Pardon Me

as I barf on your shoes.

I currently have the night shift sickies. They usually strike around 4 or 5 am, resulting from I don't know what. I haven't been afflicted with the sickies in a long time, I thought it was a rookie all-nighter thing, and since I most decidedly am not an all-nighter rookie I thought I was past this stage.

But given the green colour of my gills it seems that I am not.

It could be the coffee. I don't drink caffeinated beverages because they were messing with my system and I'd get home after working all night and not be able to sleep - now that's a frustrating feeling.

But tonight I had a large cafe mocha from Timmy's, and that's what I'm gonna blame.

The night shift sickies is basically just nausea, a rock in your stomach, sensitivity to light, an inability to make rational decisions and general tomfoolery of the nervous system. It looks different for different people, but it always involves nausea. Some people get really cold and shaky, I get too warm... Basically, it sucks.

Speaking of barfing on people's shoes - a few years ago I was visiting with my aunt and uncle in Tennessee on my way home from Alabama. It was Easter weekend, and my flight was scheduled to leave on Tuesday morning.

Sunday afternoon we went to their friends house so the little ones could hunt for eggs over and over and over again. I wasn't feeling so hot, but I chalked it up to the nap I had had, since napping makes me feel yucky.

Why I didn't associate my upset tummy with the stomach flu those same little ones had recovered from a day before I arrived, I'll never know.

So we're sitting in the living room about to enjoy some Papa John's Hawaiian pizza. Things are gurgly, but I'm tough, so I ignore it.

I took one bite and knew it was over. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to make it to any kind of socially acceptable barf receptacle, so floor it was. I did however, in my manic state, try to block the flow with the lady's throw pillow, which now seems like an odd choice given the absorbency of said pillow. Later she told me she didn't care because it was from her mother-in-law. Glad I could help.

The little kids start crying, the adults start gagging. But thankfully my uncle is a nurse, and he adeptly dealt with the mess my guts had created.

It wasn't a good scene.

I then threw up every twenty minutes for the next 24 hours, so I didn't have much time to feel guilty. I moved my flight two weeks forward too, because I was in no condition to fly. So thanks to my disgestive fireworks I was able to see Graceland and the Memphis Zoo... not a bad deal!

Note to self: talking about barfing is the worst thing you can do when feeling barfy...

Sarah Gets Fooled Again

My sister Sarah is a little on the gullible side... here be proof:

Impatience

I'm tired, but I made a movie anyway.

Here we have my nephew Sheamus jumping on my sister Sarah's lap while I play around with the autoharp. My brother (baby daddy) is recording and giggling... It's short and cute... enjoy!

Recap

So the reunion (of sorts) is all over and done with. If I didn't have the pictures to prove it I'm not sure I'd believe it happened. We arrived, we ate, we left. Quick and to the point - I guess that suits a Pierce family thingy.

It was a good couple of days and I've got some delightful videos to share with you... hint: there's an autoharp involved.

Maybe someday when I'm not so zombi-licious I'll upload them here. I'm tired, here's a photo or two from our the trip:

Titles Are Overrated

Is overrated one word or two? Je ne sais pas.

So last night I got together with some friends to do birthday celebrating... Everyone punked out but 3 of us went downtown and it was lovely. I'm actually glad it was a small crew - I definitely enjoyed myself. We pulled into the driveway at 5:20am, which seems late, but given that all of us do shift work it's not that scandalous. It'd be weird if we were home much before that.

We ended the night at Freeman's Little New York on... on... I don't know what street it's on, but it was the best burger I've ever had, cheap too. Definitely worth a re-visit during daylight hours.

So that leaves us with today and having to drive for 3 hours to get to the family reunion in the valley. Sans air conditioning - and today is a scorcher. It's probably around 29C, but it'll feel higher because the valley doesn't have the luxury of ocean AC like the city does.

We're going to Margaretsville though, which is on the shore of the Bay of Fundy - aka coldest frickin' water south of the Arctic. In all the years I've been going there, I've only put my feet in once that I can recall... I'm excited to take Sheamus beachcombing while we're there - we'll get to introduce him to our rock "castle" that we used to play on as kids... it'll probably be more us playing and him drooling, but whatev!

It's hot here today... Hank isn't handling it very well. For example:

This is what he's been doing for the last two hours - so hot he didn't even move his head when I put the food out a few minutes ago. He's usually in front of the fan, but I don't think he has the energy to move that far.

Nephews are Awesome

Happy Feet

Shea-zilla

Bwahaha! You are powerless to stop me!

I eat aunties like you for breakfast.

Sure, he looks innocent...

