Saturday, March 15, 2008

Hazzah!!!

She blogs again!

I am now half way through my 160 externship. It so happens to be the office I take Jack to when he gets sick, and I must say I love it!!! Unfortunately they don't have a position open to hire me into when my externship concludes. However, I am told I'm doing fantastically!!!

I've seen a patient who cut one of her fingers on a ban saw in shop class, fortunately not doing any real damage. I've seen a kid with a broken clavicle (collarbone), a kid with a broken arm and assisted in putting a temporary cast on it. I've seen a bunch of well kids for their well checks, and a bunch of sick kids. This past week I gave my first clinical injections, my first was a 1 month old girl. Was it hard? Hell YES!!! Who wants to stick a needle in a wee little baby? Well I did, but only to inoculate her from Hepatitis B. Since then I've given a few more short but only once have I given two shot to one patient and he was 12 or 13.

Jack is doing amazingly well. Aside from having the same cold thing that more than half the kids I've seen have, and developed wheezing to accompany it. He's now on medication for asthma, only a maintenance dosage, and only while he has symptoms. He's quite a smart little boy. He knows most of his alphabet, know all the parts of his body (the major ones anyway). He says Rock, Ball, teletubbies, yogurt, dinosaur, octopus, fish (still sounds like ish), crackers, milk, cheese, please (sounds like peees), woof, meow, roar(like a tiger, lion dinosaur, dragon etc...).

He loves to watch Shrek, Ratatouille, Finding Nemo, Monsters, Inc. Sleeping Beauty(for the dragon), Elmo's Potty Time, Elmo goes to grouchland, Thomas and Friends, teletubbies, and a bunch of other shows and movies. He'll sit and watch most of if not all of any of those movies or tv shows. He loves to read and will look through books on his own throughout the day. Or he did, Jack started daycare the first day I started my externship. He really didn't like it at first, but he's coming around. He gets two snacks during the day and breakfast and lunch while he's there, if the weather's nice they go out side and play, and they do crafts and sing songs and read books.
His daycare is right down the street from the office I'm working in. It's handy now but hopefully my next job will have daycare. Jack still sees his girlfriend, Kaitlyn. She recently turned 2 and the grand celebration took place at the illustrious Chuck E Cheese. They also went out on a triple date, chaperoned by her parents and well as his (ie me and Trav) We really enjoyed both trips to see them and look forward to more friendly get togethers, we'll let everyone know when Jack and Kaitlyn have set the date ;)

My dream job is to work at Seattle Children's Hospital. You may recall from one of my last posts the my niece was undergoing open heart surgery at Boston Children's Hospital. I'm not sure if they are affiliated, but it'll give me a chance to give thanks for the wonderful care Sylvie and her parents received while there...that is if I can get a job there. Fingers crossed....

Travis is doing exceptionally well also! He's just about finished totally with his book, the cover inspires one's imagination all by itself!! He's still enjoying his position at Her and surprises me everyday with his humor, knowledge, imagination, and love for Jack and me. He's a deep guy, and one I'll need many years to fully learn him.

On the home front, Travis and I have started the house hunt!!!! BYU HALLU!!!! We found a good place today, but we want to be in our house sooner than they can accommodate us since it'll take about 7 months to build a new house. We'll see about other neighborhoods this builder offers though.

Harriet had a harrowing experience this morning. She was attacked by another dog...half her size. She and Travis were making their way back inside, after seeing a neighbor walking 3 of her dogs. All three of them were on leashes, she however was not holding the leashes....it was a bit frightening after the tussle cause it looked like Harriet's eye had popped out of her head. We took her to the vet and were very relieved when we found it was her third eyelid not her eye, it had resolved most of the way before we got to the vet but there was still blood and we wanted her checked out. The neighbor was very apologetic and has since given us a check for the amount of the vet bill. Lucky we have good if not smart neighbors.

Harriet came away from the ordeal with the doggie equivalent of a black eye. She seems to be doing fine now and we have pain meds and creams and ointments for her to treat the little scrapes and such. Scamp is doing just fine! He loves to caterwaul at night when we are either trying to read, watch tv, or sleep...though we have since started throwing him out of our room when we go to be at night. He isn't happy about that but oh well we need our sleep.

Pete is well, he is enjoying some fresh bark in his tank. We are very excited about getting our house and putting him on display in a nicely set up tank just for him.

