Bulleted: Zombie Freebie & To Do Lists

- Home Depot's promotional Zombie Game gets you a $5,$10, and $15 coupons. (off of a $5+, $10+, and $15+ purchases respectively.) Yeah, your brain will be zombie-fied by the end of it..(tip: sign up for the lawn and garden club, you'll earn points twice as fast) but at max,it should only take an hour for you to get all the coupons. Anything "Lawn and Garden" isk at HD applies. (such as laundry/soap detergent,paper towels, toilet paper,cleaning supplies,tools, etc.) You can only use one coupon per purchase, but you can do multiple transactions. An hour for $30 of free stuff is worth it, in my book.


-And speaking of Zombie Brains, I'm still trying to un-zombie-fy mine from that whirlwind Medical-Surgical Nursing school course..so glad that's over. I get a breather before going back for Pediatrics, and I intend to put that time to good use. (first on the agenda:get my health back on track. Finally went to get my thyroid levels rechecked(something I should have done a month ago),I've put my Dexcom back on (on that note, I cannot WAIT for the new upgrade...they are sending me one free, even though I got a new system on August 25 & I thought I'd have to pay $399 for the upgrade),I'm trying to eat right & get my blood glucose levels out of the average of upper 200's. (nursing school is pure,un-adulturated,constant high blood sugar grade stress) Today, I'm going to my new nephrologist (I've seen him once before, in August),because of my Bartter's Syndrome & need for periodic magnesium infusions I had to get a new doc. (my old nephrologist retired) He's great,but he's a real stickler for patient appointments & TIMELY periodic updates. (as in every 3-4 months) He made that pretty clear at appt.#1 and there's no way I want to be fired by him, because finding a doctor who really understands that yes, I need that much magnesium mainlined via IV is practically impossible. (many docs will still try to tell you that you can just take it all orally) However, since my new doc knows my old doc & had all my records right there it would be pretty hard to say that, no, you don't need it. I also intend to get the house organized,have a yard sale, make several ambitious craft-sy Christmas gifts,and organize a first birthday party for one very cute little boy...so glad I've got the time to do it now! (maybe I'll even do NaPoBloMoMo..because I'm crazy like that)

(riding a pumpkin,on our weekend trip to a farm/pumpkin patch in NJ!)

No D-Day: The Poop, The Scoop, & The Endless Loop

(just a few of the things that I have learned from being a mom)


#1 Baby poop comes in all colors of the rainbow.Its almost artistic...in a totally disgusting kind of way.(and that's probably all you want to hear about that)

#2 This should be #1...as it's the most important baby fact ever-WASH YOUR HANDS, PEOPLE. Being in nursing school, you have to get into the habit of washing your hands A. when entering the patient room B. when exiting the patient room C.anytime you think your hands are dirty D. before any sort of procedure and E. whenever you think your instructor is watching you out of the corner of your eye. There are hand washing spies, whose sole job is to lurk around & take polls of the rate of handwashing compliance. (which they post, for all the world to see) In the hospital,the biggest cause of nonsocomial infections(communicable) is not washing your hands, and it is a very,very, big deal. Since I wash my hands a zillion times a day anyway, as I'm always cleaning up poop/pee/spitup/drool & other "unmentionable" tasks...I am used to doing this. But it really turns you into an OCD freak. ("Ackkk! a speck of dirt, need to wash my hands STAT!")

#3 Plan for the worst,when you leave the house...there is no such thing as being over prepared.

#4 Babies gravitate toward the most dangerous item in the room. ("Electrical cords-those look like fun, let's go chew on them!") Cat just puked? let's go check it it out! Small piece of plastic wrap on the floor-why not put it in our mouth and freak Momma out! Seriously,safe toys are NO FUN. (in their world) Which is why I find myself trying to think up exciting, non-dangerous toys but to a teething, ravenous,crawling 9-month-old, there really is no such thing as a safe toy. Even rattles they stick the stick end in their mouth & its just like (Agggghhhhhhhh) trying to prevent them from injury. Double incentive toward keeping those floors vacuumed. (complete cleanliness was never this much of a need, before)

#5 Every baby should probably have a helmet...at the rate they bang their head on things. Glad that mine is already wearing one. (does double duty)

#6 Holy wow, do they grow. (and eat...constantly) At 9 months old, my little dude is 20 lbs & what feels like half the length of his crib already. (and has five teeth) He isn't very chunky, which concerns me (it seems like babies should have some sort of fat reserve) but the pediatrician assures me that he's within normal limits. (pardon my mommy brain, we always find "something" to worry about)Growing + happy=healthy baby, so I just need to chill out.

#7 Their first words will be "Da-da"...which they will repeat for hours on end,seemingly endlessly. (to the delight of the dad, and the consternation of the mom.)

#8 Babyhood is all too fleeting...& then I can learn all about parenting a toddler!