Day 1-Introduce, recent picture, 15 interesting facts

I am Amanda Jill, or AJ.  My life story can be found HERE.  I am 34yo and work full-time as a nurse in a skilled nursing/rehab unit at my local hospital.  I have 3 kids.  DS Bailey is 15yo and lives full-time with my parents.  DD Corbin is 9yo and is HF ASD or Asperger’s.  DS Jax is 2yo and my wild child.  Hubby TJ and I will celebrate our 5 year wedding anniversary in May and have been together most of the last 10 years as of April.  TJ is the stay-at-home parent and it has worked out pretty well for us.

I just took this one this evening.

1. Growing up becoming a nurse never crossed my mind, in fact I tell people I kind of fell into being a nurse. (Guess that could be a blog post all its own)

2. I would like to get my RN BSN (Registered Nurse, Bachelor’s of Nursing) and work in OB. Maybe even go on for my Masters and become a Nurse Midwife.

3. When I got pregnant with Jax it was after two years of TTC and just two months after I had lost hope and accepted that it wasn’t going to happen for us.

4. I own no skirts or dresses. I hate them. I bought a skirt to wear for my sister’s wedding last May and have since got rid of it. I looked hideous in it.

5. I want to get a tattoo, but my OCD is one of the things holding me back. I feel like I must wait until I have decided on the perfect placement and have found an artist I trust to get it exactly like I have it pictured in my head. (In other words, it may never happen)

6. I started school in kindergarten at the local public school. When my parents got married I went to my dad’s old catholic school for 4th, 5th, and 6th grade. Half-way through 7th grade my parents transferred me back to the public school. It was strange to reconnect with kids I had started school with but hadn’t even spoken to for 3+ years, but most of them remembered me.

7. Every few years I cut my hair off. It is something I have done since my teens. I grow my hair out, it gets super long, and I get tired of it and chop it short. Right now I am in a grow it out stage from cutting it last summer.

8. Sometimes I feel like TJ is the only person in the world who really knows me and understands me. And while I love that he and I are so connected, it can feel a bit lonely to only have him.

9. I am one of those few people who loved high school and would like to go back to those days sometimes. I was so confident back then and while I do remember some drama issues I shrugged most things off.

10. My grandmother has complained that to look in my closet is depressing. Full of grays, blues, and blacks. I have added a few pieces of color since she said this, but need to do better.

11. I love to read. In fact combine my love of reading and my ADD and my mom had to stop leaving the cereal boxes on the table during breakfast. Even if I had just read all four sides of the box the day before I would reread them just for something to do while I was eating.

12. I have a love/hate relationship with shoes. I love how the right shoes can make an outfit and am always tempted to buy cute pairs, but I hate wearing shoes and during the warm months I am either bare foot or in my flip flops as much as possible.

13. I can’t spell. I love spell check. I’ve been told that it is unusual for someone who was one an early reader and two loves reading as much as I do to be THIS bad at spelling.

14. Even though I suck at spelling, I was always the one to come to for proof reading regarding word usage and grammar in high school.

15. I feel like my brain has shrunk since high school. Is it possible to get dumber as you get older, because I sure feel like it when helping DD with 4th grade homework?



Wow, that wasn’t too bad. I think I came up with some good things.

We are going to be quiters!

That’s right, TJ and I are going to quit smoking. I have already cut my cigarettes in half in the last few days and only have 2.5 packs left. I will not be buying anymore.

We have both said for years now that we needed to quit, but now we both agree and are seriously ready. What is different for us this time? Jax. He says cigarettes, he says lighter, and he pretends to smoke things, like his French fries.

This I feel is the last straw for us. Yes, we both know all the other reasons we should quit like our health and the money we will save. And while Corbin has always asked us not to smoke and to please stop, she never showed an interest like he has started doing.

So I will quit and I will teach my kids that they should never start. Corbin already knows I regret starting, and so will Jax.

Long-Time / No Post

Wow, I have really sucked at this blogging thing. But now that I have left my evening job at the state facility and am working once more at my old 12 hour over night job, I really hope to have more time to spend here.

It has been a long winter here in mid-MO. We got a taste of spring, and I loved it as did the kids. But now it is cold and wet with occasional snow flurries again. We are so ready to put away our winter wear and have fun in the sun.

Jax is talking so much right now and saying new words everyday. He also loves to help us with chores around the house. I tried to get some pictures of him a few days back but he still tries to steal the camera which just makes for unhappy pictures of him reaching for it.

I had a parent teacher meeting for Corbin last week and I am happy to say she has gotten her grades up in all her subjects they were low in. And now that I am home more in the evening to help out with homework I hope they get even better, but math is still a struggle for her.

Ok, I know I say this all the time but I will try to be here more often and to post more comments on blogs I follow.