more family fun

we have been very lucky to have so much family time while we've been up here..

sophie making 'tortatillas' - what a mess
 

sophie and gilbert - yumm.. homemade flour tortillas..
 

sophie and kia watching thomas the train on my laptop - i made sophie wear head phones - because i am done hearing thomas..
 

ben and gilbert - fixing the stove.. with sophies help..
 

and the good news is..

nana is doing better..
sorry about the quality of photo.. she doesn't like pictures of her.. so this one was taken with no flash..
she really is looking pretty good..


 

true love..

my sister in law has this dog she needs to get rid of.. it's a german dausaund.. and it is the sweetest little thing.. i really want to take her home and call her 'roxy carmichael'.. but mister ben says NO.. we'll see who wins.. i think she looks a lot like "rizzo' from the muppets.. or splinter from teenage mutant ninja turtles..


 

hanging with the nana

I'm up in WA now

hanging with the nana. she is napping.

Everyone else just left the house, so its a quiet now.

just me and the puppies and Nana

this tatoo is great

its lasted 3 days now

i think i should get a real one...

i love it here

they all say my name the right way...

power hunting...

There is a new sport among travelers. Its called power hunting and its the sport of trying to find a power outlet in an airport to sit next to to charge your laptop.

i just found the mother of all spots in the Calgary airport. I'm sitting in one of those massage chair ports with the laptop charging. sweet.

at the Vegas airport i was just at a guy was hogging both power ports for his laptop and cell phone charger. not cool. i asked the guy to be able to plug in my laptop and he tried to tell me that there was a plug somewhere over elsewhere on the floor. i said how bout i plug in here instead. he relented.

anyway, i'm in Calgary now waiting for stuff to open so i can get my car and get on the road to Banff to sleep in my castle.

deep fried fair

friday was dollar day at the fair - so the hobbys and the cotes headed down to the san diego fair.. we went - walked around, pet some goats, listen to a swing band, bought a magic squiggle thingy, saw some cool rocks and fossils, and ate some corn dogs, turkey legs, and lots of fried food.. and of course ended the night with the cotton candy.. we had a great time... and now we don't' have to go to the fair for another whole year.

eating fair food goodness
 

jimmy magic squiggle worm - no strings attached
 

the gang
 

chicken soup for the soul..

why am i eating chicken soup for lunch today?
because the high in oceanside today is going to be around 65 degrees -
i'm ready for the sun..

the nanny diaries

i have been MIA for a few days.. i took a little 'vacation' and went up to my sisters house to babysit her kids... and then i had to take a couple days off to recuperate.. taking care of the kiddos is hard work..
but they are super cute..
and.. driving the new car up there made taking care of the kiddos even harder.. because ben told me - if the kids got anything on the new car that he would kill me.. and I believed him..
so... it added an extra bit of stress to the trip..
i said to the kids 'seriously you guys.. if you put your feet on the car seats one more time- boo boo is going to kill me'
deborah took great offense to this comment - and made me call ben right away - she had to tell uncle ben that killing kai is just not nice, and that he's not allowed to do it, and if he killed kai he'd have to go to jail, and jail is not fun but you only go there if you do something bad like kill someone.. so.. he couldn't kill kai, but instead he has to love kai, because kai is nice, and we all love her, and so please don't kill her.

it was a very cute phone conversation - and ben promised not to kill me no matter what the kids did to the car.. but i think he was crossing his fingers.. because if the kids really did make a mess of the new car he would kill me..

later that day isaiah summoned his inner rock star (very jared leto) and had me paint his fingernails blue.. the thing is - the kid is three years old.. and he doesn't understand that painting fingernails is a 'girl thing' - what he does understand is that blue is for boys and pink is for girls.. so.. as a good auntie.. i did as i was told.. and i leave you with the picture that might embarrass this kid when he starts dating..

the very manly isaiah

 

these are just creepy

i think i would stay in the house if i saw these clouds outside.



