By teaching, you will learn...

Today I learned that this is a true statment. By teaching, you will learn. It is so simple and yet so true.

I had to get to Children's early this morning in order to give blood because my MMR and Tetanus records are out of date. I went into the Laboratory Waiting Room and was shaking like a leaf. Most of you probably know this, but if not, I will explain. I have a complex about veins. Although I know they are obviously important, I think they are disgusting. In fact, just talking about them weirds me out. I hate it when people show the veins on their arms. GROSS! This has been a source of constant amusement for my family and I have been harassed about it for years. When I went into the exam room with the nurse to give blood, I immediately blurted out, "I may not look like a child, but I am as scared as one right now!". The nurse started laughing and told me to relax and that it would be over in a minute. Then came that icky rubberband that gets wrapped around your arm. Oh, Lord...how awful. My palms were sweating, my face went white and I could literally not breathe properly. Soon it was over and I had a pretty purple band-aid with an alligator riding a skateboard on it to show for all of my troubles. I wanted to roll my long-sleeves up and show my badge of courage to the world as if to say, "LOOK AT ME! Look what I did today. I got through it without even fainting!". I turned in my laboratory paperwork and headed down to the School Room so proud of myself.

I always spend my first hour or so at Children's delivering information on the school program to new patients, dropping off paperwork and picking up students from their rooms. It is probably the hardest part of my day because you are in and out of rooms seeing children who are in various situations under all different circumstances and you never get a chance to learn who they are. You only find out their first name, school and school system. You might walk in on someone who is sleeping, getting a treatment, talking with a doctor or nurse or someone who just feels plain ol' awful. For all these reasons, the child may or may not attend school. However, amazingly enough, most come down to the school program with a positive attitude and an open mind. When that happens and I get to sit with him or her, it is the most unbelievable experience. I actually get to teach this person something. Last week, I taught a 1st grader how to tell time. She walked in the classroom and didn't know how to read the big hand and the little hand. However, when she walked out the door, she turned around, looked at the clock and told me what time she was leaving! I think I was more excited than she was. Today, I taught a second grader how to identify coins and add change. At first, she didn't get it, but I could tell she was smart and eager to learn. After a little bit of frustration that it wasn't making sense, all of a sudden it clicked for her and she was on fire. She would pick out the correct coins from the bag of plastic money and then add the amounts together. It was after two or three problems that I noticed she would only use one hand to get the coins and then use the same hand to write out the answers. I asked her about it and she just casually said to me that it was easier to use one hand than to mess with all the cords. What she meant by cords was the numerous IVs attached to her hand that plug into a machine which monitors her vitals and is used to administer medicine as needed. Needless to say, it was another moment at Children's that put everything in perspective for me. That is when the phrase, "By teaching...you will learn" really came to life for me. Next time I have to give blood, I am going to think about how brave all the children I teach in the school classroom are and I will never again say, ""I may not look like a child, but I am as scared as one right now!". Next time, I will say, "I may not look like a child, but I am going to try to be as brave as one right now!".

My Nephew

Awww, y'all are sweet. Little Logan is adorable and came out screaming with a strong set of lungs last night. His head is 14.25 cms in diameter which made him unable to come into the world the easy way. The doctor said there's no way he would have fit with Jaime's bone structure. So the c-section was inevitable. He came out all pretty and perfect and of course my mom says his hair looks just like mine did when I was born. So he's basically going to look just like me :) You all know how I feel about that. lol. I'll keep sending more pictures as I get them. On one more note, the nurses laughed at Jaime as they transferred her from the gurney to the operating bed..... because she was so light to lift. I'm sure that'll be me when I'm 9 months prego.... wait, nope. Definitely not. Love y'all!

Congratulations Aunt Rachel

As we all know by now, it is official! Logan Douglas Hawkins joined the world at 7:59pm on October 15th. He is 7.6 lbs and 20.5 inches long. Of course, he has blond hair and blue eyes and I am sure is an unbelievably beautiful baby. I know we are all anxiously awaiting pictures from the iPhone which will show us that he is unbelievably beautiful and also that Jaime looks like she just stepped off the runway even though she really just delivered a baby that weighs 7.6 lbs. Congratulations to the Hawkins Family and of course to the LeBlanc's [the c is silent...]. Love, Aunt Mayson, Aunt Claire, Aunt Kim and Aunt Kelly :)

It's Debate Night

(hilarious excerpt from Neil Boortz)

"The day has come. Tonight is the last debate ... well, that's what they like to call it ... between Barack Obama and John McCain. It's really a joint press conference. Wouldn't it be great just to give them both microphones and say "You have 90 minutes. Hash this thing out." Tom Brokaw virtually destroyed the last "debate" with his boring demeanor and pitiful choice of questions. So, tonight I'm not expecting much. John McCain hasn't taken off the boxing gloves yet, and my bet is that the 24 oz. gloves are waiting for him in his dressing room.
Time to set the rules for the drinking games.
For Barack: For every time he says "middle class" you take a shot. For every time he says "but what the American people really want to talk about" or some derivate thereof "is the economy" you eat a jalapeno. By the end of the session any continence or bowel problems you might have should be taken care of.
For McCain: Not so easy, this is going to be a little subjective. Let's just say that ever time The Chosen One tees it up for McCain, and McCain wiffs, you hit the bottle. You'll pass out before this mess is over. "

I like to eat.

