Lesson learned!

Well, I'm thinking that most of you have heard about our latest trip to the hospital but I thought I would post it for those few that have not.
I don't think I was a member of the blogging world when Haley had to get staples in her little head or when Cameron had to had his eyes flushed out. Since then we have learned that jumping on the bed is a no-no and it takes 2 seconds for James to spray Spray'n'Wash in Camerons eyes. (Note: all cleaning products have been moved to the farthest reaches of the cabinets....even I have problems reaching them.)
But I never thought that a 2 year old had lightening fast "grab and swallow" abilities that were far more advanced than my reflexes. Or maybe I'm just getting slow! No comments on that please!
Anyway Cameron snatched up an old watch battery that I was replacing and it was gone before I knew he grabbed it. Poison Control told me to take him to the ER and once there they took an x-ray.

See there it is in his stomach. At this point the doctor on call was worried that it might attach itself to the stomach lining where it would begin to leak its caustic fluid and cause....well you get it. They told me that we would have to take him to Mission Memorial in Asheville where a pediatric surgeon would remove it via endoscopy. So we headed to Asheville. Kojak stayed home with James and Mom went with me and Cameron.
After checking in at the ER, the doctor came out and said that they wanted another x-ray to be sure of the batteries location. They took the second x-ray and left us to wait in the lobby. My nerves were shot by this point. The doctor came out again and told us that we could go home. Apparently, the battery had already moved into the "home stretch" of the lower intestine and past the point where they were afraid it might stay.
So, we came home and he past it the next day!
Aaaaah, the joys of having more grabby little hands than I can keep up with.
Lord, have mercy on my nerves!

Update!

I am currently registered for my last prerequisite class, Chemistry, which starts the 20th. I have to take a PSB preparation class, the 25th -28th. My CNA Challenge state exam is on the 29th. The PSB test is on September 3rd, it's like a general competency entry exam. The board chooses 15 of the best scores to interview and then chooses 13 from those for entry into the nursing program. And if all goes well, I should find out in September whether I have made it into the program, actual nursing classes will start in January and I would be finished the Fall semester of 2010. Yeah, it sounds like a long time but good things come to those who wait, study hard and not have a nervous breakdown. Wait a minute, I don't think that's really how that saying goes but it works for this situation right? So anyway,I'm a little nervous but not......okay, well maybe I'm alot nervous.

Well, that's my update!

Xrays and Grade Reports

It's been a few days since I last blogged, been a little busy around here. I've been trying to finish up my requirements for admission to the nursing program, Venita came for a visit and picked up Haley to keep for few weeks, I've been in the chiropractors office at least twice a week, and our AC broke which has left us mopping up sweat puddles in this high ninety degree weather. On top of that, Cameron and James are apparently warmer than the rest of us because they shed their clothes and diapers every 5 minutes and go streaking through the house like little wild bandits.
I'm just kidding about the sweat puddle part, although it did seem like we were gonna all melt and run together. Luckily, we got the AC problem fixed so we're cool again. As for keeping diapers on the boys...... there is no hope! Yeah Yeah, I know....it's time to potty train....pray for me will ya?
Anyway, I got my grade report last week, I got a B in Microbiology. Yeah ME!!!!! Believe me when I say, that B was not an easy one! The subject was not too difficult but let's just say that full credit was a hard thing to achieve. So, I'm happy with my B considering the limited amount of time I had to study. I would have taken a picture of this grade report like before, but it went through the laundry in the back pocket of my jeans. Ya know, come to think of it, I lose a lot of things that way. At least I know how to get rid of any incriminating documents I have lying around. Not that I have any of those.
Moving on, my CNA challenge is scheduled for the 12th and 13th and then the state test after that (date to be announced). Wish me luck, I'll let you know how that goes!
I went for Xrays on the pelvic/lumbar region of my back last week and went for the results today. Simply put, there should be a nice curve in my lower back where L5 meets the sacrum, I have more of an angle. So, the discs between L4/L5 and L5/sacrum are a little squished. This my friends may just be the root of the numb spots on my foot. So, they are stretching me on the rack.....maybe I'll come out of this taller! Okay, maybe not but a short girl can dream right?
Anyway, in the last week I have finished 2 good books and seen a few really good movies! Has anyone seen the movie "Penelope"? It's really cute and has a nice "moral of the story" thing going on. "The Other Boleyn Girl" is really good too, but I would not recommend it for the kiddos. The books that I read are Twilight by Stephenie Meyer and The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant. Both books were very good, I'm planning to read the other books in the Twilight series. I got the Dunant book a year ago for like 50 cent. Best 50 cent I've ever spent....I love it when that happens.
Okay, so other than all that I've been here at home playing with the wild heathens that have taken up residence in my house over the last several years. Yeah, they like to run around here like they own the place. Oh well, I love them so I guess I'll keep them around for a while....... or 20 years.
Alright, so now I'm done filling in the gap from last week. Stay tuned for more of my incoherant babbling, if you think you can handle it!!!!! Mwahahahaha!

