Matthew turns 6

I now have a 6-year-old. Can't believe it. This was his 1st "real party." We usually just have parties at the house which works out great. Personally I like having parties at the house. They seem to be more laid back and casual, but this year I thought I would let Matthew have his party somewhere. He has been to enough birthday parties now that knows how much fun they can be. I did like that I didn't have to clean up and there was entertainment for the kids, but of course you have to pay for it, but it was worth it :) Matthew really enjoyed it. We just invited the boys from his class and we had a good turn out. Matthew had a lot of fun! Enjoy the pics!

Long overdue update

We're still alive :) I am amazed by how fast time goes. It is scary. My last post was April 1st which seems like it was just a few weeks ago, but it was over 2 months ago. We are well into Summer already and so far so good, well most days anyway! It isn't too bad with Matthew home. Him and Luke are attached to each other so I know that Luke is glad that Matthew is out of school. Matthew finished out Pre K4 and did fairly well. He will be going into Kindergarten next year. So far I am still very happy with his small private school that he is in. I think it is good for him. Next year he will be in the "learning lab" so I will be eager to see how that works out for him. Basically it just means he will be pulled out of class a couple times a week for extra help. Matthew did have a recent visit with Dr. Mauk at the Child Study Center and it is definitely looking like he will have some sort of "language based learning disability." She wants him to get a full evaluation in about 6 months. I've known all along that something wasn't quite right. I will try my best to not let it define him. I just know that we will have a long road ahead of us in regards to school/academics. At least it is a lot more recognized today than it was when I was growing up. These kids have a lot more support so his future remains bright :) We did put Matthew in Tae Kwon Do which is going very well. The place we found is perfect for Matthew. He is really enjoying it!

Well work has slowed down recently which is not good. The hospital didn't renew their contract with Amerigroup (a type of Medicaid) and the reality is most pregnant Mom's having babies are under Medicaid so this does impact our census, but Amerigroup is only 1 kind of Medicaid so we are still accepting all the other types. In the last couple of weeks our census has gotten much better, but the big problem is that we have overhired. We have too many full time nurses and most of them are on days so we really need to have a census in the mid to upper 20's to utilize all of our staff. It is frustrating, but not much I can do about it at this point. The problem for me it that PRN and then PT staff is cancelled before FT staff. I have only been cancelled twice so far so I am okay at this point, but the future is uncertain. The hospital will likely renew with Amerigroup in about 6 months, but that doesn't help the situation currently. I have started job searching. I did tell myself that when Joshy hits a year that I would start looking. I think I am ready to move to a larger NICU that does surgery and has subspecialty support so that means a Children's hospital or a high risk referral center like Harris Ft. Worth. Harris Ft. Worth has a PT night position open that I have applied to and had a phone interview that seemed to go well, but a couple of days later the PT job posting was gone, but now it is listed again and I am waiting to hear from the recruiter. I would really LOVE to work for Harris. They have an awesome NICU. It would be 3 times the size of the NICU I am currently in and they do surgery and have subspecialty support. All there babies go to Cooks for sugery and come right back to Harris. Cooks is connected to Harris. Pretty cool huh? I really have my heart set on Harris so I hope I am not disappointed. We shall see. I am definitely ready to rejuvinate my passion for NICU nursing.

Luke is doing great although he is 2 and he definitely is acting 2 at times. His favorite word is "nooooooo." Otherwise he is still such a cutie and such a sweet boy.

Joshy is doing great as well. 9 months old already and he is crawling and pulling up. I am starting to hear some babbling as well. He is such a cutie and loves his brothers.

We are going to the beach in August. I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!!!!! It has been so long since I have taken a real vacation. All of us are going and I can't wait for the boys to see the beach. Looks like we will be going to Gulf Shores, Alabama. We will be getting a beach front condo for a week. So excited.

Can't think of much else at this point. I will post some pics in the next post.

Blessings!

Betsey

Love these boys!