Since all I can think about is where to have my birthday dinner, I need your feedback. Please tell me which dates suits you best next week (Tuesday is the actual bday, but I might have a flag football game that night). ..

I've narrowed it down to a few places I am craving. Please vote for one:

1. Eclipse di Luna
2. No Mas Cantina
3. Noche
4. Chow Baby (or Hot Stix in Lindbergh Plaza - same concept as CB)
5. Figo
6. Other _________________

Where oh where...

...can Kelly and Kim be? Oh, where oh, where can they be?

So, for those that will be in town on Friday night, I think we should do a little Halloween costume material shopping! We could all meet up after work and go to some hot spot junk places to get supplies. Then we could grab dinner and head back to 90210 to begin work on the costumes!

Also, how would you feel about hanging out on Saturday night as well? The game is at noon so I could go either way on hanging out to watch it or simply watching it seperately. We could meet up for dinner and then Claire and I were talking about going to Brickstore Saturday night...I have to go to a work party from 4-6ish so it would have to be after that.

What do you think?

Gonna miss Sweetwater AGAIN

Well, I'm super sad to report that Kelly Taylor and I will be missing all of the festivities this weekend to go home to the big city of Sandersville. I'm excited to be going home for the weekend but am so sad to miss the weekend in 90210 now that I see what all is in store! I'm even more sad because Brenda will be debuting her new straight do which I absolutely love!!

Would the other members of 90210 like to come over for wine tonight while Kelly T and I pack?

WE'LL MISS YOU!!!!

Donna Martin graduates!

Google Calendar, what?

I am so excited about this weekend that I just wanted to post a little schedule of events (as if I have nothing better to do than give a play by play of my weekend).

Friday:
Exactly 5:30 pm: Meet the parents at my apartment.
5:31-5:40: Take Bo-Friend out.
5:41: Drive to Sweetwater.
5:55-8:00: Drink as many samplings of Hummer as the Sweetwater Belly Shirt Girls will give me.
8:01-8:10: Drive to Treehouse, Taco Mac, or the like for dinner.
8:11-10:00: Stuff my face.
10:00-10:10: Drive Home. Do not get pulled over for I will have been drinking for some time at this point.
10:11-11:00: Prepare for tailgate.
11:01-: sleep

Saturday:
7:00: Wake up wondering why I drank so many hummers the night before, take some advil, and put my game face on.
7:01-8:45: Get Dressed, wait for Sistew and Brothew to get to my place.
8:45-9:00: Drive to pick up parentals and go to campus.
9:01-11:59: Tailgate - I will be drinking Sweet Tea Vodka with Fresh Lemonade. How good does this sound? Tea is an appropriate morning drink, right? This will also be a "Meet the Parents...and sister...and brother-in-law" for the Captain. It's way too soon. I can probably kiss this "relationship" goodbye already. I get my lack of mouth-filter from my family...
12:00-4:00: Game time!
4:01-8:00: Chill out, walk Bo, etc.
8:00-8:30: Drive to Va Highlands for dinner at Noche.
8:31-10:30: Stuff my face with deliciousness.
10:31-12:30: Go to Blind Willies. Dance, drink, make a fool of myself like usual.
12:31-12:45: Drive home...soberly. A cab might be a good idea at this point.
12:46-: Sleep like a baby.

Children's Healthcare of Atlanta

Ever since I was a little girl, my mom had me volunteering for a million different organizations. Nobody could organize a fundraiser like my mama and certainly no one could convince people to sign up for the cause like she could. My two favorite organizations were always the American Cancer Society, specifically working on Relay for Life, and the Festival of Trees - an event to benefit Children's Healthcare of Atlanta [CHOA]. I have put a lot of time in for the American Cancer Society and Relay for Life. All throughout high school, I organized our local and county RFL's and brought the event to Georgia Tech - co-chairing the inaugural Relay for Life. It was important for me to work with the ACS as it has affected my life so drastically and the lives of those around me who I love and cherish. However, the minute Thornton was born into my life - really the second I found out about him - I knew it was time for me to move on to the other organization that had always meant so much to me. It never seemed like there was enough time for me to sit down and make it happen though. There was always wedding after wedding to attend. We very quickly found out we were going to be blessed with our little Holden and then shortly after that, Chaice and Tom got engaged. But finally, in the middle of August, I finally made the decision that volunteering had always been a part of my life and I was going to make it a priority again. I filled out an application to work at Children's at Emory - literally less than a mile away from my house. I went in for my interview and knew I was where I needed to be the minute I walked in the door. As I sat down with the volunteer coordinator discussing where I would be positioned, she said my eyes lit up when she named to things: the NIC-U and the School Program. I admitted to her that I was too intimated to start in the NIC-U right away and she suggested working in the school program for 6-months and then moving on to work with the babies. So - it was set! Every Wednesday from 9am to 12pm, I would be working with children grades K-5 on reading, writing and arithmetic. We would also play games, color and do crafts when they were finished with their assignments. Today, I finished my second week at the hospital. Every week I meet the most unbelievable children just like me and you when we were kids. The only difference is that their questions are harder to answer than the simple ones we would ask in school like "when is lunch?" or "can we play outside today?". Alas, I continue to find absolute joy in the work I get to do at Children's and look forward to my time there every week. I can't wait to see who I will meet my next time at the hospital...I know whoever it is will impress me beyond my wildest dreams!

http://www.choa.org/default.aspx?id=7