For Future Reference

Yesterday was the big day – January 20, 2021 – INAGURATION DAY! (anyone else singing the coronation day song from Frozen??) As I was watching the post-inauguration celebration last night, Camden came scurrying into the living room. I was still “Feeling Good” about John Legend and waiting for a glimpse of my girl Chrissy Teigen, while Camden’s entrance conveniently coincided with the grand firework display. At that time, President Biden and Dr. Biden were shown on the screen. I told Camden, “look- that’s our new president!” Cam looked at me, confused and curious, asking me what a president was. I went on to explain, in detail, the role of a…

The past few weeks have been CRA-ZY. There were the normal stressors that we’ve grown accustomed to: California traffic, cohabitating with three children, trying to keep our home from burning down. But these past weeks have been different. First off, I started a new job; one that I knew would be both challenging and rewarding and I couldn’t wait to jump in. While I was excited, I also knew that it would throw our family back into a new state of {controlled} chaos with two working parents… let the games begin!  The kids adjusted to returning to daycare and preschool very well. Cam was starting a fairly structured pre-kindergarten program…

My kids and I were venturing through sunny San Jose yesterday. Just a typical 30-minute commute to get to the other side of the city to the ultimate destination- the park. Usually our drives involve calling out airplanes, playing “I Spy”, or violently singing “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” to calm Liam. This ride was quiet; quiet and peaceful until I heard a question from the back. It was my almost five-year-old son. “Mom, do you think God can defeat Ultron?” My son, Camden, is incredibly curious. He wants to know what things are, how they work, and why they work that way. He’s my artist and engineer. He’s a calm,…

Given our family’s recent relocation to California, I have been playing the role of stay-at-home momma to my three kids. I haven’t been able to obtain or even apply for a nursing job until I had an active nursing license in the state of California which I found to be a long and tedious process. But in return, I get the chance to spend the interim days at home creating adventures with my three young children.  This is the point in my story where I hand gold stars to all the stay-at-home mothers in the world. You are all amazing. So many of you do this your entire life and…

One of my all-time favorite memories with my children actually came from a time that I wasn’t actually physically with them. I was in Florida, on a trip for work, leaving Aaron at home with the kids. We only had Elliott and Camden at the time. I was pregnant with Liam and enjoying the time away, even if it was to learn about blood, guts, and gore.   If you are familiar, Aaron travels quite a bit for work. He was making international trips several times a year; leaving me to manage day-to-day operations at the mothership. As much as I know if was difficult to manage the children, work, and…

In healthcare, we celebrate reporting of errors or “near misses” through a “good catch” award. We award these certificates to staff that catch a potential error or safety issue before it actually happens. An example may be a mislabeled medication that was recognized before administered to the patient or a piece of broken equipment which was removed prior to the start of the surgery. These reports often result in prevention of a high-risk, sometimes even deadly error.  So often as a parent, I recognize opportunities to implement a “good catch” award for my fellow moms and pops. There are situations that I catch on a daily basis that call for…