Time To Fly?????

Little did we know our first flying lesson would be today!!!



It started out like any other Sunday...but today was going to be different.
First thing, like most days, we checked in on our adorable little hummingbird babies that we had been watching grow from two minuscule, bald, squirming hatchlings to full grown,overflowing out of the nest, ruby throated hummingbirds. We knew their fledgling time was fast approaching and so we came up with the brilliant idea that we would videotape the momentous event. Just as we focused the video camera on it's tripod to capture the perfect filming angle, we noticed one of the palm frawns next to the nest was definitely in the way of our filming...hmmmm...Simple solution, just move the obtrusive frawn out of the way...OOOPS!!!...you guessed it...as John gently pulled the one frawn down, the other frawn with the nest followed AND then ricocheted forward catapulting our little fledglings right out of their nest!!!! OH MY!!!! Not exactly how they envisioned their first flight, I'm sure. We both stood there, staring in horror at the now empty nest. The older, stronger baby bird, took flight beautifully and flew to a nearby palm tree, the younger one, however, we found clinging for dear life on our sliding screen door. Moments later, she ( I have no idea if it's a she or not) began wildly beating her wings and attempted flight but landed only a few feet away on the ground just below her nest. Now, we were unsure if we should leave this defenseless baby bird on the ground where it would be easy prey for rodents or other predators or try to return it to the safety of it's nest. This was eerily reminiscent of that childrens book I used to read to the girls..."Are you my Mother?" It broke my heart when we then saw the Mama bird return to the empty nest and hover around looking for her babies. A quick check on the internet, reassured us that placing the fledgling back in the nest would be the best solution, provided the one handling the bird wore gloves. I quickly donned a pair of latex gloves and gently returned the baby bird to her nest. Only moments later, the Mama bird returned and once again began feeding her baby. Over the last few hours now we have been watching the Mama bird feeding both the baby in the nest and it's sibling sitting in the palm tree. What a good Mama bird!!! We believe their "flight day" was probably a day or so premature since the baby in the palm tree seems to be anchored there, not really ready to fly off. At the end of the day, both baby birds seem to be doing well but we learned our lesson...it's best not to interfere with nature. We'll keep you posted on our hummingbird saga. Click on the site below to see pictures of our hummingbirds.

http://picasaweb.google.com/sriolo168/OurLittleHummingbirdNest#

My Main Squeeze

Happy Anniversary to my Main Squeeze aka...Babe, TC, Sweetie, Hun & Sweetheart. You are my one & only, my rock, best friend, the president of my fan club, my encourager, my prayer warrior, the one who tickles my funny bone, my confidant and the one who has brought joy to my life for the last 28 years! ( 30, if you count dating:). I am so grateful every day for the amazing husband God has blessed my life with. Who knew taking a calculus class would change my life? I love you Babe, and I look forward to another 28 years with my Prince Charming.

I'm A Better Nurse Than I Am A Patient...

You've probably heard it said before, and I'm afraid the saying is oh so true...

"Nurses make the worst patients." Naturally, I would quickly deny this claim, however, my husband loves to point out the many reasons why he believes this to be true, especially when it comes to yours truly.

Friday night began like any other night, although, I had noticed that I had been having a bit of difficulty keeping my blood sugar up, my perimenopausal hot flashes seemed to be in full swing, my legs felt weak and shakey and my heart rate was in overdrive....other than that, everything was great!! So off to work I charged, ready to put in quick 12 hour shift. Once at work, I noticed these annoying symptoms seemed to persist despite my futile attempts to hydrate myself with about 20 of those cute little hospital juices...now I just felt bloated and my heart continued to race as if I drank too many expressos....and those of you who know me well, know I don't drink coffee. As the night went on, I must have made 10 trips to the paper towel dispenser to quickly wipe down my perspiration soaked face, neck and chest and I even took a few seconds to take my own pulse...125??? Now, common sense would dictate that any reasonable person would call it quits at this point and surrender to the fact that something wasn't quite right...but not me...my motto?..."just keep pushing through, menopause really stinks" Fifteen minutes before my shift was over, I reluctantly conceded, I was no longer the nurse...I had become the patient...ughhh! No need to take my pulse, I could hear it bounding in my ears, now a frightening 140 beats per minute. The nausea was overwhelming, I felt short of breath,my blood pressure was through the roof and my chest ached. I had bought myself a first class ticket to the ER, wheelchair and everything. The ER physician was wonderful, but I could see it in his eyes..."Oh no, she's a nurse..." Hours later, after much effort and finally the administration of an IV beta blocker, my heart rate had come down to 80-90 bpm. For the first time in the last 15 hours, I felt 90% better...my next question to the doctor..."Can I go home now?" Looking back now, I suppose this was a ridiculous question. I was quickly admitted to the telemetry unit where my heart rate could be continuously monitored and a lengthy list of tests and labs would be performed. Not happy about this, I declared I would stay one day, but then I was out of there. My internist knew I meant it, and got busy trying to solve the mystery of my condition.

