Ten on Tuesday

In traditional 10 on Tuesday format, here are my thoughts for the day:
1. I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders by getting my book chapter done last night. Even though I didn't finish until midnight and really didn't get started until the evening, I was able to crank my butt in gear and get it done. I work best under pressure. Always have...always will. I've had months, months to get this thing done but I would write a little, maybe a paragraph, and have mental block to just not want to complete it. Likewise, anytime I wanted to start to write, it would take me 20 minutes to lay out the 15 journal articles, 2 textbooks, etc that I wanted to use as resources and no one wants to lug that around. So, even if I did get out of the OR early on some days, unless it was noon and B wouldn't be home for 3 hours, there was no way I could get everything set up and get into a mindset of writing. Hence, why it took Erik (though not by choice....we kinda fell into a jam) taking B into my parents and me having a library day to catch up on my life responsibilities like clothes and bills where I felt comfortable forcing myself to commit to the book chapter. But alas, it's done and I can move on with my life. I just have the editing remaining so hopefully it will be fairly quick in the process.

2. As for the work under pressure, I've always worked best under pressure. It's October and I still don't have my personal statement done....no problem, just crank it out at 2am the night before it's due. Haven't studied for exams....no problem, I'll open a book at 10pm the night before and start reading. I never really studied. Never really learned how to pace myself because I could always get by with last minute deadlines. It actually stresses me to think about getting something done early but I keep ignoring that "you have a book chapter, case report, poster, etc to write that's due next month, week, tomorrow" until it's the wire. My life would be so much less stressed if people gave me deadlines 2 weeks before they were due. And technically, regarding the chapter, it was due in August. However, I "knew" the final book didn't have to be to the publisher until January. So, it wasn't until the powers that be put a little bug in my ear to get working.

3. I miss my B. She's been out of town since yesterday and the house is eerily quiet (and clean, but hey, if I get a smile from seeing B destroy things, then I'll take disarray over spotless any day). Man do I miss that girl! Her little giggles, her "stinky toes," her constant hunger and desire to eat anything and everything, her little moans and grunts.

4. B has had me a little worried. She's "almost" 14 months and hasn't talked. Not one word. No mama, dada, Crosby, ball, etc. However, she signs "more," she points to what she wants and grunts and doesn't get frustrated. She follows commands like "get mommy's socks" and brings them over and puts them on my feet (though she has yet to get the concept of the hole in the sock. She just drops them on my feet). She goes straight to her high chair (even if we're upstairs...she just slides down the steps in lightning speed and goes straight to her high chair and lifts up the tray) when we say breakfast, dinner, lunch, snack, etc. She gives Crosby hugs and kisses when we ask. She follows along songs like "wheels on the bus" and "if you're happy and you know it" and rolls her arms or claps accordingly. She stacks those rings on a peg and attempts to stack blocks. She's starting to use utensils. She makes good eye contact and smiles constantly at people (except if we're at Portrait innovations where she's cried hysterically the last 2 times). I know she's far developed in her fine and gross motor skills, receptive language, etc. It's just her expressive language has me concerned because it's like she has no interest in talking. So, I called Community Resources for Butler County to have a referral done. I figure the least that will happen is an evaluation to say "she's fine" because having worked with kids across the spectrum, I know she's not exhibiting other signs or symptoms of spectral disorders, except for the not talking. Who knows? Like everything else in life (B's induction day, work, etc), if you schedule it, the opposite will happen.

5. Snow....seriously, I love the snow! It makes for such a beautiful backdrop in life. What I don't like: cold. In fact, I hate it. I was outside for like 5 minutes walking to my difficult airway course and about froze everything off on my body. Definitely not a day to wear earrings because I swear it transmitted freezing cold temperatures to my ears. I love the snow...I loathe the cold. I just wish it wasn't 11 degrees and something less bitter like 29 degrees.

6. Today was a perfect day to have a difficult airway course. I was in a very big, very long case surgically. However, anesthetically, once the large IV and a-line were in, my job was pretty much to keep the patient chill as there wasn't a lot of blood loss or other things to do. So, I was never happier when someone came in at 12:15 to send me to the Advanced Difficulty Airway Management (ADAM) course at the WISER center.

