Welcoming H & H!

 October 22, 2022 is H & H gotcha day.  

Hilda and Hawkins, 4 month old sibling kittens joined our family forever. 

 We were instantly in love.  

The first two photo's are from the shelter that accompanied their biography.

Cats of Lynnwood PetSmart

September 11  · 

Meet the Twinkies!

Hawkins (tabby) and Hilda (tux) came to us as bottle babies after their mama was killed by a car. A very kind gentleman took them in and then brought them to us for care. They’ve grown up in an incredible foster home, known to some as Space Camp, where they’ve studied interspecies relations as well as basic Kitten 101-404. Hilda and Hawkins get along with other cats, people of all ages, and would probably be fine with a respectful dog, although they haven’t met one yet. They are little, fluffy, soft, snuggly babies who have finished all of their rudimentary training and are ready to graduate to managing a home and people of their own. If you are looking for kittens to bring love, joy, excitement, and amusement into your world don’t pass these two up!

Cats of Lynnwood PetSmart

October 23  · 

Hawkins and Hilda Found Their Family!

These adorable, perfect babies went home this weekend and we couldn’t be happier. Hawk and Hil came in as orphaned bottle babies when they were about 2 weeks old and it was touch and go early on. They wrapped their furry little paws deep into the hearts of their foster families, our volunteers, and finally, their new folks. We’re over the moon with their adoption and sent them off with our best wishes for long and happy lives together.

The remaining pictures are just a few of the MANY I've taken.  Hilda does not hold still unless she is sleeping. Getting a quality photo of her while awake will be an accomplishment.

They have amazing sleeping positions.  Often sleep with an arm around the other.  Hilda aggressively grooms Hawkins daily, he does not protest.  She is clever, fast and works the household on her terms.  Hawkins is aloof, lazy, always purring and tolerates being picked up, hugged, kissed etc.  He's quiet with all he does and can often be found sitting right behind my heels when I am in the kitchen. Especially near his dinner time. I have learned of his presence after stepping on his tail or falling over myself to not squash him.  Does it bother him?  Nope.  

The photo with the laptop in the background, Hilda is asleep on my arm with her sweet paw touching my arm.  Here's hoping for many healthy years with these two 💙

In other news:

Halloween came and went quickly.  I barely saw Ryan.  He somehow had an amazing candy haul.  Kathryn went out with Mira, also managed to bring a lot of loot.

My Dad celebrated is 80th birthday.  Kerri flew home and surprised both Mom and Dad. We had dinner with him at one of his favorite restaurants and were able to continue the celebration on Thanksgiving with Kerri & Sam still here.

Up next:

?

TBD 

We know Christmas will arrive.  Decorating and putting up a Christmas tree with 2 kittens will need some strategy.  I think all things breakable stay in storage.

I'm sitting here today looking out at 2-3 inches of snow.  Forecasts say it'll be a snowy winter.  At least 7 branches broke off the Magnolia tree last night.  That's a first in the 14 years I've been here.  On occasion we'd have one or two drop, but this was a surprise to see upon waking.  

Ohhh, yes and one more significant upcoming event.  I am buying a new car.  2023 Honda CR-V Hybrid Sport is on order.  Yet to be made, it might be March before it arrives.  I'd been thinking about it for months, researching for hours, agonizing over what to buy and dreading anything and everything about car dealerships.  Once I settled on Honda I emailed many dealerships to get a feel of how they would treat me via email and ask for the out the door cost.  Luckily the closest dealership had the best sales rep.  He was very patient with me as I asked a ton of questions.  After a month of email communication with him, I went to the dealership.  Very upfront about the cost of the car including everything they added after MSRP.  I felt very informed and understood.  Went back the following week to place my order.  This journey was kind of on the bucket list to accomplish as a single woman.  I wanted to be independent with buying a new car.  I wanted to not feel as if a dealership was taking advantage of my novice car buying knowledge.  It was not easy, but I am quite proud of my diligence and decision making.

🚙

September 2022

 Let's see if I can sum up the past few weeks in order

1) Kathryn made the Varsity volleyball team!

2) School started Sept 7th for Kathryn and was to be Ryan's first day as well.  Seattle School's went on strike and settled their differences with the union one week later.  

3) Ryan started school on Sept. 14th.

4) Traditional back to school pics were very tardy, but oh well.  It seems WAY less important to be prompt now vs when they were in elementary school.  

