One night, while I was "working" (I use that term loosely, since I'm "working" right now), a friend looked over my shoulder as I was catching up on my blog reading. She watched as I browsed several blogs of friends and family and noticed that almost every blog I read was about Mommies and Babies. She said, "Don't these people have anything else going on in their lives?" Now, I know every one of the bloggers whose blogs I read is a well rounded, interesting individual, but it did appear that each of these people's life was consumed by his or her children. This was before I started blogging, and, now that I am blogging, every time I make a post, I think about this girl's comment and I try to find something interesting to blog about that is not related to my children. But, let's face it, my kids are what's going on in my life! Everything I do, every decision I make, is based on my family. I spend Sunday afternoon through Friday morning as the primary caregiver for Collin & Bailey. (I work Friday & Saturday nights & sleep during the day) I love watching them grow up. They bring me so much joy! They are such a wonderful gift. I really do have other things going on in my life, but none as important or as exciting (to me) as Collin and Bailey.
Right now Bailey is so much fun. She's "crawling" around the house, which is more a combination of movements to get her from one place to another. She starts on her hands and knees, then does a little army crawl, the does a little roll. She looks like a little spy if you watch the whole process! She's also trying to pull up on her toys, but mostly they end up falling on top of her!
Collin is a bit more of a challenge for me, these days. He talks about being potty trained, but he's not. He'll watch Elmo's potty "DB" (his name for dvd's, he calls most movies "DVos") over and over and over, but will not use the potty. He's all BOY! He's constantly moving, mostly jumping or running. He loves any type of attention he can get, so he makes choices based on the amount of attention they will bring him, instead of deciding whether it is a good or bad choice. He loves playing with cars, trucks, and dinosaurs, and pretending to be one. My favorite thing to do with Collin is cook. He's my little chef! Every time I start to cook he pulls a chair over to help. I think his favorite part is cracking eggs, and he's pretty good at it.
I think my biggest challenge right now, as their mom, is finding activities that a 3 year old and a 7 month old can do together, or at least, safely at the same time!
Other than my kiddos, I really do have other things going on in my life. They just take a back seat to the stuff mentioned above! I am a nurse (not an adult, according to Collin), actually, a Certified Pediatric Oncology Nurse. I even have letters behind my name (Christin Morell, RN, BSN, CPON). I love what I do, but I don't love going to work. (I'd rather be with my family.) It is such a challenging profession. I enjoy dealing with the complex issues kids have with cancer and/or blood disorders. I love learning new things. I love that I work in this super specialized area that is "my thing". Really, my favorite, even more specialized, area to work in is stem cell transplant, but in Austin I don't have those patients, and I really miss it. When it comes to hematology/oncology patients, this is pretty much the most complex they can get. So, if you ever as me a health related question, and I don't know the answer, it's probably because it's not related to pediatrics or cancer/blood disorders. When we moved to Austin, I had to learn about diabetes and gastrointestinal disorders because the oncology population here is not as large as it is in Dallas, and I have to be able to care for the overflow patients we get.
Also, I like to scrapbook. I don't get much time to do this anymore, though. It's hard to pull out all my supplies to work on a project while Collin is around, and since he doesn't nap anymore, I don't have a time to do it. A third thing going on in my life that is not children related is choir. I sing in our choir at church, but since I have to work weekend nights, I don't get to sing on Sunday mornings, so mostly I do the special programs that we have. I really enjoyed our "Christmas Night of Praise". I think it's just fun to be a part of the programs. I also love being a part of such a wonderful group of people. Really, I just love anything related to music. Third, While Spencer is looking for a ministry position, I'm learning what it means to be a "minister's wife". We are so blessed to be at Hyde Park where I have such wonderful examples to learn from! I'm looking forward to Spencer being on staff somewhere where we can minister together. In the mean time, we're looking for opportunities to minister where we are right now. Something else I love to do is spend time in the kitchen. I love to cook and bake. I love trying new recipes. Spencer doesn't like many foods, but I'm working on getting him used to trying new things. I'm even making Bailey's baby food myself, so that she'll be used to my cooking and the flavors our family eats (or should eat). So, other than a mom, I'm a minister's wife, music lover, food lover, scrapbooker, and a nurse. If I could add anything else to the list, it would be runner, but I've got a long way to go, before I get there! (I used to be a runner, but now that I'm a mom, I've got to get my body back into shape for that!) I also love to shop, watch TV & movies, spend time outdoors, and read. But, as much as I love all those other things, being a mom is my first priority, so no, I really don't have much else going on in my life!
My Baylor Bears, celebrating the basketball wins (with a football)!
This is Collin's Good Behavior Jar. He helped decorate it. Every time he shows he can make a good choice (good manners, sharing, etc.) he gets an M&M. When he fills it to the line, he'll get to pick a treat. I think he's most excited about eating the M&M's, though. So far, great incentive for good behavior!
Cooking together.
Bailey's pretty dress from Grammie, right before we took it off because we decided she was too sick to go to church.
Collin in the park in Sugar Land, playing baseball with uncle B
Bailey's first swing experience. I think she liked it!
Happy St. Patty's Day!
Bailey has started doing this to let everyone know she's super cute!
This was taken during Bailey's first zoo trip. She was not impressed, so she just took off her shoe and tried to put it back on again.
My boys at the Baylor Bear Pit
Bailey at the Bear Pit
Getting ready for bed
My girlie girl, pushing her stroller, wearing a tutu!