Four Generations

Ralph Vernon Downie begat Floyd Arden Downie,

who begat

James Matthew Thomas Downie, who begat

Sheamus Patrick Downie

Photo taken May 10, 2008

Sheamus

Hazel

This is the photo I'm attempting to use for a header... It's my grandmother. On the back it reads: "Hazel on Thelma and Craig's car taken one day last summer at the cannery, 1944."

Nightshifts and Other Oddities

Since working on the male unit I haven't had as many night shifts, so this morning as I was crawling into bed at 8:00 am, I discovered that falling asleep to a blazing sun is more difficult than I remember... but having been awake for almost 24 hours I somehow managed to squeeze in some shut eye.

I also had a weird, crazy, complicated dream that was as layered as a green ogre. If I know you, you were probably in it. In a change from the norm I was not packing in this dream, which hopefully doesn't mean that I'm not going anywhere anymore (literally or figuratively), cuz that would suck (though this rut is rather comfy). Kids I work with were there, professors, roomates, co-workers, family... it was a veritable cornucopia of aquaintances, I'm lucky I got out alive!

Did I mention that I changed a diaper for the first time ever in my life this past week? Because I totally did! Mom and I had been helping my brother, his wife and Sheamus (6 weeks already!) move this past week. Bro got a job on a farm in Shubenacadie and the farmer has a little house they can rent for very cheap on the property. It's pretty small and "farmesque" but it's a good deal and they can be free of extraneous family members. Anyway, one afternoon bro was at work, mom went to town to pick up SIL's prescription for mastitis (man... mastitis is not a good time), and SIL was in the shower.

So there we were, Sheamus and his favourite auntie (me) chillin' on the couch. I'm glad everyone was gone because I didn't want the judgemental eyes of experienced diaper changers judging me. It went fine, he was clean and happy, and I felt accomplished. And, to top it off, I was able to rock him to sleep without relying on the trusty Scotch from the cupboard. Nope, as long as Sheamus can suck your thumb, he's happy... that may get old when he's 5, but whateva! He's cute now and that's what counts.

Twilight before the Bloom

I like this time of year. It's around this time that I know I've reached the end alive, and though my flaky skin remains to tell the tale of a battle against indoor heating, I know that my oatmeal moisturizer will once again reign triumphant.

Soon things will start blooming, right after that last dollop of winter not dissimilar to the last popcorn kernel that pops just when you think the bag is done. I heard my grandmother once say that yellow is the first color of the year to show itself, followed by purple... I can't remember what comes next, all I know is it's pretty and probably smells nice.

In other news, my job at work as changed a little. I've moved across the hall and am now working with teenage boys. Boys are gross, and they do gross things. They stink, and burp, and stink, and pick things and then wipe it on the couch. And my word the stench of the feet! The rotting shoes! The blackened socks! Don't they notice??? Blech.

Boys also require a lot more energy. Girls at this age really don't want much to do with you. You're there to facilitate their lives and make sure they're well supplied in Tinkerbells to colour and fake nails to adorn their nicotine stained fingers (smoking's down, didn't you hear, which I think means lying is up, but I digress). Boys on the other hand, want to play with you, and argue with you, and tease, and run around, and be told nice things, and talk to you when it's time for bed because they don't wanna go to sleep.

I'm usually pretty tired at the end of a shift now, a good tired mind you, but tired none the less. I think it might even be easier to build a relationship with the boys... I don't like saying it's easy, maybe it's just faster, I don't know. I've definitely done more "youth care" over here in the last week than on the female side. It's nice though, I'm glad to see that I don't suck at it. Cuz that would be bad and I would be fired.

Saturday is the baby shower my nephew. It'll be a small crowd at my apartment, and I'm looking forward to it. I'm a bit addicted to planning and tend to go a wee bit overboard with the list making, but as long as I'm enjoying it I don't really care. The problem is getting other people to acquiesce to what I need them to do.

Today I ordered, "Announcing Baby Boy" photo thingys from Walmart and was genuinely impressed with the process. I clicked some buttons and they were ready and printed at the store 3 minutes later. I wish everything were that easy! I have the next two days off, so I'm going to start gathering supplies. I've recently learned that I love shopping for baby stuff, everything is so cute! The struggle is to find clothing outside of the blue spectrum, so I bought something red today to attempt to counter balance. I'm planning on attempting a diaper cake, I'm sure there will be photo evidence in a few days.

Mmmmm, newborns smell gooooood

These pictures are already outdated because he's changed so much even in a day. As you can see he was pretty blue when he came out. I guess he can reach the top of his head when he stretches which someone said is a bit unusual. We think he's going to be a football player...