5) Bought a new refrigerator.  The old one was the last standing appliance in the home since purchase in 2008.  The new one is fancy, energy efficient and has cool ice cubes that come in two difference sizes.  I mention that because if Ryan ever reads this in the future, he will remember what he said about that and laugh. 🤣

6) Got free tickets to a Seattle Mariners game compliments SCH during employee appreciate month.  It turned out to be one of the best come from behind wins in history.  We took our neighbor Mira, it was her first game and what an epic game it was.

7) I've had the honor to swim a bit more as summer came to a close and on many occasions the little one pictured below came to say hello and seemed generally very curious about us humans.  No words can explain what it feels like to swim tandem with sea life.

Ryan and Cooper walking to high school on Day 1

First time in 10 years I did not have to drive him to school.

It looks gigantic compared to the rest of the kitchen. 

Really loving the middle drawer.  

"Deli and beverage station"

    

I did not take this picture, but was right next to the photographer when taken. 

What a beauty 💕

Up next:  high probability of a new kitten joining our family.  We have yet to start looking, but plan to in October.  20 years ago we got Demeter-kitty.  I think she'd approve of us bringing home a new four legged friend. 

SCH job update nearly 3 months in.  Wonderful. I love this job. 

 Challenging but not stressful. 

 Interesting, not boring. 

 I am SO SO SO happy to not have the burden of managing or working flu clinics this year.  The bane of every fall for so many years at NSP. 

June 21st was my last day as Nurse Manager at NSP.  It went by in a blur.  I thought I would remember key details about the last phone triage call I took.  The last patient I checked in.  Lots of lasts.  I don't remember any of that.  I recall saying a lot of good-byes.  I cried a lot.  I hired 12 of the 17 nursing staff there at that time.  One MA told me that she was torn between leaving her old job and taking a job with NSP.  She said it was the interview with me that clinched the deal.  She spoke of feeling heard, sensing I was a warm and caring person.  Much of the time I felt like I was not doing the job up to the standards it deserved.  I was stressed all of the time.  My take-away from leaving a job I'd been at for so many years is: if you see someone is doing a good job - tell them.  Don't wait until they leave.  I'll carry that with me forever.  I don't miss the stress.  As time goes by; I slowly remember what was so stressful.  What I have now left behind.  I feel a little sad and guilty I left people there that I love and now they might take on that stress.  However, that's not for me to worry about.  I get the privilege of making moves that are right for my life.  The following is my Facebook post describing some of the feelings:

Yesterday I said good-bye to a job that is largely responsible for the skilled RN I am today. They accepted me as a nursing student in 2001. Hired me when I graduated. Said good-bye to me when I moved to Los Angeles for 2 years. Welcomed me back in 2006, promoted me to manager in 2017. Life trajectory drove my emotional decision to leave. Change is hard, especially when so many wonderful people are involved. Forever grateful NSP  

Next chapter: Seattle Children's Hospital.

Jim Creek weekend soon followed my departure from NSP.

Delightful to see these friends again.

It was another hot weekend.

This year we all stayed in a very large lodge with a commercial kitchen.  

We made the most of all the space and loved the community gathering areas.

Seaside July 11-16

✓ Sun

✓Clouds

✓ Dream of flying in a helicopter

✓ OD on salt water taffy

✓ Find a massive cinnamon roll (Ryan's version of heaven)

✓ Ryan taking control of the Bubble Man's performance while the real bubble man ran an errand

✓ getting the most out of our vacation time

I started my job at SCH the week before vacation.  It was a lot of orientation classes etc.  Took our vacation and returned to SCH the following week.  At the time of writing this I am one month in and very happy with the transition. I like the work I am doing, I like my co-workers, grateful for my experience that helps me navigate the job while learning a lot that is new.  I will work from home about once per week.  That'll be totally new for me and I think I can integrate it fairly well, even when the kids are home.  

Birthday week was then upon us.

Ryan's cake request: cinnamon roll cake.  He's now 15

Kathryn's cake request:  Geode cake.  She's now 13

One more month of summer then back to school.   Kathryn will return to Shoreline Christian for her 8th grade year.  Ryan will transition to public high school as a freshman.  

End of an Era & a few other life moments

 Starting with the "few other life moments"

Spring has been immensely wet & cold this year.