7. Love when the attendings at WISER are chill because we were done at 2:15 pm. Enough said! The only thing that stunk was that my ID was in the Mercedes so I had to pay $5 at Magee to park. Boo!

8. I swung by Target on the way home and picked up the next size up in a Penguins jersey for B. Yay! Have I mentioned how much I love my little girl! And I still made it home for 3:30pm. So wonderful!

9. I spent the late afternoon catching up on important housework such as putting away clothes that were washed the day before and straightening up the house. Not to mention that I threw away 52 receipts that had been piled in my purse. Also found in my purse: 5 diapers, sippy cup, snack cup, random change, random craisins, and a puzzle piece. Yep, b/c in the middle of the OR, I put together puzzles.....rather, I think some little suspect put it in there.

10. On another note, I must constantly watch the garbage can. B has this tendency to put stuff in there (almost an iphone one day....she had the lid up with the phone in hand). She threw away several bows when I was wrapping gifts. She also throws away her dirty diapers (don't ask me how she figured that one out....all of a sudden one day, she took her dirty diaper and went to the trash and put it in....I love watching life through the eyes of a child because they are just little sponges that suck up everything around them which makes me be on extra good behavior) which I thought was a great thing until now she throws everything in there.

So, there ya have it! 10 on Tuesday

Getting back on the blog....

Blogging has taken a back burner to life for a while, but now, I'm committed to getting back on the blog.

First things first....I have this huge project (a book chapter) hanging over my head. The project is already late...by a few months, but it's because it requires a significant effort and it's not the type of project, at least in my style of writing, that I can write 20 minutes a day on. It requires that I sit and focus for several hours at a time to write. I could see if I was an expert in this field...I could probably crank out a chapter in no time flat. However, this requires effort. Lots and lots of effort! Now, with a 13-month old at home and prior rotations that were 5 days per week, where can I find the time for that? In all fairness too, most of the other people already had most of their chapter written...they just had to update with some new photos, information, etc whereas my chapter is from scratch and it's not like I'm describing the steps for a process.

I must say...I love my daughter and my husband to the extreme. They are around what my world revolves. However, last night at 6pm when they left, I had a beaming smile on my face (that, after I wiped the look of disgust at what Brooklyn could destroy in 1 hour). I went to Old Navy to pick up camis for Lauren, stopped by Target to get neighbor gifts, and then came home to straighten up the kitchen/living room that Brooklyn had destroyed. I also managed to squeeze in some time to straighten up my cake decorating supplies and whipped out the tackle box to organize all of my random supplies. Let me just say that it's so much easier to find what you're looking for when everything is in a place.

I then retreated to bed to catch up on the DVR and prepare my to do list for today and tomorrow....though I know what the biggest item is on the list today.

While it's not quite December 31st, I'm getting sad to see 2010 is coming to a close as this has been a fantabulous year. October -December, by far, hands down, are my favorite months of the year. I love the holidays, the fact that people have generally been happier, and that there's so much festivity going on.

I hope B has a fun day at grandmama J's house today!!!

Clean House...

A little rough last night...we put her in the crib at 11:30 and we went to bed. She woke up at 12:30pm to eat and I gave her a bottle. She was up at 4 and nursed for a bit and went straight to sleep after I put her down. She woke up again at 6:30 and then she had two reawakenings so I just brought her to our bed with the boppy where we slept in until 9. She ate and was so messy that she got a bath which she enjoyed once I filled her tub up with water. I took a bath and then gave Crosby a bath. By this point, it's 11:30 and I attempt to straighten up the bedroom and put away the huge pile of clothes.

While B has been more alert and interactive, she's also been more fussy. After her 9am feeding, she had a significant spit up. She nursed at 11 and then spit up a ton that I don't know how she had nything left in her. After her 2pm feeding, I swear she spit up half her bottle. I just don't know what a normal spitup level is...is this too much???

Andrea cleaned the house today which was greatly appreciated. She took a little break in the afternoon and did some B holding while I finished up the house stuff.

Then I got ready to head to WPSA tonight. It was nice seeing everyone and having an intellectual interaction. B slept the entire time and as I was walking in the house, she was having a bottle...then, she went into a hissy fit where she was clean, fed, held and yet still continued to scream for 10 minutes. She nursed but didn't eat and just had comfort sucking. She's been asleep since then so hopefully she's down for a bit longer.