Exciting times for the Gentry's, what with finally achieving long sought goals and settling down as adults, Jack just beginning his educational career...this year ( I know we are already 3.5 months into it) looks to be a great year!!!!

Cheers! and look for more posts to come!!!

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Go me, it's my birthday!!

Well yesterday was my birthday. It was a good day!! Jack and I went to the park and played with our friends. Then Jack and I went to pick Dad up for lunch and he took us to the Cheesecake Factory!!! Yumm Yummmm

I had the lunch portion of the four cheese pasta, and Travis had the Navajo sandwich, Jack had a plate of bananas and bread most of which ended up not being eaten but he enjoyed it nonetheless.

We came home for a short time and I got a few birthday phone calls!! It was great to hear from everyone.

I'm a week away from finishing this "mod" at school. Next mod will be my fourth right smack in the middle of the program. I've gotten 100s on all my tests so far and I haven't missed one day, I hope to keep this up for the rest of my time in school. It's hard to believe I'm only four months away from finishing!!

We learned how to do stitches on Monday, putting them in and taking them out. Pretty cool, I gotta admit!

Sylvie my little niece will be undergoing open heart surgery on the 24th. I have complete faith in the medical staff at Children's Hospital of Boston I know she'll be fine. She's a tough kid even though she's wee. I'll keep happy thoughts for everyone involved.

I wish I could be there to help support Paige and Theron while their daughter undergoes this surgery. I know they know that though.

When I was a kid, I was sick an awful lot. I never had anything as serious as open heart surgery, but I wasn't really worried. I knew I'd be ok, i was more concerned about my parents and sister, and that they not worry about me. A lot of times I felt guilty for putting them through the ordeal, but found my circumstances rather interesting.

No wonder nursing is my calling ;)

Jack is phenomenal lately! He's so much fun to be around...for the most part, lol. When he won't sleep at night he's not such a joy ;) He loves Elmo (taken up Sylvie's Elmo love), when he dances its in a spinning circle. He says "Rawwww" whenever he see's a rock or anything similar to a rock, he says "ball" when he sees a ball or a circle. He knows where his hands, feet, ears, tongue, eyes, head, hair, and wee wee are and will gladly point to them to show you when you ask.

Right now he's passed out on our sofa taking a well earned nap, and I'm going to play a round of sports on my new birthday present!!! Travis got me (read us) a Wii!!!!!

I (read we) love it!!! The boxing game is a real workout too, just going a couple rounds and you've broken a sweat and your arms are getting sore and tired. It's super good fun!!
When any of you all come to visit we'll be able to play games, it'll be awesome!!
that's a hint for you all to come visit us ;) ;)

that's all for now, gotta work off my birthday cheesecake!

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Plans for our Reaffirmation of Vows

I know it seems early to be doing this and maybe we should save the money we'll be spending on this for a down payment on a house instead but....this means a lot to both of us.

Travis and I have decided on a theme for our ceremony it's important to both of us and has helped us make our bond even stronger!!
Travis and groomsmen will be dressed in Star Trek Next Generation uniforms while I and the bridesmaids will be dressed in Harry Potter attire.

I'll update the info as we come to our decisions as they come up!

Friday, July 13, 2007

Are you flying with your child soon?

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/07/12/national/main3051464.shtml?source=mostpop_story

In my opinion, that is just outrageous!! I was lucky on my last flight the flight attendants all fell in love with my little guy and we spent half the flight in the back of the plane with them.

If this had been me I would have demanded to know why I was being kicked off the plane, I wasn't being disruptive, I wasn't holding up the plane, I wasn't a safety threat and neither was my kid. What right did the Flight attendant have to "request" the mother to drug her kid?

I can tell you if this had been me I would have call all the news stations in the area and while I was waiting for them to show up I'd demand to speak to the most senior person at that airport who worked for that airline. I'd want my money back, I'd want to get an upgraded seat on the next available flight to my destination. I'd want a written apology from the flight attendant.....Ooh this makes me so mad!!

That kid wasn't bothering anyone else on the flight!! Unbelieveable, I can promise you that if I fly on the carrier again, I'm gong to make damn sure they won't kick me off becuase my kid is chatty.


That is just so wrong! Mom and kid who were kicked off the plane, I hope you get what you deserve to make up this offense.

Flight attendant, from this mother of a friendly chatty boy, I hope you get what you deserve too....

