Yum!

I really like me some eggplant parmesan, but I've never tried making it myself before. So, I decided, why not? Tonight, I made it for dinner and it actually turned out really well. Especially for my first time making it. The kids, however, are split. One likes it, the other 2 don't. Oh well. I thought it was quite tasty!!

It's Friiiii-day!

Well, my younger daughter is heading around the block to her friend's house for the night. Tomorrow they will be going to an amusement park and staying overnight, so she will not be home until Sunday sometime.

This, of course, means she won't get to play with her softball team in the first game of the tournament. But, she's ok with that (and so am I). She will then have a game on either Monday or Tuesday evening, depending on if the team wins or loses tomorrow's game. I think her team will go pretty far. They've only lost 1 or 2 games all season. Last night they came back at the end of the game from being down 3-1 and winning 4-3.

However, my older daughter is more than making up for her sister's absence by having 2 of her friends spend the night here tonight. Three 14 year old girls in my house at once? I think I might just hide out in my room for the night and read or watch movies!

Tired!

I am all messed up with my sleep pattern lately. I can't seem to get to sleep before 3 am or wake up before 11 am. Grrrrr! Even now, I am laying in my comfy bed, crazy sleepy (as I've been for hours now), but I just can. not. fall. asleep! It is quite frustrating to not be able to get to sleep when you're so tired! I think my main problem is not being able to turn off my thoughts which prevents me from drifting off. My brain needs a power button. *sigh*

Games

Baseball is finally over for my son as of last week, but my daughter still has some softball games left. One tonight and then tournaments starting Saturday. Now, I guess it's time to figure out what they're going to keep me busy with in the fall!

Doggies!

So, when I originally thought about getting the kids a puppy, I had a chihuahua in mind. They're so tiny and cute and can be carried around anywhere we go. But, I also like boxers and have wanted one since I was a kid and one of my friends had one.

Well, as you know, I ended up getting a boxer. I love her and she's so cute and lovey, albeit very energetic and excitable. She will cuddle with me, and I can even get her to sit on my lap sometimes. The problem with that is....she weighs 60 pounds. Which just so happens to be more than my 7 year old son.

Now, don't get me wrong here, I do NOT want to get rid of my Bella, but I do want to get her a buddy and, at the same time, myself a lap dog. I know it's not gonna happen. It's hard enough trying to juggle three kids and ONE dog, let alone adding another. But, I can't help it, I still want one.


Image found here: http://www.lefkimmi.co.uk/web/content.php?page_id=27

Play date

I took my youngest 2 kiddos and Bella on a play date today with a friend, her daughter, and their 2 dogs. We went to a dog park, then walked a trail. While we were walking the trail, there was a little place where the dogs could get into the creek. Her dogs got in and swam around, but Bella is not the biggest fan of being in water, so she went right up to the edge, just far enough to get her paws all muddy, but didn't get in.

After the dogs dried off, we went back to their house and had lunch, then took all the dogs to a car and pet wash and gave them all baths. Those things are really pretty cool! It was only $5 and it was SO much easier to bathe her there than at home in the tub! I really wish there was one of these places close to my house, but so far, I haven't been able to find one.

Movie time

I finished up the book today that I started in on yesterday. I also picked up the movie this evening from the library when I went to select my next book. So, now I think I'm gonna lay in bed and watch it!

**Update: The book was much better than the movie. They changed up too many things in the movie, including the entire purpose of the "story". I hate it when a movie is so much different than the book it's based on. Why can't they just stick to the original story line? Sigh.

Summer Reading

So, I just started in on my third book of the summer. So far, it's decent. I need to start looking for my next couple of books because this one will probably not take very long to read. Ahh, it's so nice to be able to read leisurely again!

Snot, snot, go away!