My Origami Owl opportunity

Well I officially signed up with Origami Owl. It has been a few weeks and so far I am having a blast. I am really loving the product and surprisingly I am loving the sales and marketing aspect of it. This surprises me because I am really not a "sales" person. I know lots of people that have been in direct sales (Avon, Pampered Chef, Scentsy, Arbonne, Mark Kay, etc...), but I was never interested in joining any type of direct marketing company. There was just something about Origami Owl and the product that captured me and well here I am :) This company is fairly new, but is RAPIDLY GROWING. There is a wait list for new designers and it is taking several weeks to get on with the company. I think I joined at a good time. I am taking things slow and steady at this point. They are coming out with a new catalog and hostess rewards next month so I am waiting for that before I starting booking parties.

So what is Origami Owl you ask. Well, they sell lockets, necklaces, charms, tags, plates, and dangles. Basically you design your own living locket that tells your story. The options are endless. They have a HUGE selection of charms. The lockets open and close so you can change out plates and charms. They also have a tagged line that is super cute! The quality is amazing. Below are some pictures of some of these lockets. LOVE!

Here is a link to my Origami Owl Facebook page. Please visit and "like" my page so you can stay up to date on all things Origami Owl. There is also a link for you to shop. If you need to contact me feel free to e-mail me at kruegerbetsey@gmail.com

https://www.facebook.com/OrigamiOwlByBetsey

My 1st Origami Owl locket

Just received my 1st Origami Owl living locket. Isn't it fabulous? I geared my 1st locket towards my work as a NICU RN. All I can say is WOW! I love it! I love it so much that I am going to start selling these. Yep, you heard right. You will be able to get your hot little hands on one of these amazing lockets. I will be posting more about Origami Owl very soon so stay tuned.

Luke's 1st haircut and learning differences

Well we got Luke's very 1st haircut today. It went very well. My hairdresser (Lisa) did it. I have been going to her for years. She did Matthew's 1st haircut so I wanted her to do Luke's and of course she will be doing Joshy's eventually. Luke looks like a cute little man now. Honestly he still doesn't have much hair, but it needed to be "cleaned up." Pictures below. Now on the learning differences. This has nothing to do with Luke's 1st haircut :) Had a meeting with Matthew's preschool director, his PreK teacher, and the learning differences coordinator. They want to put him in the Learning Lab next year for Kindergarten. I am not surprised, but I was hoping just maybe that he would just do fabulous and not need any of those types of services, but that isn't the case. In my heart I know that Matthew has some sort of learning difference. His teacher said overall he is doing well, but there are some things he really struggles with. I knew this was coming, but it is still hard to hear. He is not officially diagnosed with any sort of learning difference. He is really too young to make any sort of diagnosis just yet. It will likely come in the next few years. I am soooo grateful that his little small private school has a learning difference program that he can utilize (for an extra fee of course). Of course I have fears that it may not be enough down the road, but I will just have to cross that bridge when I get there. I do have my heart set on Matthew attending this school all the way up until the 12th grade. I will just need to take it year by year and just trust that God is handling it and that he knows what it best for Matthew. It is very hard knowing that Matthew will likely struggle in school. You just want the best for your kids and don't want to see them struggle. I have looked into alternative schools if needed in the future. Basically they are private schools that cater to kids with learning differences, but WOW are they expensive!!!!!!!!!! Obviously he may need to be in the public school system to get the services that he needs. It wasn't what I was planning, but of course not everything goes according to plan. He does have an evaluation with the school district next week so he should be able to get some sort of speech therapy through the school. It won't be much, but it will be better than nothing. For now I am trying to not worry about the future, but that is much easier said than done and on the grand scheme of things there could be much worse things to deal with. That is all for now! Blessings! Betsey .

Blog makeover

I was getting bored with the previous blog so I made some changes. I am really not very blog savy so I am trying to get familiar with some of the various settings, formats, and layouts. I didn't realize it,but some people actually make a decent living off of their blog. They actually bring in an income. Pretty cool, but I hear it is A LOT of work and probably not something I have time for, but I will admit I would like to look into it. I would probably start an additional blog. I hear that the more lucrative blogs usually stick to 1 topic such as cooking, crafts, organizing, etc.... I was thinking maybe a neonatal blog. Hmmmmm. Something to think about. Here is 1 pic of Luke. This is the pic I will be using for his 2nd birthday party invite.

Luke