoon with our friends Scott & Yvonne to take advantage of “Friday dollar days”. $1 to get in, $1 rides, and $1 popcorn, hot dogs, and cotton candy.

The kids made quick work of their ride tickets jumping on the first roller coaster they saw.

E chickened out of all the big rides.

And clung to Ryan’s leg for the first 30 minutes.

We found him some good old fashioned slides for him to go on and he was thrilled.

And the Merry Go Round is always a sure bet.

We were having an absolute fabulous time. And then the sun set.

Which made for an awesome photo but also made it very cold outside. And Ryan and I forgot our jackets. The kids had their Old Navy hoodies but even they were still freezing.

We didn’t want to miss out on what everyone says is the best part of the Rodeo – the food. And it’s true. It was probably some of the best “carnival” food I’ve seen (and tasted)!

We went to see some animal shows which the kids enjoyed (and the adults agreed that any amount of alcohol would have made the show more tolerable.)

By 9pm the kids had their fill of cotton candy, popcorn, funnel cakes, and rides – okay, maybe they hadn’t had their fill but we were freezing and ready to warm up.

Geez, my kids are getting big.

At one point X said, “this is the funnest night ever.” I love when we hit that soft point in her. Sometimes I feel like she’s so hard to please and is ungrateful for special treats like this (which basically means we have a normal parent/child relationship). Friday night, however, I got lots of “thank you’s” and a girl that practically collapsed from exhaustion in bed.

I like collapsing from exhaustion. I did the same thing.

It was very hard to motivate myself to actually fix my hair this week. I see approx. 12 people each night and I’m pretty sure none of them are judging me on how super my hair looks at 3 am. So it pretty much went from this stage of towel-dried to slicked back into a crazy ponytail every night.

Our laundry room has been a “de-mothing” zone this week. Ryan found hundreds thousands of moth larvae that had infested the room. Nasty.

As you walk out of the Leon Springs Dancehall (where our church meets) this is what you see.

Back at the Leon Springs Dancehall yet again this week. This time it was for X’s school’s fund raising event: Boot Scootin’. My opinion was that it was a complete waste of my evening. I should have just given them my money instead of my money and my time. Just being honest.

Going into my 9th overnight shift, this was a promising sign.

The San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo. Super fun. More to come about that….

I’m finally finished with my 9 night stretch.

I’m going to put as plainly as possible: it sucked.

I am made to only work 7 nights. Period. I was really starting to lose my sanity last night. Even when it finally was 8am and I was off, I was so mentally and physically exhausted I hurt to be excited.

So while the overtime pay was nice, I don’t think I can do that again.

Even though I did get suckered into working Sunday night. That was where I drew the line. 1 extra day. That’s it. No more.

Happy Friday.

Our weekend was very low key.

Nothing planned…hung out around the house…easy.

Kinda boring.

Ryan and I are completely exhausted of children’s games. Ryan even more than I because he’s stuck playing them with the kids while I sleep.

The kids (still) don’t play very well together or alone without us. I suppose this is normal and not that huge of a deal as we like to spend time with the kids but its very boring. (I don’t feel like I’m alone in my feelings of boredom while playing with the kids….somebody please agree that it puts them to sleep as well.)

We have to liven up some of their games to make it moderately interesting for us.

Here we set up the Elefun to blow over the banister to the kids waiting in the foyer.

And, to be honest, even this was pretty underwhelming as the Elefun butterflies fell to the ground in a matter of 24 seconds. I think I took these pictures over the course of 13 rounds of the game.

But the kids were having fun.

Which is what matters. Fifteen years from now I won’t remember being bored; I will remember these simple days of their childhood and probably wish anything to have them back.

And they will remember the time we spent as a family, having fun.

One year ago yesterday I started working overnights.

I cannot believe how fast the year went.

I have worked 26 of the past 52 weeks.

Last night was a slow night. I had lots of busy work to make the night go by fast but I spent a lot of it thinking about the past year. How much life has changed.