I seem to be suffering from some sort of summer cold or allergies. I started out fine yesterday, except for a few sneezes in the morning. Then I was pretty much fine until late afternoon, when my nose started getting stuffy and running. (Still not sure how it can be both stuffed up and running at the same time, but whatever.) I think I'ma have to go pick up some lotion-y tissues to save my nose. Hopefully this doesn't last long!

Right now, I'm getting ready to take my oldest to an orthodontist appointment, then the kids are begging to go to the pool. I bought the pass and have only been able to go once so far so, I guess I should probably take them today if it doesn't rain.

Balls!

Once again tonight, I have 2 kids with ball games on the same night. And, pretty much at the same time! Which means, once again, I won't get to go to my son's game. This happened two nights ago, as well as several other times. I guess it's a good thing that I didn't force my oldest daughter to play also, like I thought about doing. I'm not sure how that would work! Sheesh! Oh well. Guess that's just how it goes.

Clean carpet, yay!

I had my carpet cleaned on the first floor today. They were looking very dirty. It hadn't been cleaned professionally in 2 years, so, it was needed. They look SO much better now! With 3 kids and a dog, they take their fair share of abuse.

So, I just need to deal with a bunch of stuff sitting in my kitchen for the next 24 hours until they dry, including the sectional sofa. Oh well, it's worth it!

Now, to find something to do with the kids to keep them off the carpet. They want to go see Mr. Popper's Penguins. So, I think I'll take them to the cheap theater here in town to see a matinee. :)

I made it!

I survived nursing school! This afternoon was our pinning ceremony. The school only holds actual graduation ceremonies twice a year, so ours isn't until October. At first, they told us that it would just be the students and faculty for the pinning, but after some people complained they let us each bring up to 4 guests. So, I was able to take my kiddos with me. :)

Oddly, I don't feel as relieved as I'd hoped I would at this point. Maybe it's because I don't really feel "done" because I'm still going to continue to get my bachelor's degree. I can still take the boards, find a job (hopefully), and work while I'm going to school. I may try to find a part-time job while doing that, but I don't know. I will probably have to take whatever job that will hire me to get started. I just hope I can find something in a department I don't hate!

Even though I'm done with this part of my schooling and will officially (after passing NCLEX) be an RN, I still feel kind of overwhelmed with all I still need to do. However, it does feel good to be this far!

Jump, jump!

The kids and I went to visit my grandma, SIL, and nephews yesterday. We went to lunch then back to my bro and SIL's house because my girls heard they got a new trampoline and wanted to jump. :)



The kids have been asking for one for quite a while now, maybe I should think about it, it's great exercise!

Bella Dog

I've been working on some commands with Bella. The newest one is "roll over". She never really got the hang of that one for some reason when she was younger, so I let it go and started trying again. Seems like she's getting it now.



Now, if only she were this obedient outside...

It did, however, take a couple of tries to get it right. Here's a "roll over" outtake:

14

14 years ago, today, my life changed forever. At 1:12 pm on Monday, June 9, 1997, I welcomed my first baby into the world. I did a lot of growing up in that moment. More than I'd ever thought possible. But, I wouldn't trade her for the world!

She weighed in at 8 pounds 3.5 ounces and 20.5 inches long:



(And yes, I know my glasses were ridiculously large. Ugh!)

And now, well, I don't think she'd appreciate me telling you what she weighs in at, but she's around 5 feet 2 inches tall. ;)



(She wouldn't let me take a picture of her today, so I had to steal one from her facebook.)

Happy Birthday, beautiful girl! I love you!

Ugh!

I am feeling kinda down today. I have a lot of things going through my mind. About school, life, etc. I'm just not really feeling optimistic.

Sick boy

My little boy has been home with me the past 2 days. He went to the Doctor's yesterday evening and found out he has strep throat. :( Yesterday he had a fever and was throwing up and just felt pretty miserable. He feels much better today, but isn't allowed to go back to school until he's been on his antibiotic for 24 hours. So, he'll be going back tomorrow and Thursday for the last 2 days of school for the year. So far, no one else seems to have caught it. Hoping it stays that way!

