the cleaning sickness.

Ladies and gentlemen, there is something wrong with me. Seriously. I came home today after working and set to work on my usual weekly house cleaning routine. I picked up randomly strewn objects and put them away, and started dusting. After dusting in the dining room I happened to look out the door onto the screened in porch. I thought, man, I need to sweep and wipe the furniture down out there. So I open the door to go do those things, when I notice how nasty the door is. So, I clean all the panes of glass in the door and wipe down the outside. I'm so pleased with the results of that effort that I decide to clean all my windows. An hour later I'm on a ladder, precariously perched trying to get to the top of my bedroom window. I had to actually tell myself that clean window panes were not worth a visit to the ER, and that I needed to stop. Besides the fact that if something did happen, Aaron would probably report me missing before he looked on that side of the house for me. (It's all hidden in trees and shrubbery). So, I stopped. Well, I stopped cleaning the windows. I also cleaned the bathroom and dusted. Here's the crazy part. All of that gives me the most wonderful sense of satisfaction...that I may, MAY actually be able to report that perhaps I enjoyed this process?! What is wrong with me!

A Day in the Life...

Today was one of THOSE days. So, I thought I'd share. Maybe it'll make you feel better about YOUR day!

5:00am- yes, AM. Alarm goes off. I have the best intentions for getting up, exercising, doing bible study and prayer time with God. Unhurried, unrushed, and starting my day off calm and collected, ahead of things. Sadly, a warm, comfortable bed + flannel sheets+ good dreams+ a snoring husband= turning off the alarm and falling back asleep.

6:00am - into bathroom. check weather on iphone. decide what to wear. usual shower/dressing/getting ready routine ensues.

6:45am- out of bathroom, feed cats, do about 30 minutes of bible study.

7:15am- out the door to work.

7:25 am- arrive at work. check in, check mail box, boot up computer, look in purse to get cash to pay for breakfast in the school cafeteria. I'm super glad that the one day of the year when I had no groceries and decide to buy breakfast and lunch, they are serving sausage biscuits! Realize that my wallet is in fact, not in my purse. Also realize that I left it in my hospital work bag from Saturday. Realize I drove around all day sunday without my license. Brilliant. Thank God for the protection there.

7:35 am- swallow pride and go to cafeteria, get yummy sausage biscuit and ask the nice cafeteria lady if I can pay her tomorrow. Thankfully she understands. I go enjoy my biscuit.

7:45 am- the morning business starts. check work email, a few students filter in to tell me about their wounds from the weekend...bumped heads, bruises, etc. I send them on to class.

8:30 am- begin the lovely lice checks. I have 12 to do...over the course of the day I only get 8 done. I clear none of them. Grrrr.......

10:30am- worn out from lice checks...unable to force myself to call another student up for one. Decide to start calling all the absentee's. Have to send the document to the network printer 5 times before it acutally prints. Each time I have to walk back and forth between the lounge and my office.

11:20am- done calling absentee's. In between I've seen a few sick students. None so sick they needed to go home. Go to cafeteria to get a lunch...opt for the salad with sliced peaches instead of the pizza. Again, very grateful to the cafeteria lady for being understanding and taking a rain check for my meal! Eat lunch.

12:00pm- Pass out meds, give breathing treatment.

12:30pm- do one more lice check. Another student comes in just as I'm finishing up. While she rests in the clinic, a lady I spoke to over the course of my absentee list calls back to apologize for being "rude". She expresses concerns over the situation of the student I called about. End up having to have a meeting with principal and counselor over getting the social worker involved.

1:15pm- finally call the mom about the lice. She tells me basically that I don't know what I'm talking about, that her physicians office told her that the lice shampoos kill the nits. I tell her that I'm sorry, the physicians office is misinformed. She tells me to check online. I tell her I have, and that I'll send information home from a few websites I've been to.

1:25pm- Triumphantly print out information from the CDC website backing me up. Highlight key phrases for her. Take information to students classroom and put it in her notebook marked "from the nurse."