Now…

instead of getting yelled at for someone being on hold too long…..people thank me for being there to answer their questions at 3am.

instead of being too busy to even think of going to the bathroom….I actually go.

instead of knowing Lovenox dosages off the top of my head….I can now know how many bottles of alprazolam can effectively fit in the Parata cell.

instead of having the Medicaid formulary memorized…I now have memorized how many desiccant packs are in every stock bottle that gets loaded in the Parata.

instead of talking to patients…..I talk to myself (sometimes).

instead of making schedules in my free time….I spend time with my family.

instead of staying late every night….I go home on time.

instead of seeing my children 2 evenings a week….I see them every night.

It is definitely a different life working nights, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything right now. I love the consistency of my schedule, the availability it gives me, and the sanity it provides.

I don’t know if I would love the job as much if I hadn’t managed Medical for so long. It is my daily goal to make everyone’s lives easier during the day. Since I know what its like during the day at a crazy busy store, and because I’m a type A-perfectioinist-control freak- I love doing everything possible for them!

Anything that allows me to use different color highlighters and post-its makes me happy.

Any new improvement I can make towards my nightly efficiency thrills me. (I’ve changed the way I “fill the queue” about 20 times in the past year and I must say that I have pretty much mastered maximum efficiency as of right now).

And while every week has not been a bundle of joy, overall it has been an awesome experience.

I am so thankful.

Kara and Ian came over to have dinner and stayed with the kids so we could go see Avatar in IMAX 3-D. It was totally awesome!

E and I went grocery shopping together. On the way to school he put the extra underwear we had in the car on his head and told me he was  a pirate.

I did this to E’s hair the other day after his bath and when he looked in the mirror he said, “My hair’s a train wreck!”

At Leon Springs Elementary they have this cool program called the Birthday Book Club. You buy the book and they put a note on the inside cover stating whose “birthday book” it is.

X just brought her book home for the first time.

I love that its Judy Blume. I remember reading Judy Blume as a kid.

And now the inside cover is forever graced with X’s picture (and a good one at that!)

Super cool.

Also, she now has 100.4 AR points. Which meant she got her 5th dog tag today. Very exciting.

“Dog tags” (if I’ve not explained them before) are literally just that-a dog tag- that has engraved how many Accelerate Reader points they’ve achieved. All the second graders get to where their chains with tags attached every Friday. They jingle all down the hallways-they think it’s the coolest thing ever. Whoever thought of it is brilliant because it is an awesome motivator for the kids to read.

And now that she is above 100 she gets a special treat. Lunch out, movie, and since she did it way before Spring Break – she also gets a little shopping too.

I’m so proud of her!

In the battle of Kelly vs. Hives, the hives are winning.

After an afternoon nap to prepare for my first night back on shift I woke to find my ENTIRE body covered in hives. I high tailed it to the Texas MedClinic so I could get some steroids to help me through the night.

I panicked because I didn’t have any coffee (or dinner) as I was racing to get out the door at 8:30 (planning to go straight to work). Ryan rounded the kids in their pajamas for a trip to Starbucks for me. They all came into the clinic to bring it to me as I was waiting to be seen.

It was like Christmas morning for them. Getting to leave the house in their pajamas and go to Starbucks way past bedtime.

You can see the hives on my wrist as I hold my Venti non-fat latte with 2 raw sugars.

I pulled some strings letting them know that I was the overnight pharmacist in Boerne (where they send all their scripts) and that if wasn’t there by 10pm they would close the pharmacy down and none of their other patient’s would be able to get their scripts.

I was in and out in 45 minutes!

The doctor didn’t even look at my hives (well…it was all over so I guess it was kinda hard to miss even if you just glanced at me). He ordered a steroid shot (in the butt) and sent an Rx in for some more steroids.

By 2am the hives were gone. The best part of getting the steroid shot was that it totally kept me awake all night long.

By 10am (as I lie in bed completely wide awake from the corticosteroid stimulation) the hives came back.

I wanted to cry.

I took 50mg of Benadryl and 2 oral steroids and finally fell asleep around 11am.

I woke up and they were all over my legs and stomach.

I wanted to cry.

I took 2 more of my oral steroids and a (not as sedating) antihistamine.

As of right now, the hives are gone. I’m heading back into work and am praying hard that they don’t return during the night. If so, I probably will break down and cry.

Just in case you wanted to see some more.