Summer time!

Summer is almost here! Which means it's about time to go buy a pool pass for the kids and myself. This will be the first time we will have to buy a pass. Last year we didn't buy one because we could go swim for free at the apartments that my grandma lived in. Now that she moved, if we want to swim, we need to buy a pass. Looks like they are 10% off through Monday, so looks like now is the time to get it!

Count Down!

What a long day today! I'm counting down the hours I have left with my preceptor. I have one more 13 hour day on Saturday, then I will only have 4.5 hours left to get in. I haven't decided if I will go ahead and stay the full day on Monday, or if I'll just stay until around lunch time. I talked to my preceptor about it today and told her I could stay the whole day if it would be easier for her. She said it didn't really matter to her either way, so I'm seriously considering taking off after a half day. Any extra time I put in doesn't do me any good, so I might as well.

Looking forward to having a day off tomorrow, even if I do have to do some studying for a test I have Friday.

Heck to the YES!

I took my RN HESI exam today, which is the exit exam for nursing school. We have 2 chances to pass it. If we fail both times, we have to retake the class. Today was our first real attempt at it. We took a practice test last quarter, but that didn't count, pass or fail, but today it counted.

In the past, the score would either show up immediately when the test was complete, or the proctor would give you your score in the hall. This time, they decided to email our results to us.

So, after having all my classmates announcing that they got their emails and they either passed or failed, I still didn't have my email. So I started panicking, thinking I was going to have to live with a knot in my stomach until tomorrow because certainly all of my teachers have gone home for the day. I finally decided to check my old email address. Nothing was in my inbox, but I had over 400 messages in my junk mail. Fortunately, I looked in there because there were my results. I passed!! Yay! It is such a relief to know that I don't have to worry about taking that again before I can graduate!!

Feeling better

Yesterday, I was not feeling too great at all. I woke up with a sore throat and by the afternoon, I was feeling rather nauseous. I was not looking forward to having to sit in class all day today and then work all day tomorrow feeling like that. Thankfully, I am feeling much better today. I still don't feel like sitting here in class (I am crazy bored) and I'm not really looking forward to getting up at 5:15 on a Saturday morning, but at least I don't feel sick!

Aww!

Puppy hugs!

Seven!

I can't believe my baby is 7 years old today! It seems like he was just born! He is such a sweet little man, too. Here he is opening up some of his birthday presents:


Lava lamp! (He asked for this). And his "boring clothes" behind him that he'd already opened.


Legos Star Wars III game. He has the 2nd one and LOVES it! He has been asking for this one for a while, so he was quite excited! He also got a Nintendo DS and a Legos Star Wars game to play on that. He's a happy birthday boy! :)

Blahhh

My stomach is not happy right now. :( I am super tired, too. Last week wore me out. I worked 12.5 hours on Monday, then between 8-9 hours each Tuesday through Thursday, and then had class all day on Friday. Of course I couldn't sleep in much this weekend either. Both yesterday and today I woke up too early and couldn't get back to sleep. It was better than getting up at 5:15 am though! Back to that again in the morning! I should seriously just go to bed right now.

So, uhh...

Can we agree that it is incredibly rude to not return emails or phone calls, especially in the professional setting? I am tired of being blown off! Not only have I had 2 emails to my teacher completely ignored, I have left 2 voicemails for the nurse manager of my preceptor trying to confirm my starting tomorrow morning. I was told Friday, by my teacher, to be there Monday-Thursday starting this week, so unless I hear otherwise, I am planning on showing up at the hospital at 6:30 in the morning. I will be extremely pissed off if I get there and have to turn around and come home!

On a more pleasant note, I am loving the weather today! It is currently 82 degrees, though a little windy. Took Bella to the dog park this afternoon, and now sitting here with the windows open in the house enjoying the breeze!

Okay, this is getting a little ridiculous...