Thats just begging for a black hole to open up in the sky


more pics here

garden party

today we had family day..
it was so nice to be able to enjoy the day.. and have no tests or papers to worry about..

deborah aka tinkerbell
 

family poker game
 

our friend chris is home on leave - it was great of him and his lovely wife julia to take some time out of his two weeks of leave and spend it with us.. it's always great hangning out with you chris - we wish you luck and saftey over the next 8 or so months - and we can't wait for you to come home to us - when we can have a real party (i hear you make awesome jello shots)
 

today i called my sister.. and as she does sometimes.. she let deborah answer her phone.. which i love..
and..
debroah says, 'hi'
and i say, 'hi, whose this?'
deborah says 'it's deborah who is this'
i say 'hmmm.. who is your most favorite person in the whole world?'
deborah says, 'kai.. oh it's kai.. oh i just love you kai'..
seriously.. i know i have done well conditioning my kids to answer 'kai' to questions such as, 'who is your favorite' and 'who is the best'.. but.. i just love it when they do.. and when i can hear them jumping up and down cause i'm on the phone.. it makes my heart happy..

the summer sun knows me by name

i have been out of school for four days.. and all four days the sun has refused to come out and play.. it has been chilly, overcast, and ugly outside since tuesday... is it too much to ask to be done with finals, and sitting poolside on a nice sunny day?

my only friend, the end

all done..
as of 0940 this morning...
and as it turns out... i rocked that final.. nothing to worry about..

go time..

i have been up till midnight the last couple nights - studying mostly non stop... and now.. one more day - tomorrow is all i have to get all this info down.. and i feel like it's not enough... this is a big test and i'm a little freaked right now..

the illusive lego crab..

just a picture from heath and rhianons site - that cracked me up

three down..

...one to go -
three finals are done..
one more next tuesday..
five more days of studying.. and then i'm free for the summer..
five more days till freedom..

reinforcements...

just went to the store to stock up on study food - got me some dr. pepper, peanut butter m&m's, english muffins, apples, and big stick popsicles (a necessary alteration to the food supplies with the extreme heat) - and tomorrow i'll be sitting by aunt tamies pool (the coolest aunt ever) - and studying my little heart out.. so be sure to be sending me your happy thoughts tomorrow - i could use all the help i can get..

the offical countdown begins..

turned in my rec 404 final today, and had my last lecture -
now - just a final on thursday and another final on tuesday - and i am free for the summer... i cannot wait..

On the irony...

its like rain on your wedding day....

or its like breaking down in your brand new car that you bought because you were afraid that your old car was going to break down on you and leave you stranded on the road

yep, that was our adventure today. Stuck on the freeway. out in the heat. In the worst place on the freeway with no exits for miles.

good times.

bring it on..

clinicals are over! (for this semester).. i have literally one more day of lectures - and then finals.. so close..

I really want need one of these

yes i know i'm a nerd, but how cool is that?

closing in...

finished giant group assignment wednesday PM

took nursing research final thursday AM

finished giant (and final for this semester) nursing paper thursday PM (close to friday AM - but not quite)

and now it's friday PM - finally time to relax..

one final down, three more to go...

the end is in sight..

great picture

Here is a great picture of Rhett, Chara and Dawn in the background




Shannon and I are back there somewhere too

Ben...

behave yourself..

i'm down to my last three weeks of school.. i am finding it hard to sit still and pay attention..

Where is my jetpack?

There is a new book out called "Where is my Jetpack?" that talks about the future and all the gadgets we were promised, but aren't here.

I heard the author speak the other day and it did amuse me and how far we've come yet how lacking our gadgets and technology is in some areas.

