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Fashion Woes & Wacky Weather in the Springtime

Posted on April 8, 2014 by The Dose of Reality

According to our calendars, it is officially spring, which means spring is in the air. Or at least it should be. However, according to the outside temperatures, winter has decided to stick around a little longer. Needless to say, this weather phenomenon has reeked havoc on our already lacking fashion sense. And let’s be honest, everyone, we don’t need any more struggles when it comes to our clothing.

This is about the time of year when we would normally be about to begin to chore of organizing our closets into winter clothes, spring clothes, summer clothes and clothes that actually fit. But with each passing day where we find ourselves debating between boot cut ~~yoga pants~~ jeans or capri length ~~yoga pants~~ jeans and deciding whether we need a light sweater or our full, heavy coat, we are kind of over it.

It is actually quite exhausting, if we are being completely honest. Add in the ever rising pollen count, and we are miserable over here.

It is no secret to any mom out there that actual “sick days” don’t come with this gig. You may be able to sneak in a quick nap on the couch when you are feeling under the weather, as long as you count a nap as being something that happens where you don’t actually sleep. Kids don’t see mommy trying to rest on the couch any differently than mommy being at their beck and call. Snacks don’t make themselves, you know.

So we are finding ourselves sucking on HALLS® (sugar free, y’all…see above for ill-fitting clothes situation) day and night. Lisa is totally loving the black cherry flavor and will only buy those. Ashley, on the other hand, is going between the citrus blend and the honey-lemon. The honey-lemon are especially soothing on her throat at night after a full evening of attempting to just make bedtime happen already.

Spring is in the air, which also means it is in our noses and that is making us sneeze and cough. Thank goodness we have HALLS to the rescue. Now, if only HALLS could help us with our clothing situation!

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Ick, That’s Gonna Leave A Stain

Posted on April 3, 2014 by The Dose of Reality

This is a sponsored post written by us on behalf of Clorox. I am going to make a confession today. Messes freak me out a little bit. But, whatever do you mean, is what you are all thinking, right? After … Continue reading →

The True Meaning Of Good Sportsmanship

Posted on December 30, 2013 by The Dose of Reality

You learn a lot of valuable lessons when you play sports, but nothing more valuable than what it means to practice good sportsmanship.

It is more than lining up at the end of the game, win or lose, and shaking the hands of your opponents.

It is more than hitting the winning run.

It is even more than showing up at every practice and giving it your all.

What truly makes someone a good sportsman?

What, especially, makes an entire team good sportsmen?

This. Right here.

In a day and age when we all hear so much about teenagers who are not being their best selves, it is especially touching to see a display of kindness like this one.

In fact, to see an entire community cheering in the stands and on the sidelines was enough to bring us to tears.

These are the moments.

These are the lessons.

This is what we want to pass down to our children. To know what it feels like to give someone a moment that will forever change their lives. To know that something that might feel routine to you, will feel momentous to someone else.

It is easy to get wrapped up in all the negative in the world.

It is easy to think more about winning the game and less about the reasons you wanted to play in the first place.

Seeing Noah score that touchdown was a great reminder that we all need to be a little more generous. Have a little more compassion. Remember that it does not always have to be about us.

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Mommy, When I Grow Up, I Want To Be A Nurse Just Like You!

Posted on December 18, 2013 by The Dose of Reality

My kids love asking me all about my adventures when I was working in the hospital before they were born. They love to hear all about how I had to work all night long, while the rest of the world was sleeping. They never get tired of asking exactly what kinds of things I did during my shifts as an Orthopedic nurse.I do a pretty good job of glossing over the 3:00 a.m. runs down to the cafeteria for Zingers and instead try to focus on you the, you know, actual work my job entailed.They are endlessly fascinated hearing about the patient I had who required leech therapy to heal his finger wound. They think it is just the coolest thing ever that I had to pluck the engorged leeches off his finger and hand carry them in specimen jars to the lab to be disposed of properly. Honestly, looking back on it now, it is pretty amazing.Because I worked on a post-surgical unit, most of my work stories involve pain management. Let’s just say some patients were easier than others. For instance, we used the standard 0-10 pain scale, known in the medical community as the Wong Baker pain scale. My sister and I get endless enjoyment out of the fact that it took two people apparently to come up with a pain scale that essentially is a bunch of variations of a happy face, but I digress.

I used to tell my patients that a 10 on the pain scale was the equivalent of their hand being in a fire, since a wise mentor nurse once advised me that people do better describing things that they can visualize. Needless to say, I was pretty surprised one night when a patient called out stating his pain was a 12. I quickly gathered his medicine and upon entering his room found him to be sound asleep and snoring. Obviously, he used the “man cold” pain scale to describe the way he was feeling.

While I no longer work the night shift at the hospital, I still keep my nursing license current and use it in a variety of ways to stay active. I enjoy doing flu shot clinics throughout the fall each year. I also love having the opportunity to sub in the health room at my childrens’ school, because that is where I can combine my nursing AND mom skills!

My girls ask me a lot about my decision to become a nurse and tell me all the time that they when they grow up they want to be a nurse just like me! I tell them that they couldn’t make a better career choice!

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