Pics

Here are some pictures from when Boo spent the night and then Ethan over at Tiffany's house. Click to enlarge.

Random Babbling

OK so I have not updated my blog in a few days. Oops! Actually, there isn't a ton going on around here to update you on. The boys flew in last night and Ethan has been so excited. We did not let Ethan stay up to wait on the boys because I knew he would not go to sleep if I let him stay up. I did promise him that they would be there with Jerry when he picked him up today from daycare. Ethan hero worships his brothers and it's so sweet to watch.

My job is going great, I'm just taking it one day at a time. I finally got the new girl that took my place pretty much fully trained.

School is going good....but I'm so burnt out. Thank God that it is going as fast as it is. I know I just have one more year and I'm D-O-N-E! I'm not even ready to think if I want to go ahead and pursue my masters. I keep tossing that one back and forth. Jerry is doing really well in school as well. I think he is enjoying it more than I am, to tell you the truth. I never liked school and I guess that I never will.

Other than that, life is just normal. Hope everyone is doing well!

At the Park

Ethan and I drove up to Huntsville today to hang out with Tiff and Fayth. Here are some random pics. You can click on them to enlarge.

Goofing Off

So Tiff came over yesterday and we went to lunch and a movie. Here are some pics of us goofing off:

We Wish You a Merry Christmas..

So, we had a great day today!! We started off with Santa and Ethan was beside himself!! Then, Grandma Wendy and Papa Ronald sent him a Ford F150 truck so we Ethan decided that he had to eat breakfast in it. After that, it was off to my parents....The hit of the day?....An Optimus Prime helmet that my parents got for Boo. I seriously think everyone but me wore it at least once. The only reason that I didn't was because I didn't want to mess up my hair...lol....Ethan made it all day without a nap and was actually in a great mood, which is unusual if he misses his nap. After we got home, Jerry took Ethan out to the backyard where he learned how to drive his new truck....and lets not forget to mention that he thought he was all that, while he was driving it! We had a really good Christmas...here are some snapshots from the day. Check out my dead sexy parents! ROFL

My Heart...

Ethan and I were out playing today. This is from Christmas Eve day. You can click on them to make them larger. Love to you all!

Summary of Email Signatures

I was compiling these tonight and these are the best of the best.

Tiffany and Me

My best friend Tiffany has been my best friend since I was 15. She was my first best friend and we have seen each other through some of our best and worst times. I ran across this the other day and it sums us up....

This and That

So, it's been a while since I have blogged. Life has just been really busy. I'm in my last week of school (next week) and I really need a break. I have a week off so that is great. I'm currently training the girl that is taking my place. She has no experience in research so we have started way at the beginning. She is bright though and is catching on fast. It's been a little hard doing my old job and my new one at the same time. I don't think it will be long though. Ethan is so excited about Christmas. We don't have a whole lot planned for Christmas eve. Normally we go to my aunts house but we decided to try something new this year. We are going to stay home and cook dinner then go look at Christmas lights with Ethan. We got packages from both Jerry's parents and my step-mom, and we haven't let him open them yet. We are going to do it all Christmas morning. I can't wait to see the look on his face when he sees that Santa has been there. We are also going to bake cookies for Santa on Christmas eve. I plan on taking a ton of pictures, so stay tuned.

Here are my 2 new email signatures. I am using the fist one in my email but I like the second one too. Not sure what I will do with it. Love to you all!

Surviving

Well, I seem to be surviving my first week as a compliance manager. I've already had my first big assignment and made it through. I will say that my promotion has caused big waves for some. Actually it's been a bit of drama and I find it trivial.

We have a minivan with an automatic sliding door. The front of the door has a sensor to where if someone gets in front of the closing door, it will re-open. However, the back part of the door does not have a sensor, it just closes up. Well, this morning as I am getting Ethan out of the van for daycare, he is standing behind me and put his fingers where it closes. By the time I saw it, the door was closing onto his 4 fingers. By this time I had just locked my door and when I saw this happening, I freaked out and dropped my keys. Our van also automatically opens up when you pull on the handle. I did that and it didn't open. I couldn't figure out why (as Ethan's fingers are still caught in the door). Then it dawned on me that my door was locked. I grabbed my keys from the ground and unlocked the door. He was crying and I was crying. At the end of all of this, he just ended up with a bruised finger. His 4 fingers were really indented at first and I was scared that he had broken his finger. But, he could move them. I called the daycare all throughout the day to see how he was doing and he was doing fine. I think it was more traumatic for me than it was for him.

We are going Christmas shopping on Saturday and Ethan is going to play with his best friend/cousin, Boo Boo (Chas). I'm so excited about Christmas because Ethan is so excited. We go driving around looking at lights quite a bit. We let him plug in the lights and big Santa every night. We are still unsure what we are going to get him as his smaller presents. His big present this year is a Smart Cycle. It looks like a stationary bike and you have to peddle it to make a game that is hooked up to the TV, work. We think he will like it.

The new girl that is taking my position will start on Monday. I've already taken her around to meet people and I really like her. I think she is going to do really well in research.

Other than that, I can't think of anything else to catch up on. Hope everyone reading is doing GREAT!!! Hugs to you all.

It's official!