So, as I mentioned yesterday, I received a call from my teacher letting me know that she was switching my preceptor and I would be working night shift at a certain hospital. I found out this morning that it is actually a different hospital from what I was told yesterday, but still night shift. Alright, I preferred the first hospital, but whatever. Then by this afternoon, I was told that I will actually be working 7a-3p M-Th. OMG, seriously? How many times are they going to change this around on me? Guess I'll have to wait and see if it changes again before I'm supposed to be there at 6:30 Monday morning! ARGH! I am so ready to be done with this school!!

Updates

First to update my earlier post: 1) I decided to go ahead and blind people and wear the skirt today. 2) I stopped at Walmart to buy some of the Olay lotion on my way home but for some reason, they didn't have it. So, I decided to try out a similar product by Neutrogena. It smelled decent in the bottle, but I used it when I got home, and it definitely has that self-tanner smell to it. I'm not a fan of that, so I think I'm going to return it and go somewhere else to find the Olay.

The other update is regarding my school schedule: 1) I had my Friday times incorrect, I'll actually be at school from 10:30-6:00, not 8:30-4:00, like I'd originally said. (I went back and changed my post to make it correct). 6pm kinda sucks for a Friday, but whatever. 2) I got a voicemail from my teacher today informing me that she is switching my preceptor. I was quite surprised by this after how adamant she was in telling us that there would be NO changes once the assignments had been made. Alas, she is switching me to be with someone in a Hospital working the night shift. I do not, however, know what unit I will be on yet. I will hopefully find that out tomorrow.

So, now I have no idea what my schedule will be over the next couple of months other than the fact that it will be nights. It is very possible that my schedule will change from week to week, as nurses in Hospitals don't always work the same days of the week every week. So, I'll have to wait and see on that. But, at least I will get to try out this whole night shift thing and see how I like it.

It's about that time

I need to start using some lotion with a self tanner in it. I was thinking about wearing a skirt today because of the nice weather, but my legs are rather pasty, so, I may reconsider that decision. We'll see.

There are a couple of products that I like because they actually smell good (a lot of self tanning lotion stinks!), and they don't turn you orange. They look really natural and aren't streaky. Mostly, I think, because they aren't a straight-up self tanner, but rather just lotions, with self tanner in them.

One that I've used and liked is Dove Energy Glow. However, when searching for it just now, I found out that Dove is no longer making it. :(

The other is Olay Touch of Sun. This is just as good, and smells good, the problem is that it's a little more expensive than the Dove.

So, it looks like I need to pick up some of the Olay lotion next time I'm at the store! :)

One more day

Tomorrow is my last day of Spring break, then it's back to business on Friday. I got my preceptor assignment last weekend. I'll be doing in-home hospice care. I'm not exactly thrilled about that, but hopefully it will be fine. My goal is to work as much as possible to get in all of my required hours (which will mean working 8-5 Monday -Thursday, then having classes 10:30-6:00 on Fridays) and having the last few weeks of the term to focus on studying for finals and the hesi exam. So, for at least the first 5-6 weeks of this quarter I will have a nice, full-time schedule. I hope it goes by quickly!

Another lazy day

Slept in this morning then watched New Moon with my oldest. Now I'm watching my son play his Legos Star Wars game on the wii. The kid LOVES this game. Gotta love lazy PJ days at home! :)

Boom!

I just figured out who I think Lauren Alaina on Idol looks like. The chick that plays Sookie on Gilmore Girls. At least in her face.

My break

I got to shadow a friend the other night who is a nurse in a NICU. I really liked it. That is definitely a unit I would love to work on! Right now my first choice is still labor and delivery, but NICU is a close second. I have a feeling I'm going to have to end up taking whatever I can get to start off with though.

As for Spring break, I'm enjoying it. However, I am quite ready for my kids' break to be over! They are getting to the point where they are starting to really get sick of each other and are fighting over everything. I think it's just about time for me to make that kidless trip to the store I mentioned before...

Wake up!