BJ was pushing for maybe 45 minutes, and in the process the cord got tangled around his neck. He pinked up very quickly and even early on he was responding to voices (turning his head to the noise), and he's still getting the hang of breastfeeding... He likes being with mommy so much that he just falls asleep when she gets ahold of him. She's determined though, so they'll keep working at it.

I arrived at the hospital around 4 in the afternoon. She had gone in to be induced earlier in the morning and was progressing quickly. When we called at 3 she was 6cm, and at 4 she was 10cm. I was in the room for about 15 minutes chatting away with BJ who was enjoying her epidural. They kicked me and her sister out when it came time to push so we were in the waiting room not watching Oprah. About 20 minutes later we hear "Neonatal room 307 Stat", which just so happened to be BJ's room. So we start freaking out! No update comes, but I figure that my mom wasn't kicked out so maybe it wasn't that bad.

20 heartwrenching minutes later mom comes out and tells me Sheamus has arrived and is doing great, which was a huge relief!! It's a teaching hospital and the main centre in the province, so they tend to overdue things. They called the NICU people because he arrived so fast, and because of the issue with the cord. He was in the NICU for the night, needlessly as the doc said the next day, but as of 2pm today he's up in mommy's room!

Between pushes BJ said, "This is great!" and was giggling, the nurses thought she was kooky. Apparently she was the best pusher of the day.

I got to hold him for the first time today and it was great! He's so tiny and small... I was trying to find a trait that I could remember when he's older, but he's just too darn perfect :) This is the first baby on my side of the family, so it's a pretty big deal. I luvs him already!

There are new pictures from today, but they're at the hospital. He's much cuter now that he's started getting over that whole birth thing... Thankfully the football head is starting to round out.

Mazel Tov!

Announcing:

Sheamus Patrick Downie

8lbs., 12oz, 21in

March 13, 2008, 5:18pm

I tried 8 times to upload a picture and it wouldn't work... so trust me, he's cute. I'll have some details sometime in the future, but I'm sleepy. To make a long story short, it was quick, and he was blue. He's in the NICU for the night for observation, but he really doesn't need to be there, and I'm annoyed (as is his mommy) that the NICY med staff are pushing formula, because at the ripe ol' age of 5 hours he's too sleepy to nurse...

Anyway... he's finally here!

Baby News

Despite a few false starts, Sheamus decided he was happy with his current location and is currently 6 days late.

However, they decided to induce things and she went in this morning. As of right now she's 6 cm, and we're heading to the hospital in a few minutes. Looks like today's the day! (fingers crossed)

Annnny Minute Now

My SIL had her regular weekly doctor's appointment today and things are progessing nicely. As I'm sure you already know, my nephew, Sheamus, is due to be birthed March 7, which coincides with tomorrow. Apparantly she's 2 cm dilated and in the doctor's words, "It'd be really easy to break your water."

She didn't, so we're still waiting. We went for a walk this afternoon to try and encourage things along but as of right now I haven't received any "hadababyitsaboy" phone calls at work.

Twice this evening someone has asked me if she knows what she's having and twice I've answered "girl". I've known since... a long time that is was going to be a boy... odd...

She and my brother are currently staying at our apartment given that they're humble abode is a humble hour drive from the hospital. There is an appointment on Monday, so if things don't kick into gear over the weekend, Sheamus will likely be here by then.

I'm guessing BJ (SIL) is still feeling pretty well, given that she was skipping down the hall and running around the living room this afternoon. Mayhaps she is a bit excited?

It's really quiet at work these days... and like always, I'm in a bit of the blahs. You'd think hearing that me and three others will be presenting at the National Youth Care Conference this October in PEI would excite me, which it does, but it also makes me queasy in that "holy crap I'm presenting in front of big wigs from all around the world and I have no idea what I'm doing" kind of way.

Good times. When it's quiet at work I feel listless, aimless, and tired. Which is odd, because "busy" means threats, police, errands, swearing, needing to do, GET! ME! JUICE! and etc. But I'm a fan of chaos and emergencies, so when there aren't any I get a little bored. Maybe I should go pull the fire alarm... yeah...

So hopefully tomorrow the two of you who happen to search for J*llian, J*illian, J*illian J*ggs and stumble across my blog will see a birth announcement.

Soon... very soon...

If Sheamus arrives 10 days late, he'll be born on St. Patrick's Day. Suitable for a lad with the name Sheamus Patrick Downie... even if his parents spell his name wrong (her grandmother's maiden name is Shea, hence the H).