Enterobacter aerogenes

Enterobacter aerogenes, that's the scientific name for my unknown bacterium. The last few weeks of the summer semester were spent working on unknowns! Basically, I had a broth culture of bacteria on which I had to run a series of lab tests to determine what it was. So, after all the tests were run and my four page report documenting everything had been written, it came down to Enterobacter aerogenes. Man, is my brain tired? Okay, not really! Anyway, I wanted to actually take my camera with me to class to document the whole experience because it was rather interesting but I kept forgetting my camera. (the result of 3 children nipping at my heels all the way out the door) So, instead I thought I would show you all a few pictures from my lab atlas so you could see some of the things that have kept me busy this summer. The pictures below are of different bacterial species growing on various nutrient agar plates. Overall, I came away from this class with a better understanding of microbes, pathogens, the human bodies response to invasion and the awareness of some wicked little critters that I never want to come in contact with.

So, now it's time relax a little for a few weeks and then it's on to Chemistry! Pray for my brain please!
I'll be back to more interesting things tomorrow! Thanks for stopping in!

Backgrounds and Spider Boys!

Yeah~yeah, I know what you're thinking....."My Lord she's changed the background again!" Call me Flaky as a Grands biscuit or as unpredictable as BigFoot but the truth is I'm really just indecisive and I'm a sucker for color. Believe me when I say this probably will not be the last background change you see around here. I think it might have something to do with the fact that I just took my final exam on Thursday and have more time to do.....to do.....well, to do anything! I've been doing a variety of things that a month ago seemed unreachable like going to the chiropractor (much needed mind you), painting my toenails, I watched an entire movie, and colored my hair. It's been nice having some me time but below you will see some examples of my more enjoyable time.

You see, I've had more time to spend with these 2 and all their 2 year old antics!

More time to spend looking into these baby blues, this girl loves dress up and make up time with Mommy.

Oh and this was the most awesome pizza EVER! I think Kojak fell in love with me all over again, well maybe I'm exaggerating but I sure did fall in love with it! Um, pepperoni, canadian bacon & black olives with pesto, then you dip it in marinara! Oh bless my sweet pizza loving soul! And, among all this I had time.....

...to try and figure out how in the name of cheescake this happened! I have a few theories....either my boys have some spider tendencies or they think they belong on Gilligan's Island!
SOS, SOS, Send help soon please!

Finally!

I've been begging for one of these for a while and now I have one! I was so excited I couldn't decide what to make first. So, I made two batches of Caitlin's Super Snickerdoodles which didn't last very long here. No pictures but I did get a picture of my next project. Oh lordy it was good too. Mint Brownie Cheesecake (A.K.A....10 lbs. in a pie plate)

Yeah -Yeah, I know it looks a little done but MAN was it ever good!

Twin Talk

I found out very early after James and Cameron were born that the flow of questions would be never ending. No matter where we went people loved to ask questions about them. "Are they twins? Duh! ~ Are they identical? Yes ~ How do you keep yourself sane? I don't. ~ Do twins run in your family? Yes, but identical twins are not genetic." The torrent of questions is endless but for the most part we enjoy answering them all. We love to hear from people who have twins of their own as well and now that the boys are older I find myself asking my own questions of those people with older twins. "Please tell me, does it get better? ~ Will they ever stop fighting? ~ Will I ever be able to take them anywhere without dirt smudges and scratch marks?" The answers I get are most often all yes but occasionally I get a NO to a question or two. So, overall I have faith in a peaceful future......someday!
Anyway, I recently took a picture of the boys but noticed something awesome. Something that my Daddy has been trying to tell us all for a while. I did some research on it so lets start with some information.
Okay, we all know that there are two different categories of twins: identical and fraternal. What you may not know is the important differences between the two.
In the case of fraternal twins, two separate eggs are fertilized by two sperm and develop into two babies. These are known as dizygotic twins, they develop in two separate amniotic sacs and each has it's own placenta. They are as different as any two siblings only they were born on the same day. There is a hereditary connection in fraternal twins where the release of two eggs is passed from one generation to another.
Identical twins are something different all together. Here's what happens. An egg is fertilized by a single sperm at conception but sometime in the following two weeks that little zygote does something amazing. It splits in two. These are known as monozygotic twins and they share one placenta. They are as close to exact as you can get. They have the same DNA, fingerprints, and usually the same dental patterns.
So, here are some statistics I found. 32 out of 1,000 births are twin births. Only 1/3 of those are identical twins. Only 20 - 25% of those identical births are mirror image twins. Mirror image twinning is determined by the timing of the zygote split after conception. There are subtle differences between identical and mirror image twins. Identical twins are typically exactly the same from their cowlicks to their crooked pinky toe (if they have one). Mirror image twins have all the sameness as identical twins but show small variations such as matching reversed moles, reversed dental patterns and problems as well as opposing hairlines and/or cowlicks. Mirror twins are usually different in that one is a lefty and the other a righty. This seems to be the case with the boys. It is too soon to make a definite decision on this matter but so far we are leaning toward mirror image. Poppy is already waiting for Walmart to get in more lefty ball gloves in small. It's just too noticeable to ignore. Cameron has always favored his left and James his right. We have all noticed it but thought Poppy was just looking for an excuse to brag. Hehehe.
Take a look!