1:30pm- take care of several lost teeth, one who was pulled probably a little to soon in an effort to make sure it came out at school so she would get a tooth necklace. Count up numbers of visits for the day and the number of students out with flu, email to my supervisor, hand out a few afternoon meds, and shut down my computer in an effort to speed up my exit later.

2:40pm- have to go to a classroom where a student tripped, fell, hit her knee and now apparently "can't walk". Hmmm....knee is slightly red, she is currently sitting in the desk crying. Give her an ice pack, assure her she is not seriously injured and that her knee will be fine. Note home to her mom about what happened.

2:45- to van duty. The next thirty minutes ensue with lots of: "Can I use the restroom?" "Can I get some water?" "May I go to the library?" "What's wrong with the fish?" "Can I look at the fish?" "Can I borrow a pencil?" "Tell him to stop looking at me!" My responses included but are not limited to: "No, you may not." "Yes, you may." "Every day you ask me for a pencil. When are you going to remember that you need to bring one? No you may not borrow it." "No, you may not borrow it, stop asking me." "Sit down." "Talk softer." "If you don't want him to look at you why did you sit directly in front of him?" "The fish is dead. No, I don't know why." "No, you may not go to the library, stop asking me."

3:30pm- home to pick up wallet and head to wal -mart for groceries.

4:00pm- get to wal-mart. realize that I left my list sitting on my desk at work. Frantically try to make a list of what I remember was on the list. The fire pit I wanted, and they said was in stock, is not in stock. Lovely.

4:15pm- good friend calls, talk to her while I shop.

5:00pm- check out, head home. unload car. Aaron gets home, helps. Buy fire pit online, have to pay way too much to get it here by saturday.

5:30pm- start on dinner. chicken pot pie! All is going well until the crust. I used the flour for the double crust pie and the shortening for the single crust pie. Brilliant again Natalie. Make it work, (It was too late to add in the additional shortening). Pray for a decent crust. Clean up kitchen, sweep kitchen floor, pack lunch, clean up mail, sit down for a few minutes.

6:25pm- eat. Aaron leaves afterwards to head back up to the church to make phone calls.

7:00pm- start dishwasher. finish cleaning up kitchen.

7:15pm- hot bath, finish bible study from this morning I couldn't finish then. Amazingly enough it's on budgeting your time and making time to seek God in prayer. Make mental note to actually get up at 5:00 tomorrow. Pray. check email, read blogs. Blog myself.

8:30pm- call in to this "webinar" thing I signed up to do at work on healthier options for school fundraisers. (i.e. not cookies dough or chicken biscuit sales). Find out the call is not toll-free. Disconnect! Finish blog...turn out lights and go to bed early. Thank God for a productive, disaster free day. Pray for a better one tomorrow.

Good night!

Aaron and Natalie...

Okay, so I want to post, but don't have the energy or inspiration to post anything super deep at this point. My friend Renee recently did a "list" on her daughter Bailey that was super cute. Today my friend April did a list on her and her hubby that apparently she found on someone else's blog and is making it's way around the internet. While I always desire to be original and creative and new, this seemed fun. So, I'm jumping on the list wagon! I always enjoy reading these anyway. Hopefully you will too.

What are your middle names?

Aaron's is Matthew, mine is Bailey. I did not have a middle name growing up. Mom wanted to name me Natalie Edna, after her grandmother, but my dad vetoed that. After that I don't think they could decide, and mom didn't have a middle name until she got married, neither did her mom before her, so they just didn't give me one. Bailey is becoming a popular name though, so I guess it was a good last name to have become my middle name.

How long have you been together?

We dated three years and have been married five. Eight total. Man!

How long did you know each other before you started dating?

Almost a year. We had mutual friends, (I almost dated his roommate, he did date a girl who had become one of my best friends...still love her by the way...) then finally became friends, and then started dating. The story is kind of funny. Aaron wanted to ask me out in the fall of our freshman year, but he did it in a round about way to where I ended up saying that "I didn't feel like God wanted me to date anyone right now." Which was the truth! We got together when God was ready for us to.

Who asked who out?

Umm...he didn't really ask me out, he asked if he could kiss me. :)

Who made the first move?

