November Happenings

How did November go by so quickly?!

We enjoyed being able to spend a 5-day Thanksgiving weekend with our families. We travelled to Tim's parents' on Thanksgiving day and spent the day there with all but 5 of his family members. The next day, my mom and I headed out for some 4 am Black Friday deals. It was my first true Black Friday excursion. (It is only a true excursion if you are there when the stores open and spend at least 5 hours shopping.) We had a blast! I think the most fun part of it all was sharing the crazy experience with my mom. (How did people find their cars before they invented "the panic button"?) Later that day, my brother Jeremy and his family drove down from Michigan and we had Thanksgiving Dinner Number 2. Grandma De was able to join us, and we all had a great time. I fell asleep at some point and woke to my nephew Ben poking my nose. :)

Sarah took her first step on Sunday! She only took a step and a half, but she did it without holding onto anything, so it counts. :) Her Mawmaw and I are the only witnesses. However, my dad saw her take two steps today. She is growing up way too fast! I love this age though. She is so much fun.

We are back in Columbus tonight, and I resume work in the morning. Our schedule at the Flu Shot Clinic has been modified a bit, and I will be working 4 10-hour shifts each week. I think I will enjoy this schedule.

Our apartment/My job

We moved into our little apartment last Monday. Tim was able to move in while I was at work, and I joined him and Sarah around 5:00 pm. The first thing I did was call my recruiter to express my disappointment. Our apartment is small, and that is not really a big deal. The problem is this: With my company, a furnished 1-bedroom apartment is provided free of charge, but you have to pay if you want a 2-bedroom apartment. We decided to pay for that extra bedroom. Well, our second bedroom is set up as a dining room because there is no other place to put a table! Click this link to check out pictures of our apartment. We are making this work...we can live with just about anything for 8 weeks! But we are still waiting to hear from my company about whether or not they are actually going to charge us for that second bedroom.

The job: It is going great so far. Ask me anything about the H1N1 vaccine and I will do my best to answer! The job is easy as can be. I give shots for 8-12 hours a day! It is nice to have a relaxing job for a change. I am enjoying the break. But I think I will be ready for a little more action after this assignment. I work with 3-4 "screeners" and 2 other nurses, and we all get along pretty well.

We were able to visit our families this weekend and look forward to doing that on future weekends as well. I was happy to find out that the flu shot clinic is closed Thanksgiving Day and the day after. That means a 4-day weekend and plenty of time to shop on Black Friday! :)

I have fallen behind on Sarah's picture of the day album. Rest assured, we are still taking pictures of Sarah and will update those albums when I have the time! :)

Speaking of Sarah...we may have a little tomboy on our hands! She likes to play with cars and trucks. Tim and I finally bought her a little tractor toy of her own to play with, and she loves it.

She had a blast playing with her cousin Drew this weekend, and he is starting to enjoy the attention she gives him. It's cute to watch.

Sarah is also learning to communicate a little better. It seems all her favorite things start with the letter B, and she slightly modifies her "buh" sound to let you know what she's talking about: Bluebeary, ball, bottle, book, etc. She is also matering the "point and grunt" to let us know what we should be doing for her. That girl is so much fun. :)

Go Buckeyes!

We are now in Columbus, staying in a hotel for the night. We arrived around 4:00 this afternoon, dropped our things off at the hotel, and went to find the hospital where I will be working for the next 8 weeks. The hospital is huge, but we were able to find the appropriate parking garage and building I am supposed to report to in the morning. My main concern is traffic. I have to take a busy highway in the morning, and I am not sure how much extra time to plan on taking.

The new-job nerves have not yet kicked in. I told Tim those will probably hit around 2:00 in the morning.

The apartment we are supposed to be staying in should be cleaned and furnished for us by tomorrow afternoon. I am looking forward to seeing the place, and settling in for the time being. :-)

Sarah did well on the trip out here. She actually slept for an hour and a half of the 2-hour trip! Good baby! We are hoping she adjusts well to yet another new house, and that her sleep is not affected too terribly much.

Brief Update

I do not have much time to spend on the internet these days, but I did want to give a brief update!

Sarah had her 9-month checkup last week. She is still doing well - topping the scales at 20lbs 3 ounces. She is still struggling with her sleeping pattern, and I talked to the doctor about that. She advised me not to let her cry it out at night until she is at least a year old. I was relieved to hear that. I had tried to just let her cry the night before, and after 3 minutes she had vomited all over her crib. I'm not okay with that. We'll try again in 3 months.

I finally found a travel nurse position! I think I start next Monday (still waiting on some details). I will be working in a flu shot clinic at the Ohio State University Hospital. I will be working with 2 other travellers, giving immunizations to the hospital staff. Apparently we have 10,000 employees to vaccinate! We will be busy! This is an 8-week assignment, and I will have my weekends and one day a week free. It sounds like a really good schedule and I am looking forward to it!