I had a difficult time getting to sleep last night. I don't know why, I just could not fall asleep. Finally, around 2:00 am, I was just about there when I heard the doorbell ring twice followed by someone banging on the door. Hmm... It took me a few seconds to decide if I really heard it or not then decided that I had, so I got up. I woke up Pete, because I wasn't about to open the door to anyone at 2 am. We looked out the window there was a cop car parked on the street at the end of the driveway. Hmm again...

Well, this certainly brought back some unpleasant memories. So, my heart started racing. What on earth could be going on? My phone had been by my side the entire night. So, I stood at the top of the stairs as he opened the front door. Turns out, it was just a cop that was driving around in our neighborhood and noticed our garage door was up and wanted to let us know because we "probably want to put that down overnight".

Well, thaaank yooou, officer! While I am glad to know that our neighborhood is being patrolled at night, it really didn't help my already sleepless night.

Friday, Friday, gotta get down on Friday!

(Ok, not sure why that's my title, but 1) I have a hard time coming up with titles, 2) That stupid, annoying song is in my head right now, and 3) well, I say Friday in this post a couple of times so, why not?)

One week of my break is almost over. :( It's going by too fast! Next week my kids will be on Spring break. Fortunately, my oldest is almost 14 so I can leave them home for a little bit for some mommy time! Sometimes, I just need to take a trip to the store without any little people with me, ya dig?

I'm not sure yet how my first week of Spring quarter will play out. I haven't yet heard who my preceptor will be nor where I will be going, so it's possible I won't even be able to start getting those hours in until the second week. If that's the case, then I'll have almost another week off since I will only have classes on Fridays!

On another note, I'm trying to decide what to do with my hair. It has been a looong time since it's even been trimmed and it really needs some work. My roots are getting a little out of control, so color is in order too! Just gotta make a decision by next Friday...

Last clinical DONE!

Today I had my last clinical. It's kind of exciting and kind of scary. Next quarter I'll be working one-on-one with a preceptor. I'll likely be working 2-3 twelve hour shifts per week for a good portion of the term and then having classes all day on Fridays. I'm kind of hoping for night shift. It is what I am thinking I want to work, so it would be a good chance to get a taste of it to see if I can really handle it. Weekends would be nice, too, because that would leave most of my weekdays free (and without kids) to study. However, I have no choice in the matter. I have to take whatever they assign to me and work whenever my preceptor works.

We left clinical today at 11:00 and went to bd's Mongolian Grill for lunch. It was only the 2nd time I've ever been there. It was yummy! We hung around there for a while and then most people left but my instructor wasn't ready to go home yet, so she and I went and did a little shopping at NY and Company and then she introduced me to Whole Foods. Ok, so I've heard of Whole Foods before, but had never actually been inside of one. We literally spent about an hour just walking around in there. She's seriously the best (and coolest) instructor I've ever had. Love her!

Now to enjoy my Spring Break!

I passed!

Phew...Finals are over and I'm movin' on to next term! Looking forward to my time off!!

Focus Pocus

I am having serious issues with trying to focus tonight. I see the words in front of me, but I keep finding myself thinking about other things instead of comprehending what I'm reading. Grrrr! It doesn't help that I'm sleepy. Stupid time change!

One more!

Well, one final down, one to go! I got a 100% on today's final. Woot! Now I just need to get motivated to study for tomorrow's med-surg final. That's the one that will actually be difficult. I spent lots of time studying over the weekend, but I still feel like I need to go back over everything. I'm going to spend a couple hours on it this evening, and maybe tomorrow morning. Can't wait til tomorrow's final is over! I will still have a half a day of clinical on Wednesday, but it's going to be an easy day and my group is going to lunch together after! Just 2 more days til I get a break! Well, a break from school. Then I need to focus on getting caught back up on the laundry I've been putting off in order to study...

Ow!

