Ruby

This is Ruby's face a lot...the "I know I am in trouble" face.

This is frequently the way you will see Taylor carrying Ruby. Do you think he misses having a baby around??

And this is when we first brought Ruby home. Cute, cuddly, quiet, sweet...little did we know.

I am FINALLY blogging again. The specifics of why I haven't taken the time to jot down every tidbit of our days is long and exhausting...I am exhausted but happy. The Gorning family has turned the page into a new chapter of life. Taylor is now a regional sales manager for his company, which entails more work and more travel, but he was ready for a change and the challenges the job would bring. Conner and Ben just finished up their baseball seasons, while Sam finished soccer. And I officially graduated with my BSN and passed my boards to become an registered nurse. I started a job in a cardiovascular inpatient unit at a local hospital this past Monday. It has been such a journey. I have learned so much, including finding balance in my life that I didn't quite get until entering nursing school. I am grateful to my family and friends for all of their support, love, and grace through this time. I could not have completed my nursing program without them. But enough about me...

We got a dog in December...her name is Ruby. She is expensive, messy, and tears up just about anything she gets her paws into. She has ruined our couch, area rugs, floorboards, lots of shoes, chair legs, etc. She has pooped on just about everything and frequently gets a hold of and chews up dead animals. Then she pukes and has the runs for a couple days. That's always fun to clean up. The boys love her. Taylor loves her. Me...not so much. I'm the one taking her to the vet, shoving pills down her throat, filling up her food/water bowls, scooping poop, taking her for walks, blah blah blah. I really can't sit down without her pawing at me, standing on me, scratching at me and licking me. Everyone keeps telling me she will calm down once she gets out of the "puppy stage". How long does the "puppy stage" last???? She is cute. And that's about the only thing I can say positive about her right now, unfortunately. I have to remind myself that Ruby is going to grow up with the boys and they will always remember her. But for now, it's a love/hate relationship for me and the dog.

Bachelorette Fun!!

One of my best friends from high school is about to tie the knot and we had to take her out to celebrate!! Nothing like a little sushi and some good old fashion silliness to kick start her marriage. We had a ton of fun embarassing her with trinkets and funny stuff...a little too funny to mention on a blog. However let's just say she isn't lacking anything for the honeymoon;-)

Here we are at the sushi restaurant. Brie has been one of my most loyal friends growing up and I truly couldn't be more proud to stand up with her as she walks down the aisle. Love ya, Brie!!

The most wonderful time of the year...

This is what we live for in the Gorning household. I love baseball season. Now with 2 of my boys playing, it's double the fun:-) Everyone wants to know how we're going to do it with all 3 in sports. I mean, how do we manage this????

To be honest, it's not managing. It's not challenging. It's fabulous! It's all about packing up our car with bats, baseballs, gloves, bags, water bottles, helmets, hat, cleats, snacks, sunflower seeds, chairs, etc. and spending our days at the ball park. Ben is on an awesome team this year. They are undefeated at this point and he has had some pretty sweet hits!!

He has also been pitching. Did I mention he has quite the arm?
And I am thrilled to say he doesn't have the team name of "Riverbats" this year. And the team color is NOT purple! (Hallelujah!) The colors rock, as you can see, and his team name is the "Mets".

Conner is playing on the same team he played with last year. Same coaches...love them! Most of the same players. However, their uniforms sort of look like they all work at McDonald's. They're not yellow, but the "M", which stands for Mustangs looks a lot like the golden arches. I had to laugh the first time I saw the boys out on the field. And white pants, really??? I am still trying to figure out why in the world the care label on the pants says "no bleach". Seriously? If you can't bleach white baseball pants, why even make them in that color?

First half of the season was great with 7 wins and 2 losses. We started the second half of the season with a win and are hoping to make it to the county and city tournaments. More to follow soon...

The "rents"

Through thick and thin, they have been there....my parents. They are amazing. Period. I honestly do not know what I would do without them in my life. My dad and mom have supported me and I honestly can say they are "picture perfect" parents. Their influence and support in my life have been more than superior. There were times in my life that I was not "myself", let's say, and they have been there no matter what. My dad and mom have always led me down the right path...and I have been extremely fortunate in my life. I have had friends come and go, but they always remember my parents for who they were and what they stood for...there was no question. The sad thing is, I can't say the same for myself. I wish I could be as stellar as they have been to me. I wish I could have the determination that my parents had for me. I try, but feel like I fall short. Fortunately, they are able to be in my kids' lives...and they live so close. I did not have close relationships with my grandparents b/c of distance and time. My dad would stay up to the wee hours of the morning with me, talking, debating, listening, discussing, and loving me. I am thankful, grateful, humbled that God gave them to me. Without them, I would have turned out...who knows? They are my biggest fans...no matter what...and I am extremely fortunate to have been given them. There are no words, no lines, nothing else that is possible to express in words about my parents. Except,... I love and adore them.

