
I have now been blogging for Realiteen for almost two years and have thoroughly enjoyed the experience to share the ebb and flow of life with three teens in the house. I am well seasoned with the teen scene, but learn something new and exciting almost every day still. I am blessed to be the very proud mom of three teens: Kassiane, 17; Austin, 16; and Lydia, 15. Yes, you read correctly – stair step teens. They were once 1, 2 and 3, if you can only imagine. That part seems like a blur now – thank goodness for photos and video. It has all happened so quickly and now they are in 10th, 11th and 12th grades. One of the first thoughts that now comes to mind when I tell someone their ages is that they will graduate from high school three years running; and of course, that means beginning college three years running, too. That means three cars, three more insurance policies, oh the horrors. We will cross those bridges soon enough. For now, the household is bustling; even teaming with activity and commotion and that is putting it politely. The “we” I mention includes my husband, Doctor Tim, who is a general surgeon, and practices with Onslow Surgical Clinic. It goes almost without saying, he is a very busy husband/dad. The great news is that he is a very involved, hands-on kind of dad and always has been. He comes home, rolls up his sleeves and pitches in with whatever needs to be done to manage the group. Early on we realized that we would have our hands full and being that there are three of “them” and two of “us”, the odds were against us. It has been a challenge keeping our ship afloat and keeping the kids steered, but always a joy and we would have never had it any other way. I am a real multi-tasking mom, too, with quite a few irons in the fire. I am a registered nurse, since 1982, with a clinical background in trauma and critical care nursing. In recent years, my focus has been in nursing education at Onslow Memorial Hospital; however, during the past two years, I have also been working PRN(filling in as needed), in out-patient clinics at the Naval Hospital and MCAS. The flexibility of PRN works great with managing the busy schedules of the teens, yet allows me to keep connected with my profession. I also volunteer in their schools and for the past three years have been helping to re-invent the Onslow County Medical Society Alliance, a physician spouses’ organization. I’ve also been a long standing soccer mom, an avid gardener and love to cook. When I say, never a dull moment – it truly means, NEVER a dull moment. I look forward to more blogging and sharing about life with the stair step teens. Stay tuned!
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Way Too Much Food
December 28th, 2011 Paula PatselasMy sentiment acknowledging “Way too Much Food” probably echoes throughout many households right about now as we pass by Christmas and on through New Year’s Day. Surely to have plenty of food on our tables is a blessing and unfortunately, one …
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Holiday Stress Finds New Meaning
December 26th, 2011 Paula PatselasHolidays, especially Christmas it seems has always notoriously brought on a high level of stress in my house hold, and probably most others out there. I tell myself that it should not be that way, and it shouldn’t, but nevertheless, in …
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Tis The Season – For Hair
December 24th, 2011 Paula PatselasI am on a hair roll here. What ever happened to the notion of hanging the stockings on the mantle with care? It is all about the hair – at least with my bunch of …
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Girls In My Bathroom
December 22nd, 2011 Paula PatselasJust as I am sitting quietly and thoughtfully at my desk tapping out a blog about Holiday Stress and keeping up with the continuous going and coming at my house, the back door flings open and a gaggle of Lydia’s teen girlfriends …
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I’ll Be Home For Christmas
December 19th, 2011 Paula PatselasThe Christmas song title used to be one of my favorite tunes during the holidays. I remember listening to to it being sung by various artists back when I was a little girl and all through the years. The longing words …

