Kathryn captured a little bit of what makes the wet and cold worth it

All from the front and back yard.

Mother's Day was wonderful. Kathryn worked to make it special.

Went for my usual Sunday swim.  Came home to a French toast breakfast with strawberries cut in heart shapes.  She was utterly relieved to see the French toast not only was edible, but quite good.  We went for a walk on the beach and got ice cream. Followed w/ pizza from our local favorite restaurant. Bonus that the kids can walk there to pick up said pizza! 🍕

And oh my heart.....

Kathryn's card for me

 💙  She's the gift  💙

Memorial Day 2022

2nd year the kids have spent with Korryn and Wayne, Thursday & Friday night on the boat.  I join them on Saturday and stayed until Sunday.  The weather - reflect back to what I first said in this blog post. 🌧

But still very fun amongst really nice people.

Pictured:

Salmon bake

Kathryn and the honorary lab (great picture of them!)

Kathryn with Kendall & Kailey - twins she met last year, but really got to know this year. They call themselves the triplets because they are all very similar in age. Were inseparable for the weekend and have been texting non-stop.  Unfortunately they live about 35 minutes away.

Lastly, the line up of yachts.  Zoom in for the red arrow pointing towards Korryn and Wayne's yacht.

First school concert in 2 years

Kathryn in choir

Ryan in orchestra

Ryan has been growing his hair for months with the goal to cut it in to a mullet.  

That mullet happened yesterday.  No pictures of it yet!

Kathryn, Lexi, Sophia, Addie

The first 3, friends since preschool

Much to my surprise, Kathryn's art was chosen for the concert brochure!

Ryan and his wooly mammoth hair. Some of the parents of children that have known him since preschool did not recognize him because he's been hiding all that hair under a baseball cap.  Plus he's grown at least 2 inches this year.

﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

Now, moving on to the end of an era.  A new chapter in my life.

After 17 years at North Seattle Pediatrics, my time will soon be completed.  For quite a few months now I've known that I need to step down from the nurse manager role.  It takes up much of my off time and it's been incredibly hard since Covid hit.  Constant frustration and anxiety that ultimately came to the decision of "I don't have to do this anymore.  I can make a change, no matter how scary that might be".

Once my mind was made up I started looking at jobs at Seattle Children's Hospital in their ambulatory/outpatient clinics.  My resume got immediate responses (that was encouraging!) from a few clinics.  The first 3 interviews/clinics didn't work out for a variety of reasons.  The 4th - The Pain Clinic (helping coordinate care for children that live with chronic pain) felt like a fit from the very beginning of the interview/hire process.  After my 3rd interview for that particular clinic, a job offer came the next day.  I accepted.

May 17th, 2022 I gave notice of resignation at NSP.  

Highly emotional, lots of tears.  However never doubting that I was making the right decision.  Even if SCH isn't a fit long term, I'll find another work home.  My last day at NSP is June 21st.  

Took some time off and start at SCH July 5th, 2022. 

A new chapter begins.

For Ryan and Kathryn:

If you're reading this many years down the road - here's my resume.  I'm quite proud of my work history.  I worked hard to get to this point. 

My Cover Letter and Resignation letter

In addition to the jobs on my resume.... kids you might like to know before those jobs listed I was also a

Nurses Aid at Northwest Hospital while going to school for my LPN. 

Nurses Aid at Foss Nursing Home - 3 blocks from where we live now.

Nurses Aid in training at Emerald Gardens Nursing Home in Breese, Illinois

Sales clerk at Walmart in Highland, Illinois

Lifeguard at Trenton Pool in Trenton, Illinois for two summers (one of my favorite jobs!)

"Coat Puller" at Jim's Formal Wear Factory in Trenton, Illinois (pulled tuxedo coats to fill tuxedo orders) - most BORING job ever and with that job it proved to me that getting an education post high school was a must.  I could not do factory work forever. That was a short term job.

And besides babysitting, my first official job was a dishwasher at Trenton House restaurant in Trenton, Illinois.  I made $2.85/hr.  Lower than minimum wage because they called it "student wage". I moved from dishwasher to food prep for the smorgasbord.  Honestly, it was a great first job.  

That completes this blog post.  

Up next: 6th annual Jim Creek Camping, start my new job, Seaside (a week after starting the new job - not ideal timing but it's how it worked out) and continuing to start over in my career.