Well, you are looking at (well not looking) at the new research compliance manager for the Heart Center where I work. My new day was very hectic but I jumped in with both feet. I figure I will take it one day at a time.

Ethan is so excited about Christmas that it is contagious. It's neat to see through is innocent eyes. The lights continue to fascinate him and he recently adopted our stockings as his "baby's". They each have some kind of animal or Santa on them as the head of the stocking so he's been wanting to sleep with them....lol He's been having a hard time not wanting to go to daycare every day but from what I understand, it is normal for his age. That doesn't make it any easier though, to tell him that he has to go because I have to go to work. This morning he asked if he could just go to work with me and it broke my heart. He's such a sweet and loving little boy that is so fun to be around. He really does enrich those lives that he touches.

Next weekend we will finish our Christmas shopping. As much as I HATE the cold weather, it just doesn't feel like Christmas right now because today's high is 80 degrees. Due to the dramatic weather changes every other day, I am losing my voice and officially sound like a frog. I called Jerry today and he thought I was crying...lol

Well, that is about all of the update that I have for now. I'm going to get some new pics of Ethan and try and post them this weekend. Cheers!

Christmas Lights!

These pictures don't do the house justice. The lights are so pretty!!!! The top of the house has popping blue lights and looks so great from the street! You can click on them to make them bigger.

Holiday in the Park

Yesterday Eunice, Barry, and I took the boys to Holiday in the Park. They met Santa, rode a train, and rode a carosel (twice!) We all had so much fun but the boys had a blast. While we were gone, Jerry hung up Christmas lights outside. Then when we got home, we decorated the tree! Ethan was so excited! Here are a few pictures:

Double Edged Sword

So, I spoke with my boss this morning and will be moving into my new office on the 6th of December. My promotion isn't going to be totally final but he needs my space. We are going over job expectations and he drops a huge bomb on me that almost has me quaking in my shoes! There is a huge research study here that is high profile....the current coordinator is mediocre so the are not even sure how the quality of the data in the trial is....they are also 100% sure that it is going to be audited by the FDA in the next year. Oh, and the current coordinator just turned in her resignation so cleaning up the study should be fun....Anyway, this is going to be a "make you" or "break you" type of situation because the doctor is very high profile. If I audit it and miss things, he will get written up by the FDA. I was told that will have a year or so to clean it up, so that is good but man, that is a lot of pressure....

On the flip side, there is no current position for the one that I am taking. They just created the position for me. That means that there is no process already in place. That is a good thing and a bad thing. I'm going to have to develop a whole section of my department from scratch (eek) but at the same time, I will be able to set it up the way that I want it.

I'm rambling because the closer I get, the more nervous I become. It may not seem like it, but it is a huge step for my career.

Ethan's School Pictures

Ethan had his picture done twice in October. They are "the roaring 20's" and his Christmas pictures. You can click on them to make them bigger. Enjoy!

Thanksgiving

We had a really nice day today. We all went to Mom and Pops, and just had relaxing afternoon. It's always great when we get together, I love it when the boys spend time together. They butted heads a little today but they generally had a good day. They really are best friends. Anyway, here are some pictures from today...

As Promised!

Here are some random pictures:

Updating on not Updating

Hmmmm it seems that I have a ton of pictures on my camera that I need to upload to my computer. Pics of Jake and Ethan, and Ethan with Boo. He's doing fine, just has a runny nose and a cough but nothing big. That normally happens every time the weather changes, and in Texas that is every other day.

Well, Thanksgiving is in just a few days and I can't believe how fast this year is going by. We are going to my moms house where my immediate family will be there and also Eunice's (my SIL) mom will come as well. Tina (Eunice's mom)has been coming over for the last 3ish years. I know it makes it easier on Barry and Eunice not to have to travel, and Tina is so sweet!

My promotion is in the works as we speak. I interviewed a girl last week that would take my place. She has NO experience in research (which is good and bad) but she will spend the next 2-3 months with me. It's good in the fact that she will be coming into the department with no bad habits to break. She seemed like she was very intelligent so I think she will pick up just fine.

I went through 3 different job descriptions last week because my boss wasn't sure what title to give me. I read them over and with what the department wants me to do we decided on the title Research Compliance Manager. My job will be to make sure that all of the studies in 3 different departments are run the way that they should (according to federal law) and to make them all "FDA ready". That just means that if the FDA comes in tomorrow, we will be prepared. I'm a little nervous because it won't just be my department (which already does most of the research in the hospital) but 2 departments that I have never worked with. Cardiovascular surgery and anesthesiology will be the other 2 departments. It is required that the job be posted and then I apply for it. I should be in my new position before Christmas.

Boo came over last night and spent the night with us. It's amazing how much they act like brothers. They play and fight just like siblings. They are the same age though so it's really neat that they have each other. They both like the same things and have the same interests. I took a few pictures and will get them up soon.

We are going to start decorating for Christmas in the next few weeks. Ethan is so excited about the season. He LOVES Santa and it will be fun this year to take him to sit on his lap.

He had some school pictures taken and they turned out so great. The theme is the Roaring 20's. They had him dressed in overalls with no shirt and they were rolled up at the feet. Then they put him in a straw hat. I'll try and get them scanned so that everyone can see, we didn't buy but a few prints.

I promise pictures really soon!