A New Dawn

Heard at dinner this evening as my brother was dishing up his supper alone in the kitchen: "Why isn't our family more popular? We are funny..."

I find his use of the word "popular" odd... but then so is he. My sister-in-law told me recently that when she first came over to visit when she began dating my brother, she had no idea what we were talking about half the time, and didn't know if we were being funny or just bizarre. I like to think it was a combo. Apparently we have a different way of communicating. Fortunately it doesn't result in physical violence as much as it once did.

I joined the gym on Wednesday and boy are my arms tired. I've been twice, once to a co-ed and once to the women's version (my membership allows me to go to any of them). I much prefer the women's, mostly because I like the set-up and it's newer and cleaner. The elliptical machine and I had a bit of a falling out, however. There's something about the position of the feet thingys at the women's gym that just doesn't jive with me. When I got off I couldn't walk without my knees collapsing, so I had to kind of saunter non-chalantly while I panicked on the inside that I had to walk up some stairs to get to the circuit.

I was still having walking issues when I finished the circuit so I opted for the bike rather than the treadmill for fear of recreating a scene from Rescue 911 when the kid got caught under the escalator. I still couldn't really walk normally until a few hours ago (it's now 5am), because my leg muscles tensed up enough to finally support normal movement. Nothing hurt after the first trip, but after the second gym visit my muscles are starting to notice I was using them on purpose. And they don't like it.

I was going to go this morning before I went home to sleep, but I work tonight and I remember hearing that it's not a bad idea to rest a little in between, plus I haven't slept since the last time I was there. I'll be back tomorrow though! I'm committed to payroll deduction for a year, so that's some motivation...

Since I've changed my eating habits (with only a few minor misdemeanors involving some bad for me bread and some oatmeal cookies), I've noticed a significant change in energy. Generally when I wake up, post night shift or not, I still feel zonked. But now I can get out of bed and feel awake and energized, which is a nice change! My mood has also generally improved as well, and even without ice cream!

I'm getting a laptop today and I is very excited. I've already picked out the one I want at the stupershop, and I've done the price comparison with the quasi competition. I'd like to not be bamboozled by the desperate commission guys, though it takes me long enough to get customer service as it is I think I'll be ok. I'm perhaps most excited by the fact that I'll also be getting an all-in-one printer and can now scan some photos of yester year. I'm hoping to maybe change the look of this blog as well, if I can figure it out. I'm not the best at techno babble, though I'm an excellent smile and nodder.

Nothing of Significance

You know how sometimes you get songs stuck in your head? Somedays I have a word stuck in my head... it replays itself in various parts of my inner monologue but it rarely creeps out in real conversation. I'll also see it spelled out in various fonts. Is that weird?

The other day I had the pleasure of driving the old '95 Camry that I call home over the 250 000 mark. It was nifty and if anyone has an extra set of struts and shocks you can send them my way. We don't just try to avoid pot holes, we swerve as if the existence of time and space itself will be ripped in twain if we hit it the wrong way. Anyone needing some help in progressing labour can go for a ride in the back seat. If that doesn't do it, you weren't pregnant in the first place.

Is it possible to get mini migraines? I feel like maybe that's what I get... there's sensitivity to light and certain noises, and it usually starts with a whole lot of nausea. Unfortunately I was eating some smoked salmon at the time of the nausea, so I don't think I'll be having that any time soon.

I just finished reading "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini, and it was perfect. It's a lovely round ball of literary goodness. It takes place in Afghanistan over a period of several years, and I can't say enough good things about it. I won't tell you anything about it, but you definitely need to read it. There's a movie based on the novel and it's in the theatres here until Wednesday so I'm going to try and get out to see it.

Speaking of Afghanistan, I think we need to stay there... There's going to be a confidence vote in parliament over the extension of the combat mission there, and I think that unless the local authorities are fully capable in handling security, we should stay and help. We're not even giving them prisoners at this point because they're being tortured in Afghani prisons... I'm pretty sure that if it were possible to end the combat mission they would, and that the Canadian army using guns just because they can, and if that were no longer needed they would change tactics. At least I hope so. But if their hands are tied and there are less options it seems that things could destabilize quite quickly.

Then again, I've never been there so really, what do I know?

My nephew is coming soon! Just under a month left unless she goes way overdue, which is entirely possible. Despite his growth and the shrinking space he has to play in, Sheamus is still moving around quite a bit and it is very cool. And weird... like an alien trying to break out of her intestines. I think he was trying to moon us the other day, unless that was his head poking through.

I guess that's it for random thoughts of the day. I hear we're supposed to have a snowstorm tomorrow, so enjoy!