It's kind of funny, again...you can totally tell we were 19. We were at a big concert in Atlanta called "music midtown." He kept me from being run over by a group of too hot mosh-pitters and then to stay together to weave through the crowd he held my hand. After there was no crowd he didn't let go of my hand...

How old are each of you?

27. I'll be 28 in December though and Aaron won't be until May.

Did you go to the same school?

We went to, and met, at the same college.

Are you from the same home town?

No. I'm from Warner Robins, Aaron's from Augusta.

Who is the smartest?

Definitely Aaron. He's probably the smartest person I know!

Who majored in what?

Aaron: Rhetoric in undergrad, Christian education in graduate school.

Me: Nursing.

Who is the most sensitive?

Me. I care a lot about what people think of me. My moods are easily swayed by the moods of others, and I tend to take on their concerns. It's not too hard to hurt my feelings. I'm not going to say Aaron could care less, because that's not true at all, he does care a lot about people. I think he's just more secure in who he is and things roll off of him easier. Over the course of our marriage he has taught me to be a little more thick-skinned (a necessary thing in ministry) and I have taught him to be a little more tactful. (Also a necessary thing in ministry!)

Where do you eat out most as a couple?

Chick-fil-A. We also order pizza in a lot.

Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?

Texas.

Who has the worst temper?

That would be me. Most people are surprised by this. When you really get to know me, I can get mad quickly, but if Aaron gets upset and raises his voice...you better check yourself!

How many children do you want?

I would like two. Aaron wants more like four or five. I figure we need to have one, and go from there....:) Either way, we both are looking forward to a family some day.

Who does the cooking?

Me! I enjoy cooking. Aaron is good at heating things up.

Who is more social?

I'm an introvert. Aaron is an extrovert. Therefore he is more social. However, again, over the course of our marriage he has become less social and I have become more so.

Who is the neat freak?

That would be me. Hands down! Clutter and disorganization stresses me out. While Aaron likes and appreciates cleanness, it isn't nearly as necessary for him as it is for me. (Sometimes I think he likes and appreciates it because I'm easier to live with when things are clean and in order.)

Who is the most stubborn?

We are both pretty stubborn but in different ways. Aaron will argue a point with you until he is blue in the face. I'm happy to agree to disagree. But, if it comes to doing something I'm going to fight to do it the way I want and make it work.

Who wakes up earlier?

Me. I rarely sleep past nine and start to turn into a pumpkin after midnight. Aaron could stay up until the wee hours of the morning and sleep until noon. Needless to say we hardly ever go to bed at the same time.

Where was your first date?

I guess our first official date was a picnic in Warner Robins.

Who has the bigger family?

We have the same size immediate family. Two parents and one sibling of the opposite sex who are each married and have two kids. Aaron has the larger extended family. His mom has four siblings each with multiple kids. My mom was an only child...both our dad's just had one brother. We are very blessed that both of our families are good, fun, loving people.

Do you get flowers often?

I buy them for myself pretty often, but Aaron hasn't bought me any since my first day of nursing five years ago. Probably partly because I buy them for myself. He does other sweet things for me though.

How do you spend the holidays?

We try to split them evenly between each of our families. We see each of them for part of each holiday and we are trying to alternate which family we actually spend Thanksgiving day and Christmas Day with each year.

Who is more jealous?

I think Aaron. He wants to protect me. I take it as a compliment when other women check him out! What can I say, I trust him.

How long did it take to get serious?

Since we were friends before we started dating there wasn't much "casual dating" because we already knew each other. We were exclusive the whole time we dated, but we didn't start talking about future plans until about nine months after we started dating.

Who eats more?

Aaron. He laughs at the portions I eat...

What do you do for a living?

I'm a school nurse. I also pick up shifts on an as needed basis in the ICU at the local hospital. I don't want to loose my clinical skills. Aaron is the "Pastor of Involvement" at a Baptist church. His job is help people get involved and connected into the church. He focuses a lot on small groups (sunday school, wednesday night discipleship classes) and ministry teams.

Who does the laundry?

I am the one who remembers it needs to be done every week, sorts it and washes it. Aaron is very good at helping me fold it and get it put away. Which is the worst part of the laundry if you ask me!

