My 30 year old bucket list

First of all, no I'm not dying, but since my birthday in December, I've been thinking of all those things that I thought I would have done by the time I'm 30. I've been outside the country to 6 different countries (not bad-all done since I was 18), finished 3 degrees, married a wonderful man, have (had) a successful job, bought a house, got a hyper dog and have a beautiful little boy...living the American dream! Can't complain (which I'm not by the way)! I've been thinking about those things I dreamed of as a child, which many I've accomplished (YAY!) and I've decided that my dreams might have changed a bit, or at least been refocused. So, in this last year before I turn 30, these are some things I want to do:

1. Get pregnant (and no, that's not an announcement, it just takes us awhile to get pregnant)
2. Lose as much weight as possible before #1 happens (already lost 15 pounds woot woot)
3. Actually go on a family vacation instead of an extended weekend for the first time in 4 years!!!
4. Make Brian go horse back riding (can't believe he's never done this--or so he says!)
5. Actually go hang out with family for at least 1 holiday this year!
6. Find an exercise that I love so that I can stick with it (Zumba so far is my fav!)
7. Make time to have a romantic overnight with hubby!
8. Go to Macy's parade at Thanksgiving!
9. Get tan again! (I know, pretty vain)
10. Sing again...it's been awhile!

Every once in awhile, as a nurse, I've had the opportunity to have my life so touched and blessed by one of my patients. Tuesday, one of those patients passed away and she has touched the lives of many who I work with. She was 16 years old and had been battling ovarian cancer. It had been in remission until about 1 month ago. She had stopped treatments one month previous to that and was clear, but one month later when she went in for a body scan it had spread to her liver. At this point she only weighed about 70 pounds and understandably couldn't put up with another round of chemo to fight it off. Luckily she was able to get a minor surgical procedure and take a minor dose of chemo to prolong her life through the holidays. Her wish before dying was to be able to go shopping for her younger siblings (she was the oldest) and give them a good Christmas since so much of the past couple of years had been focused on her. Many of us and others in the community were able to pull together some funds, and Toys R Us open early just for her to come and shop. We were told she was so happy to have that opportunity. She was supposed to be going to New York City later this month with the "Make A Wish" foundation to go on another shopping spree, but unfortunately she didn't make it. She was always so quick to smile and joke, even though she was always feeling horrible because of the chemo we were giving her. I will never forget her and hope that I will live my life a little better because of her example. My thoughts and prayers are with her family.

My birthday

As many of you may know, my birthday is on Christmas. I turned 23 this year...again ;). We usually do Christmas in the morning then celebrate my birthday in the evening to try and keep the two separated. So, in the afternoon we went to see the new Chipmunks movie (after stuffing ourselves with a yummy ham dinner) then came home for cake and birthday presents. I think the funniest part of the movie was watching Landen try to make friends with the people in front of us, especially a girl about 6 years his senior...he's such a flirt! That movie is so cute by the way. Anyway, here's a few pictures from the birthday celebration.

This one cracks me up cause I'm obviously getting ready to blow out the candles

Landen gets some too!

p.s. I'm really 29 and trying to come up with a list of things to do before I turn 30. Suggestions?

Santa Came to town!

My parents and sister came up to our house for Christmas and boy did they spoil us rotten (see photo below). It was so great having them up here! It definitely makes the holidays better when you can share them with family.

The ridiculous amount of loot!
Mom and Kate on Christmas morning

Landen playing with his new toys, he loves the ball set Aunt Katie gave him.

Landen wondering what mom's doing sitting in all the garbage

A quick kiss

Hope everyone has a happy Holiday!

Landen's sad stats

My poor small child had his 15 month well baby check-up today and is still just a little squirt! He only weighs 17.1 pounds (0 percentile), and is 29.5 inches tall (9 percentile), but his head is in the 13th percentile...wahoo! He's apparently "proportioned" for his height and weight...whatever! It's so frustrating! We had him up past 19 pounds, then he gets a runny nose and a cough and he loses his appetite and loses weight! He's constantly sick! He'll be fine for about 2-3 weeks, then his sniffles come back. On top of having baby asthma, I think he has allergies! The doctor has me trying him on Benedryl twice a day now to see if it helps...this poor kid! But, as usual, he takes it like a champ! He never acts like he's sick and still is into everything like a maniac. Believe me, I'm counting down the days to nursery. I sure love this kid though! He's definitely become a "mamma's boy" lately and even threw a tantrum the other day when I handed him to Brian...just sad! I mean it's great and all being the favorite parent ;), but seriously, I'd like to be able to go to the bathroom without my shadow following me around, and of course where he goes, so does BJ, so I'm never alone. He is really good at playing alone and will actually do so for quite awhile as long as he can find something mischievous to get into ;). Anyway, there's an update on my little man. He's so fun!

Venting

So as my time is quickly approaching to become a stay at home mom, I've been really thinking how HARD this is going to be for me!!! Being a mom is such a selfless responsibility, which I've never complained about, because I truly enjoy my time spent with my little man, but going to work has always been a nice and even much needed "break" from being "mommy" so that I can feel like "me" again. Does that even make sense? I love the socializing that I get at work, and to think about more complicated things that are going on with my patients, and not just when was the last time you ate and it's time to take a nap. I guess I'm going to have to start getting more creative with Landen to help me stay sane also! I'm excited about having more time to exercise and get in better shape, but other than that...not quite sure! So, if any of you have any suggestions for me, I'd really appreciate all the advice/ideas I can get. I really have a greater respect for stay at home moms!