One gadget that we bought that i love is the Roomba. Now its not the whole Rosie the robot house cleaning maid we saw a child on the Jetsons, but its a great little device. It vacuums while we are away, and who wouldn't love that? If you have dogs, i highly recommend it. And while its not perfect, i think its important to be building these devices and to be researching new technologies. To that same effect, we just bought a Prius. Yes we are THOSE people now, but no i'm not moving to S.F. And again, while its not perfect its a step in a better direction, and its a step worth taking.

so that said, Woot.com has a roomba on sale. Its just fun to watch this thing work.

we need to be working toward the future. I want my jetback, and a hover board!

special message for Heath and Rhiannon

hide and seek

a couple months ago ben purchased a 'universal remote' - which is supposed to control all the stuff in our entertainment unit - and as always i rebelled.. i was very good with the old remotes.. and didn't want to learn anything new.. ben put up with it for quite a while.. until this week.. finally.. he hid my old remotes.. now he gives me no choice.. i must learn a new remote system.. i am not happy..

here is part of an email i got from my school:

The school's Police and the FBI are questioning an individual in
connection with a threat that was made... the school may be targeted for
violent acts similar to what occurred at Virginia Tech on Monday.  The
threat was for Thursday, April 19.  Investigation conducted to date by
Campus Police and the FBI indicates that the threat was a hoax.

....what am i supposed to do with this?

We Are Here: The Pale Blue Dot

this is amazing

God bless Ben & Jerry

Its Free Cone Day at Ben & Jerry's and its a great thing.

now i need to go running

mister golden sun, please shine down on me..

jess, lizard, and i spent a 'girl' weekend in palm springs.. we did some shopping, some laying out by a pool, and had a much needed relaxing weekend.... hooray for the sun.. it felt great..

Temet Nosce

Know thyself.

I think its important to know who you are. Know what you are good, at and almost more importantly know what you are not good at.

i am not a boat person. I should know i'm not a boat person. The problem is i forget. I got on a boat trip once every two years and have a horrible time and then proceed to forget how bad it was and want to go on another boat trip.

I am not a boat person. That is my new motto. I don't do boats. I will never sail around the world. I'm just not that guy. And its ok. I need to know that, and more importantly remember that.

I am still dizzy...

Ben...

home stretch

paper was finished around midnight last night..
i just have to get through the next six hours of class.. and then this week from hell is over..
... and then we're on to next week from hell..
after today - only five more weeks of class this semester.. i can't wait for summer..

anger management

this is a bad week.. and it's only tuesday..
today thanks to nerissa, i realized that the paper i thought was due next friday, is actually due this friday.. this is a huge problem, because this paper is like 30 pages long, and a major pain... it wouldn't be so bad if i didn't have a test this thursday, which only gives me two small afternoons to do this paper, and tomorrow afternoon to study for this test... and i have a major test next tuesday - which i have no time to study for.. because some where this weekend i have to fit in easter.. actually easter might be canceled this year..
but.. i do have to say.. ben has been great.. he came home, brought me dr. pepper, a cadbury egg, made me dinner.. and then.. just as i was losing it, yelling at the printer.. he busted out some ben and jerrys.. what a good guy..
i just can't wait for this all to be over.. i have no idea what it's like to get home from an 8 hour day, and be done.. as it is now.. i get home from 8 hours of school, and i have another 6 hours of homework to do..

family fun day

the fam met up at irvine spectrum today.. and we had a great time..
here are my kiddos modeling some fabulous eye wear..

i have the greatest friends..

big baby...

ben won't let me start an IV on him..

chara's horoscope

not that i give any credence to horoscopes.. but..
today's google horoscope:
You have likely grown tired of your daily grind and now seek the simplicity of retreat. This isn't, however, about going backwards; it's about moving into a less complicated future. Today, it's surely "back to basics" so find new ways to finish your chores faster and you'll have your downtime to relax.

how did google know i don't want to study any more? i'm so tired of doing this.. i can't wait for it all to be over.. 3 more days till spring break..