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Jack turns ONE

Our baby is no longer a baby. He's now a toddling one year old!!! He's been walking for a couple of months now, and he's starting to try to talk. Mostly he gets out Wah Dah (whats that) and Lie Dah (like that) and Dah (that). He's said Bah a few times oh yeah and yesterday he said Hah Dah. We think the latter was in reference to Harriet. He's also said Amp, we think referring to our cat Scamp but he only did it a few times one day and hasn't repeated it.

For Jacks first ever birthday we started the day off with a yummy french toast breakfast. Jack tried it but wasn't interested. Then we took a nap all three of us!! Then we went shopping for his present and boy did we have fun!!! Travis and I were so excited to pick out a gift for him, he just sat in the cart and looked around, waving at a few passersby.

We looked at a fun pop up tent and a neat tent set up that you could rearrange and build yourself. We finally settled on this http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2336188&cp=2255956.2273442.2255969.2257592&parentPage=family

It's so awesome and is small enough to fit in our little dining room. we don't have a dining room table. What's also great about it is he'll be able to use it for a few years, so it'll go with us when we get a house and he'll be able to climb all over it!!! Totally cool.

I made him a devils food cake with cream cheese icing on the inside and chocolate frosting on teh outside. It's really yummy. Jack had a few trys of the frosting but wasn't impressed by the cake.
He is he grandfathers grandson ;)

He's such an amazing little guy!! A few things he does that I think everyone should know about:

When you tell him "no" he reacts in two different ways. One like a normal little kid, he gets fussy. Two he wrinkles his nose and then smiles cheekily at you. Hard to keep the stern face when you see it, I can tell you. Most of the time we laugh at him.

He dances!! He bounces one both feet when there's happy fast paced music, and sways from side to side when there's slower music playing. He also dances when there isn't any music. When he's sleepy and hugging you he sways side to side. Or when he's singing to himself he'll dance.

He waves at EVERYONE! He'll keep waving till the person waves back. Then once the person makes eye contact he smiles!!

He always knows where I am in the apartment. If he is busy playing with his toys or his Travis and I go to the bathroom, he finds me. If I'm in the kitchen, he finds me. And when he does, I get a big hug!!!

He knows his name, and who he is. When asked "Who's Granny's baby?" he thinks about it then taps his belly. When asked " Where is Jack?" He thinks about it then taps his belly, sometimes getting so excited he yells out "Dac!"

He loves birds and plane and everything in the sky. He loves to swing in swings. He has a little girlfriend named Kaitlyn. They've both tried to give each other a kiss, but been pushed away. They hold hands, and Kaitlyn tries to sit in his lap. He's a few months older than he is so it's awkward but she still tries.

He loves to play with balls and read books. He loves to take baths and play in water. He likes beer but hates soda. He's only ever had a sip don't worry ;) He love milk just like his Momma. He's started collecting rocks, every time we go for a walk he finds a new one.

He only eats Cheerios, whole wheat Goldfish, Mac and Cheese, and the occasional bite of chicken or beef...but only when he wants to otherwise he spits it out.

He loves to look at magazines. He tells us when he wants his diaper changed. He loves Harriet and Scamp and Pete. Harriet and Scamp mostly try to avoid him, Harriet pays more attention to him when he has his snack cup and follows him around hoovering up anything he might drop. Scamp gets and itch to love on him from time to time but runs away when Jack try's to return the love. Pete sits patiently when Jack bangs on his tank, we keep him away most of the time. Pete is never out of his tank when Jack is in the room.

He's taking a nap now, which has given me a chance to type this all. He always has been and always will be my dream come true!!! Thanks to my other dream come true Travis, I have the cutest smartest Loveiest little boy there is. Happy First birthday Jack!!!! We love you!!!

Thursday, April 12, 2007

Congratulations Colmans it's a GIRL!!!

Yeah at long long last baby Coleman has revealed herself!!! Jessica had to jump up and down to get little Eleanor Jane to move so they could see. Finally finally we can get down to shopping!!

Can't wait to meet you sweetie pie!!!

Love Auntie Manda and Uncle Travis

Monday, April 9, 2007

He is his mothers son

Jack has all of a sudden stopped eating. He's fine, dont' worry. He just all of a sudden won't eat anything besides cheerios, crackers, cookies, milk and juice.

I made him one of my favs, Mac and Cheese, and he loved it!!! He ate a bunch and is happily playing again. Crazy kid, check out the family website for new pictures of Jack!! See him with two easter bunnies!!!


http://imageevent.com/thegentrys;jsessionid=v3d7w9k7b1.tiger_s