Who's better with the computer?

Aaron, hands down. I know how to do things on it, but Aaron knows how the programs actually work behind the scenes and how to trouble shoot. He's also a photo shop genius, is very creative with graphic design and he loves fonts. Yes fonts. We'll be out in public somewhere and he can tell you what font this certain sign is printed in.

Who drives when you are together?

Aaron most of the time. He's not one of those guys who always has to drive though. He likes for me to drive him sometimes.

What is "your song"?

"Drops of Jupiter" by Train, "I'll be" by Edwin McCain, "Smile" by Chris Rice and "Tell her this" by Del Amitri.

I'm so blessed that the "hottie" from my theatrical heritage class, first semester freshman year of college fell in love with me, and still loves me after five years of marriage. I love him more now that I did on our wedding day five years ago. We are opposites is just about every way possible, but God has used him in my life to help me become a better version of myself. You rock baby!

Enjoying the perks...

Well, today I am enjoying one of the other perks of working in the school system, and that is FALL BREAK!! It was very very nice to wake up this morning to cool rainy weather and know that I had no need to get up and head out into it. So, currently at 10:15 in the morning I am still in my pj's, sitting on the sofa with a kitty sleeping next to me. No shower yet, I just got up, made myself a nice breakfast that included some Chai Latte (from the box concentrate you get in the store), had a nice, reflective, leisurely quiet time with the Lord, checked my email, and now I'm typing this! If only it would last! I do have an eye appointment at 1:00 today, so I need to get a move on. Exercise, here I come! I need it after the weekend. Aaron and I went down Friday evening to spend the night with my parents and go to the fair! Yeah! A corn dog, onion rings, chocolate covered strawberries and banana, and a funnel cake later.....yeah. :) My mom and I split the funnel cake and the chocolate covered strawberries and banana, but still. Not the most healthy of food options. We got to ride the ferris wheel, look at some cool exhibits and enjoy the fireworks show. Thank you to my wonderful family for sticking around until the fireworks went off. I know you all probably would liked to leave earlier, and I'm thankful for you humoring me! It was a good night, weekend, and now, hopefully the start of a great week off! Happy fall everyone!

A safari in 1950?

There are very few perks to working in the school system. Aside from the obvious, June and July plus various other scheduled vacations during the year, there is one perk to working at an elementary school that I bet no one ever thinks of. You get to be an adult, and play dress up! Yes, that's right. I LOVED to play dress up as a little girl. What little girl doesn't? I got to channel that this week for the schools "spirit week". Tuesday was "crazy hair/hat day". I do not own a crazy hat, and since I had to go spend about two hours at another school that was not doing crazy hat/hair day, I wasn't about to do my hair. So, I didn't participate in that day. Yesterday was "career day". We had lots of, you guessed it, doctors and nurses. One little guy wore a suit with an american flag pin on it and said he was the president. Go for it buddy! Can't get much worse than it is now right? That aside, I have NO political aspirations, and when you already ARE a nurse it's no fun to dress like one. So, I mentally went through what I had in my closet that I could make into a career outfit. I decided to be a "zoologist" or "zoo keeper". I got a few "Are you Indiana Jones?" A few kids thought I was a archeologist. I was kind of surprised I didn't get any "man in the yellow hat" from the kids, especially when I was carrying my monkey. A few adults guessed that though.

And yes, in case you were wondering, those are THE BOOTS. I caved, what can I say. And I love them!

Today was '50's day. Here was my outfit...

Sorry about the poor quality of the photos. One was taken with my iPhone, the other was just a set up at home and I didn't take the time for very good light. Not too flattering, but oh well. You can't see it very well, but my hair actually has a pretty good "bump it" style going on...without the actual bump it I'm proud to say! I had a good time just wearing something fun and different. Tomorrow is tacky day, and I don't think I'll be participating in that one! And yes, I have cut my hair. I did it actually almost a month ago. I really like it, but neither of those photos really show it very well. Neither of them look like I usually wear it on a daily basis. I'm actually in need of a trim again. I forgot that shorter hair requires more upkeep!