truancy: failure to attend (especially school)

i finally got a chance today to call the admission department of the high school - where my kid apparently is skipping, and now suspended.. it didn't go as well as i thought,

me: umm.. i keep getting this automated call telling me that my child has been skipping school, and the thing is - i don't have children - and unless my puppies are missing school - i don't think you've got the right number

admission lady(not impressed by my humor): you don't have any kids that go to our high school?

me: no - i don't have any kids that go to your high school - i don't have any kids at all

admission lady(still not getting my humor): well, do you know any kids that go to our school

me: no - i don't - the thing is - i'm thinking that my number got put into your automated system by accident (which to me totally makes sense - because some one had to input hundreds of seven digit phone numbers into this system, perhaps they got one or two wrong)

admission lady(thinking i'm an idiot): so you don't know anyone who goes to our school?

me: the thing is, no i don't - i have no kids, i don't know any kids, i live in san diego - not orange county - i am no where near your school - i'm pretty sure this is just a data entry error..

admission lady(still skeptical): ok, give me the number, and we'll look into it..

yeah.. perhaps this is why california is not so much in the top ten of schools that succeed in actually teaching children.. it took me twenty minutes to clear up something that should have been taken care of in three -

and.. then around 7pm, i find out the admission lady did no such clearing up - and my kid is still in trouble for skipping school, and i'm still in trouble for being a bad parent, and not calling..

the kind of thing you deal with when your a parent

on tuesday i got a call from cypress high school telling me that my kid had missed school/been truant. at first i thought i was funny.. i told ben that one of the doggies skipped school..
and we both laughed.. but then i got the same call on wednesday, and thursday, and twice on friday.. now it's not funny anymore.. i get the automated called around 7pm.. meaning i can't call the cypress high school and tell them they have the wrong number.. and then today i got the call that told me my poor kid was suspended for truancy.. and the nice man on the automated call tells me that i really need to call back or my kid will be disciplined further.. so it turns out that i don't even have kids, and i'm a bad mom..

you know what i hate..

when you've been working on this 29 page paper for hours and hours.. and you just want to be done.. but you can't print it.. because you used your new lap top.. and your new lap top has windows vista - and windows visa will not recognize your printer.. so.. thinking you are all smart.. and about to be done.. you email the paper to yourself.. and then you try to print it.. only your other computer - the one that the printer will recognize- doesn't recognize your paper - because this computer doesn't have the windows vista program to open your paper.. and then you yell at ben.. because clearly.. this is all his fault.. and then some how is a genius.. and he fixes it..
damn you bill gates.

omg

did any one see lost tonight? i really love that show..

404

sorry, our website is fixed and back up

my hosting company screwed up and broke our www.benandchara.com domain

should be back up and working now

Ben...

happy pi day everyone..

needles and pins

back to school today.. we all practiced inserting IV's... i got both of mine first try.. any one else want to volunteer to let me try?

while ben's away..

ben's away for work this weekend.. so my sister, and my nursing school gals (+ one jimmy) came over to keep me company..
lots of drinks, dancing, and lots of fun..





yes.. that is my sister on my coffee table.. dancing..


flirt-tinis - yumm...

booty first..

my patient today had a baby who was breach (butt first).. so i got to see my first c-section... it was crazy.. in less than 10 minutes they had that baby out.. and it was weird.. here comes this baby, who one minute was taking a nap safe and sound inside warm mommy, and was now all of a sudden getting tugged out, leg first by a doctor, into this OR room, which is like 60 degrees.. the poor thing was unahppy - and she let us know..
either way.. here is the lesson learned today - i thought C sections were a much better choice than a regular delivery.. but.. now - i'm not so sure.. it's not pretty.. then again.. the other way isn't excatly pretty either..

New Arrival in the Giant family...

Jeff and Amber had a baby (ok well more Amber than Jeff. Chara can explain the science behind it all)

At 2:50PM on 2/27/2007, Amber delivered our new little bundle of joy, James William Manning.