Updates and Pre-Spring Fever

It has been some time since I posted last...don't really know where to begin. The boys are all playing basketball games every weekend. Honestly, I haven't really gotten into basketball. It's kinda boring. Sam's games are pretty hilarious. Most of the kids are picking their noses and pulling each other's hair braids. Yes, girls play too! Conner talked us into playing on two teams this year. He's playing select and Upward(church league). I haven't encountered parents quite like the ones on Conner's select team. I swear, some of these parents really think their kid is going to play in the NBA one day...or has a slim chance. Ummm??? They scream, swear, jump up and down, and pound their fists when something goes wrong with a referee call or a kid missing a shot. Oh yes, they really do yell at their kid...and mine. Which is a little irritating considering the fact that I am sitting right next to them. I have considered saying certain tactful words to these parents, obviously reminding them of their immaturity:-), but I married a guy who pretty much lets everything go, including some "not so nice" words from ranting parents. He controls the scene in the gym for me, thankfully. However I have to admit victory is sweet and these boys work really hard. In their preseason, they won every game and it was awesome to see.

I am in the midst of nursing school. My face is in a book at all times of the day, and yes, if you need assistance wiping your butt one day when you cannot, please call. I have trained to do these necessary activities of daily living and do them well. I know, it's gross. But somebody's gotta do it. I have learned so much in the amount of time I have started my clinicals and I love working with sick people. I'm not sure if it's a gene or an environmental factor, but helping people that can't help themselves is a true passion of mine. I've also been able to teach my kids a lot about me. I am not around as much which means they don't get everything at a moment's notice. Life doesn't revolve around them and that's good for them to know. But I appreciate my time with them so much more than I ever have. They have become big boys. My time has become shorter with them and it makes me ever so grateful for the time that I do have. The picture above of all 3 of them is just a sweet reminder of how blessed we truly are. I couldn't ask for anything more...well, maybe my own chef at home or a million bucks, but I'm not complaining!!

Happy Turkey Day!

Thanksgiving this year wasn't our typical. It was our year with my family and my parents were headed to West Virginia. There really just isn't enough room for us to stay there any more with my 5 and Jennifer's 4, plus my parents. Plus, we really didn't want to stay in a hotel for the holidays. We planned on celebrating with them the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

My crew and Jen's crew headed to our good friend Melissa's house and did Thanksgiving in a non-traditional type of way. We had chili, awesome appetizers, and some good dessert. No one was running around, stirring gravy, mixing mashed potatoes, or making sure the marshmallows weren't burning. So heavenly!!(Even if I don't really cook, ever, at Thanksgiving:-))

I also realized something interesting about my boys. They are quite maternal. Funny. Elise(Melissa's daughter) has this baby that pees and poos. Really. The doll really goes in the toilet. It's quite hilarious. I honestly feel sorry for the mothers out there that have to endure this type of thing, seriously. But we had a good laugh and my boys were obsessed with the thing...maybe b/c they're obsessed with anything that has anything to do with toilet talk.

Sam LOVES Melissa's daughter and follows her around. Well, they both follow each other around. Ugh! Not ready for that yet.

She's such a cutie. We love having extra females around, that's for sure.

Turkey Trot

I consider myself a runner. I run. I run several times a week. But I have never run in an organized race. I'm not sure why. Maybe because I make excuses like, "I have 3 kids and don't have any time to train for one. I mean, I do want to cross the finish line with a good time". Or maybe there is a fear of seeing all of these hard core runners...you know the type...they can tell you how many miles they have run in a week, month, and year and their average mile is around 5 1/2 minutes or something like that. Then that fear would become a reality as I would watch each of them pass me making each stride look ever so easy and graceful. However, I decided to put aside all my fears this year and Taylor and I signed up for the annual Thanksgiving Day Turkey Race in downtown Cincinnati. It is a 10K...or for those of you out there who don't know how long that is, it's 6.2 miles. Not a long run for runners, but I don't normally run 6.2 miles everyday...I don't know many women with kids who have the time for that anyway. But I manage around 4-4.5 miles which is pretty good for a girl with 3 kids. I know I keep saying I have 3 kids...sorry.

(The night before, Taylor and I wanted to see what would happen if we let the boys put themselves to bed on their own. When we got up the morning of the race, we found them all in Conner's bed. It was so cute that I had to take a picture. I had to add that as part of this monumental day.)

We dropped the kids off at my sister's and headed downtown for the "big" race. It was actually fairly warm...upper 40's and sunny. It truly was perfect weather for running. We had to tie these sensors to our sneakers to get our time when we crossed the finish line...I think mine was messed up, ummm, because I could have sworn I crossed the finish line way before an hour, but when we checked on-line, my time was just over an hour. Oh well. I finished the race and I loved every second of it. And surprisingly, there were lots of people like me...moms who don't have tons of time to be a serious runner, but just want to stay fit and healthy. And there were the hard core runners, too. The winner of the race finished in just over 30 minutes. Pretty good. Hmmm...I wonder if he has 3 kids. ;-)

Here we are after the race, feeling awesome.I was also loving the fact that my hubby, who could have finished the race at least 15-20 minutes before I did, decided to run with his wife. He's so sweet, huh?