Yeah Today is not a Snow Day!

Thank you God!  Today the kids went back to school.  Last week due to all the snow they had two days off of school.  While I don't mind not having to wake them up and get them out the door, I do mind that my house turns into crazy town.  Normally, snow days are just lazy days.  Now that I am in school it is a bit different.  We don't get snow days.  Which I think is a bit ridiculous since the roads were really nasty last week.  Oh well.  That's life. It did cause problems as I had to figure out childcare that I normally would not have needed.  So don't hate me when I jump up and down that my kids are at school today.  I love them so much but I am really enjoying this peace and quiet. Until 3pm that is. 

Second Semester of Nursing

My second semester of nursing has begun. We are two weeks into the semester and already have one huge test under our belts.  We started the semester learning about surgery.  We are now into the meat and potatoes of nursing. I'm loving it.  Sort of.  The pace of the program has picked up now that we are into more important subjects.  The pace isn't what bothers me.  Its the fact that we rush through the subjects that I began to wonder if I really learn any of it all.  Yes, on my first test of the semester I received an A on it.  I am ecstatic for such a good grade.  But do I really know it?

Right now we are learning about OB.  I was so excited when I first opened my Baby-Mama book.  The joke from my friends on Facebook was that since I have birthed four babies then I should be teaching the class.  Well, I won't go as far to say I know everything about having babies but I'm no dummy either.  I love the whole baby making process.  Once I made decision to go into nursing it was because of OB.  I have seen horrid OB nurses and spectacular ones.  But I am disappointed once again with the pace we are going through it.  We aren't allowed a lot of time for discussion.  I was hoping for some good videos to do some teaching.  Instead we have had lectures followed up with, "But you won't need to know that until your second year."  That drives me insane.  We did watch a video that was made in 1973.  OMG...  It was a slide show that had been transferred to DVD.  It even had the beeps on the voice over to tell you when to change slides.  While it did give us a visual on some of the fetal positions it was more funny than anything.  Where does all this money we pay for the nursing program go?  They just raised our tuition (yes, only the nursing tuition) this past year.  Surely, we can afford decent videos.

So there is my little rant.  I just wish we did more than just lecture.  But I guess that is what our clinicals are for.  I am ready to get my hands dirty.  To learn.  To observe.  I am really looking forward to going into the OR and watching a surgery from start to finish.  I am usually not the type of person who gets ill at guts and gore so we shall see how I do.  I also will hopefully get to put in catheters and other fun stuff.  As for OB, since I am only a first year, we may get to go for one day to a women's hospital to observe.  But that is it.  I'll take it for now.  I will just look forward to next year when we can do more for OB.

Alright, I am going to head off now.  I will try to do some studying today but boy those nursing books are incredibly boring.  I will try and keep you posted of how everything is going.  I hope you all have a great week.

Party Like a Rock Star! Yes, I Will!

Whew.... 2011 has just begun and we have been going nonstop.  We rang in the New Year at our favorite camp.  We visited with fabulous friends and listened to awesome music.  All the kids ran around and got soda and sugar wasted.  Seriously, I found my two year old crashed on the couch and my nine year old asleep on the floor buried under sofa cushions. My daughters actually made it to their bunks before crashing.  There was no where to drive to so we adults could enjoy the festivities as well.  And we did.  We hung out in the rain and had philosophical conversations about the stars and the nakedness of the trees. It was a gorgeous night after the clouds cleared away. The sky was clear and you felt like if you reached up you could grab a star and hold it in your palm. 

The following week the kids went back to school. Well, kind of.  We had to battle fevers and colds.  Our family only shares when we are sick.  But everyone was back to full health that next weekend.  Which was a good thing since we had to go out of town again for my daughter's basketball tournament.  We stayed with good friends who didn't mind the craziness our family brought to their house.  We had a blast watching the basketball games and hanging out with longtime friends who came to cheer on my daughter.  They came in fourth place.  Of course, staying with friends means late night talks around the kitchen table accompanied by many drinks... way too many drinks.  Oh my gosh we laughed so hard and danced around the kitchen.  Good times!  That night, or morning, I was the first to crash.  That cold that my family liked to share had finally reached me.
The following week was horrid.  My cold was a killer and all I wanted to do was sleep.  But no sleep for me, as my nursing classes started back up.  I was miserable.  The week went by too slow. 

The next weekend (last weekend) my family went to Missouri for my sister's wedding.  I was finally beginning to get over the worst of my cold and was feeling much better.  The weekend went by fast but we had a blast.  My sister looked amazing as a bride.  I cried many tears when she and her husband had their first dance.  I am the oldest of four girls.  And we are not a quiet bunch.  So the reception was loud and wild.  We danced our faces off.  And we drank... too much... again.  Luckily for us, one of my sisters is pregnant and was the DD.  So we did not have to worry about driving back to the hotel.  We survived another weekend of wildness.

I am proud to say that the effect of the partying did not stop me from doing well on my first nursing exam of the semester.  Yup, I aced it. 

This weekend is a calm weekend.  By that I mean we are not going anywhere.  At least I am not going anywhere.  I going to relax and watch movies with my kiddos.  Next weekend, however, is an entirely different story.  I will be celebrating my (cough, cough) 29th (ahem) birthday.  And I plan on partying like a rock star yet again.

Who said that once you married and have kids that you could no longer have fun and be completely inappropriate?