After just about 12 hours of labor, James decided that he would enter our world. He was 21 inches long and was a very hearty 9 lbs, 2 oz at birth (effectively beating out his father’s birth weight by 1 oz). The doctors have stated that both mom and baby are happy and healthy, both are resting up.

Thank you all for your thoughts and your prayers during this time,

ouch

i saw my first male circumcision in class on friday.. and wow.. that looks incredibly painful..
my job was to stand there and try to sooth the baby while the doctor was snipping away.. the poor little guy.. he took it like it champ.. but it definitely make me think twice about circumcision.

drunk babies..

today in clinical i went to the radiation department at children's hospital..
this part of the hospitals does x-rays, CT scans - that kind of thing.. some of the x-rays require the babies to be completely still during the process.. in order to keep the babies still they give the babies something called 'versed' - which is used for sedation, anti anxiety, and amnesia... it's kinda like having two or three margaritas.. so when this is given to little kids - it turns them into drunk little kids.. they laugh, and giggle, sometimes they hallucinate.. i cracked up all day long.. drunk babies are pretty dang funny..

sugar.. yumm..

anyone who knows my sister, knows that she is a health freak.. like the worst kind.. and because of this, she limits the amount of sugar her kids get..

but now deoborah goes to school.. and my sister cannot regulate what sugar she gets with snacks at school..
one day deborah comes home from school telling her mom all about the bagel covered in chocolate with sprinkles - and how good it was..
reanna thought it was weird, and she's never even heard of a bagel covered in chocolate and sprinkles.. and then reanna realized what it was.. it was a doughnut.. deborah had her first doughnut.. and because she had never had one before - and it had a hole.. she thought it was a bagel..

all you need is love..

my nephew Isaiah is three years old..
and he is super cute..
this week is valentines - and with the help of his teacher, Isaiah filled out a questionnaire about love, here are isaiah 's answers to some difficult questions..

what is love?
sharing

how do you show love?
a big house

how do mommy and daddy show you love?
they yell at me and tell me to get out of their room

what do you guys do as a family for fun?
mommy and daddy take me over to grandma and grandpas house

yes.. some of those questions might have confused the poor little guy... but they did make me laugh..
happy valentines day everyone..

You've got to check out this video

This guy is great. i'm bummed i missed this show.

Chara just likes him because he's wearing a Dr. Pepper T-shirt.



double click the video screen to go to full screen. its awesome.

More of his videos will be uploaded here: http://stage6.divx.com/Jake

i don't know nothing 'bout birthing babies

last friday i had to watch a video on the 'magical' birthing process.. now i know where babies come from.. and i am more scared than ever..
however.. i took care of a 9 week old today.. and i couldn't help but fall in love.. it turns out that babies are cute.. who knew?

Heath and Rhianon have left the building

and are on thier way to Guam... via LAX this morning

i'm sure they are now still in the airport awaiting thier fun day of travel and still very full from sushi last night.

we will miss them a lot, but hopefully will get to visit them soon.

Ben...

Tip: if you have a regular sushi place that you have been to for years and you know the sushi chef and all the people that work there, don't go there for your last meal before you leave the country. They will feed you way too much sushi and saki.

The big "hole in the wall' project

so we decided our house could use a little more opening up

so we put a big hole in the wall

here is the wall

and from the other side

then i started tearing it apart


and more

then i had this big hole


Then i had to reroute the electrical

and then it was done

and then we threw a big party and put it to good use



more party pictures and movies to come...

i want a new drug

heath and rhianon leave me tomorrow.. and i'm self medicating with dr pepper and red wine..

Holy cow what a weekend...

A big remodel project

an even bigger party

a wiffleball/superbowl party to follow

pictures to come

i'm still catching my breath

now you see me..

i just signed up for another 'mandatory' class this semester.. that puts me at a grand total of 19 units this semester.... so i guess what i'm saying is.. it looks like it's going to be a busy semester..

chara..