December iPhone dump

December came and went in a flash!

We visited Santa!

I started a new job in November as a patient care technician in the Oncology unit at the hospital I'm hoping to get hired by after I graduate. I have heard from many people that this hospital usually hires nurses from within, so I wanted to get my foot in the door, and also gain some more experience before graduating. I was really nervous about handling two 12 hour days per week, on top of school and sharing custody of the kids, and while it hasn't been easy, it has been very rewarding. I love the unit I'm on, the patients, the people I work with, and it's a very humbling experience to work in Oncology. 

I took a screen shot of my activity after one of my shifts, I usually average between 7.5-9.5 miles per day, just from walking all over the unit. 

The boys are playing bar with their cousin at Grandma's house. 

We celebrated their cousin's first birthday!

S'mores in the backyard.

Nikolaus (a german tradition) came on December 6th, and brought the boys some gifts in their boots.

Airplane the elf made his return, and Finn was very excited to find him each morning.

Finn wasn't feeling so well, so he was sitting out at karate.

I should have been studying for finals, but lunch and pedicures with these lovely ladies sounded much better!

My annual cookie and white elephant gift exchange with friends was a lot of fun.

A "secret Santa" from my class left this on my desk at school on the last day of finals. So thoughtful and sweet.

After almost eight months away, our friend Allison returned from Michigan and the boys were very happy to see her.

The boys picked out their ornaments for the year.

Finn's choice was Pokemon.

Fox didn't know what his was, but he liked it.

He's been training for his orange belt!

I took the kids to "the largest inflatable obstacle course in the world". We went last year and it was a lot of fun, and they had a blast this time as well. We didn't meet any friends there, and it was very sweet for me to watch them sticking together and playing with each other.

We slept at my friend's house one night, because she was going to watch the boys for me while I was working at the hospital, and I had to leave at 5am. I found this on my lunch box before I left early in the morning, she is always so thoughtful.

She had them for half the day, and then my other friend picked up the boys for the other half of the day. It really takes a village, and I'm so grateful for mine. 

My friend even took all of the kids on a Christmas bike ride that ended in a cul-de-sac where they were showing a Christmas movie, and had lots of treats for the kids. 

Karate crew!

This might be the largest Elf on the Shelf there is, he hangs on one of the buildings in our town every Christmas.

The Christmas drive through that is synchronized to music is one of my favorites every year.

The kids have never seen Home Alone 2 and Fox could not stop laughing.

Finn was a little too busy practicing "bottle flips".

I even got some big kid cuddles during the movie.

Katie got a puppy for the boys for Christmas, and he is the cutest thing. Both kids were super excited about it.

Christmas Eve service is my favorite!

We hadn't been to the zoo in a very long time, and all of us were very excited to go. We rented a "rydable" and Fox was very proud to drive us around the zoo.

We had a playdate at the park with some friends, which was so nice. The kids all played for 2.5 hours and us moms could catch up. 

 I love these people. We were all in a study group during our first semester of nursing school. Out of the five here, only me and one other girl are still in nursing school at this moment, but that first semester really bonded all of us together, and it was so nice to catch up with everyone. 

And that wraps up December!