Toyota thinks I'm lame!

Is it just me or does the kid in the Toyota Highlander commercials need a time out?  I always thought that commercials were meant to make the consumer want to buy the product not cringe away.  Should my kids think I am a lame parent because I don't have the newest vehicle.  We don't have a dvd player in our van.  Only one of our side sliding doors is automatic.  But it runs and it gets my kids to their practices and scout meetings.  It takes them to the movies and friends' birthday parties.  Pretty lame I know. 

I'm not planning on buying a new vehicle anytime soon but I definitely would not buy from Toyota.  Is this how they think our children should react?  Parents don't be lame?  Toyota, you totally screwed up!  You should be more concerned with how I feel about a vehicle instead of what my child thinks of it.  FYI... that snotty ten year old (or whatever age he happens to) wouldn't be able to purchase much less drive one of your so called "Not Lame" vehicles.  Your commercials disgust me!

Not everything goes as planned

This past summer I decided that my family needed to be greener.  If you have been reading my posts you will know that we switched to cloth diapers.  While that worked for maybe about three months we ended up going back to disposable.  I do love cloth diapers. However, my life became hectic really fast going back to school and working nights that we just weren't able to keep up with constant washing of diapers.  To be honest we could not afford to purchase enough cloth diapers to keep laundry to a minimum.  We tried though. 

I am still using some homemade cleaning products.  I do love to clean with vinegar.  But today I used bleach.  We have had a bug run through our house and I wanted to make sure I disinfected everything.  So the bathrooms are super clean.  So sue me.  I used bleach. 

We have kept up with recycling.  Our trash has become smaller each week.  I get all giddy when I look at what we recycle each week.  About 10 milk jugs, apple juice jugs, cereal or snack boxes, Girl Scout cookie boxes, paperwork from school, newspapers, magazines... I'm just happy that its not going into the dump. 

We all know that not everything goes as planned.  Wouldn't life be wonderful if it did?  Right now I am ecstatic that my laundry is caught up (including put away), last year's fall clothes have been donated, kitchen is clean, bathroom clean, homework finished, Christmas shopping started and I am not worried about getting something accomplished right now.  That to me is success.  I'll take it.

Have a great day and don't get too upset when things don't go as planned!

Its all about change!

"Nursing is constantly changing".  This is what I keep hearing everyday in nursing school.  I understand that the medical field changes all the time.  There is new technology.  New medicines.  New ways to chart.  However, I am still frustrated when an assignment is given, such as care plans, but the guidelines to this homework changes each time we turn it in.  "No this isn't right.  We decided we want it this way instead."  Wouldn't that get on your nerves.

Or how about this?  When going to clinical you are stuck with a new instructor who does everything the opposite way from what you were taught. 

When I bring this up in class or to my instructor the first thing they will say is, "Its all about change.  Nursing is constantly changing.  You have to be able to go with the flow."

I am all about going with the flow.  But I would like to know which way it is flowing.  Or maybe have signs that say "sharp curve ahead".  I know I am asking too much.

I do have to say I am learning quite a bit.  I enjoy nursing school and my classmates. My fellow "what the hell is going on" friends are fantastic and they keep me smiling.  I am lucky to go through this process with them. 

I gave a flu shot for the first time just last week.  I felt sorry for my client.  But my client was a trooper and said I should get an A. 

As far as family goes we are doing fine.  Football is over with for my son and we only have one more weekend of soccer for my daughter.  That will give us a nice break.  We are very busy with Girl Scouts.  Luckily I am blessed with great moms who are willing to help out and take over entire meetings.  Everyone understands that I am overwhelmed with school and everything else so I am thankful for all their help and support.

Work is going fine.  That is all I can really say about it online. It is exhausting and nights is a pain to work and raise a family during the day.  But once I am finished with nursing school it will be different, right?

Well that is all for today.  Just a little update on what is going on.  Not much new... just some dishes to wash, a diaper to change and a degree to earn........ OH MY~~~~~

One day at a time!

That is how I am surviving life right now... One day at a time.  If I think too much about what I have going on I am sure I would have a panic attack.  Its funny to hear other people tell me that they are amazed with all I have going on.  I guess I do have a lot going on but I don't focus on it.  It would be too overwhelming if I did. 

Things have been getting a bit more hectic.  Just the other day I was awake for 34 hours straight.  I had all day of classes on Wednesday, couldn't nap before work, then I worked 10p-6a, and then another full day of classes on Thursday.  I was entertainment for my fellow nursing students.  I had to keep myself awake and I did that by acting insane.  I dance in the car on the way back to class from lunch blaring Usher's "Ya".  It was fantabulous I am fo sho!!!!

Fellow aides have been dropping like flies at work.  Last night another one quit.  I think I may have to ask for a raise soon.  I've been working there two months and I pretty much have seniority on my shift already.  Gotta love that.  Not that it would benefit me much but oh well.

There really isn't much else to post right now.  We are keeping busy trying to stay afloat with all that I have going on plus my family's activities.  What I really want to do is go see a couple of movies, one right after another and pig out on popcorn, soda and chocolate.  Doesn't that sound like fun.

Well I better be off.  Don't know when I will post again.  Hopefully soon since my nursing class schedule will be a bit tamer for this next quarter.  I hope all of you out there are enjoying your fall season.  Thank you so much for keeping up with my blog.  I really appreciate it!