Twenty four hours later, mystery solved! It seems that darn thyroid mass we've been conservatively monitoring over the last year, had finally declared itself and had decided to hijack my thyroid. I'm continuing to take the beta blocker to control my heart rate, and will be following up with my endocrinologist. Lesson learned, don't ignore symptoms when they are staring you in the face...and oh yes, I am a lousy patient:)

As a side note...thank you everyone for your prayers. Janelle, your visit made me feel very loved and cared for...thank you!

Happy Anniversary!!!!

Wow!!! Has it been 6 years already??? I remember that beautiful June day (6/7/03) like it was just yesterday. From the moment Brianna was born, I began praying about the man God would raise up to be her husband. I prayed he would be a man who first and foremost loved the Lord and second that he would be someone who deeply loved and cherished my daughter. After we met John for the first time, call it Mother's intuition, I knew immediately he was the man God had hand picked for Brianna. John's easy going and patient demeanor, along with his quirky, dry sense of humor reminded me so much of Brianna's Dad, it was amazing. What a beautiful testament and compliment to her Father. It's been an absolute joy watching their relationship deepen and their family grow over the last few years. Congratulations on your 6th wedding anniversary Bri and John...we love you very much!!!



What a beautiful family...God bless!!

Grandma's Little Darlings

I'm not exactly sure how it happened, but suddenly one day, in the midst of my crazy, busy life, I turned around to hear a sweet little voice calling me Grandma...Grandma???

It is simply mind boggling how life can just whizz past you when you aren't even looking. One day you are a busy Mom, taking care of the thousand and one things Mom's take care of and then before you've realized it, you've passed the motherhood mantle on to the next generation. This was a profound realization to me as I watched my daughter Bri multitask from one thing to the next as she went about her day with Isabella & Tyler. Prepare the meals, pick up the house, run to the store, appt. with the pediatrician, drive to gymnastics, manage the family social calendar, and so on. "That used to be me", I thought...but now things had changed, my role had shifted from hectic Mom to "visiting Grandma". Thank you Lord, for this wonderful new time in my life...I really do love being a Grandma. I know I am biased, but I must say with sincere conviction that I do have the most adorable grandchildren in the world. Isabella, now 3 1/2 is as precocious as she is beautiful. Always talking, singing or giggling, Bella lights up every room she enters. Aside from her hair being blonde, Bella is an exact carbon copy of her mother. Time and again, I am transported back in time as I listen to Isabella chatter away and watch her skip through the house. She is like a warm ray of sunshine to my soul. And then there is Tyler. Tyler is just too darn cute for words. My heart melts when his ear to ear grin shows off his deep, adorable dimples and who can say "No" to those big,beautiful baby blue eyes. Always on the go, Tyler is a burst of endless energy that keeps you running. Yes, I am a very proud Grandma, but with little darlings like Bella & Tyler...who wouldn't be?

To see recent family pictures of Bri, John, Bella & Tyler just click on the link below

http://picasaweb.google.com/Bri.and.John/FamilyPhotos09#

Who me???...a Blogger???

Of all the various hats I wear...wife, mother, grandmother, daughter, sister, nurse & friend, I had never considered the new role of "blogger" until my two children began to endlessly beg me to " hop on board the Blogger train" and join them. I must admit, I have spent countless hours in front of my computer reading and very much enjoying the new daily posts written by my girls, but I never seriously thought of joining the blogger world...I enjoyed being on the outside looking in.
"What in the world would I write about?", I argued. "With my nest now empty, I don't have cute parenting stories to write about as many bloggers do." Their answers came in rapid succession ..."Mom, you have tons of things to share, recipes, pictures of your grandchildren & garden, fun events with your girlfriends" etc...and the list went on as they pleaded for me to join them in the blogging world. How does that old saying go?..if you can't beat 'em, join 'em? So here goes nothing...I'm jumping into new territory with both feet. So stay tuned as "Mama Bird", that's the new blogger name my girls gave me, starts her blogging journey. I'd love to hear from you ( notice you can leave a comment after any post) Hugs and love to you all.