At some point last night, my throat started really hurting. I don't have a fever or any other symptoms of illness (yet) other than that but, the pain feels like it is getting progressively worse throughout today. :( This is really not a good time for me to be sick. I am studying for finals this weekend, then Monday and Tuesday have to take said finals and Wednesday go to my last clinical.

Here's hoping I can get some rest this weekend along with my studying and feel better by Monday!

Another injury...

My current showering setup is different than any other I've had in my entire life in that it has absolutely nowhere for me to prop up a leg in order to shave. Even when I've had a separate shower and tub in the past, it had a seat in the corner, perfect for resting a foot on. So, I'm forced to attempt to prop my foot against the wall of the shower to shave my legs. This can sometimes be tricky as a wet foot against a wet wall is not the best combination for friction.

Anyway, last night as I was showering and shaving, I lifted up a foot to press against the shower wall and the side of my toe banged really hard against something metal (it doesn't help that I can't see sh*t without my glasses or contacts, which I don't generally wear while showering). It hurt, but I thought it was just a bump. Well, as I got out of the shower, I noticed there was blood in the water going down the drain, and then on my towel, so I figured I must have nicked something as I was shaving. So, I put on my glasses and started to look myself over to see where I was bleeding. Turns out, it was from a nice gape in the side of my toe from hitting the metal.

Sometimes, I wonder why I even bother with shaving. But, then I think about the hairiness that would ensue from not, and I figure I'll just have to live with the resulting injuries.

Disaster!

So last night, I was sitting in the living room when I heard something in the other room fall. However, I didn't get up right away to go see what it was. Not too long later, I noticed the smell of bleach and started wondering where it was coming from. So then I remembered the noise and went to the laundry room where my suspicions were confirmed. A bottle of bleach had somehow managed to fall off the shelf and into the open, but empty, washing machine. The bottle was in there upside down and empty. Hmm. I found the lid on the floor. And the basket of dirty clothes in front of the washing machine got sprayed with bleach! Right on top were my favorite, chocolate brown sheets! :( Not to mention all of the other clothes that got splattered with bleach. My favorite yoga pants, a few shirts, and some pj pants. Not good.

Getting there!

This term at school is coming close to an end. It has actually passed by fairly quickly. I have the rest of this week, then next week of classes, then the week after that is finals week. We were supposed to be done with clinicals after next week, but we'll have them finals week due to the one we missed due to the weather.

After that I'll have a couple of much needed weeks off (just in time to help my grandma move again) before going back to finish up my (hopefully) last quarter! Can't. Freaking. Wait. to be done!

Smile

I woke up this morning with this song in my head:

Smile though your heart is aching
Smile even though it's breaking.
When there are clouds in the sky
you'll get by.

If you smile through your pain and sorrow
Smile and maybe tomorrow
You'll see the sun come shining through
For you.

Light up your face with gladness,
Hide every trace of sadness.
Although a tear may be ever so near
That's the time you must keep on trying
Smile, what's the use of crying.
You'll find that life is still worthwhile-
If you just smile.



Lyrics found here: http://www.metrolyrics.com/smile-lyrics-charlie-chaplin.html

Music Shows

Well, I have made it up through episode 12 of Glee season 1. Some of them I'd seen before, but a lot I hadn't. Still have 10 more to go. I'm pretty sure I've seen all of this season's so far. While it is a somewhat cheesy show, I still really like it!

Of course, I'm still into A.I., even after all this time. I started watching it when the show first started in 2002, and I still watch it every season. I also like the show The Sing-Off. I think I am just a sucker for singing shows because I really enjoy singing and music myself.

OG, JB, and Glee

I had a nice day yesterday
with my girlies. We ate lunch at Olive Garden and went to see the director's fan cut version of the Never Say Never movie. We had already seen the original version, but this had extra footage, so we had to see it again. ;)

Today, I helped my younger daughter spend her gift card to Justice that she got for her birthday. She got herself a J.B. t-shirt amongst other things.

Now, I'm just chillin' for the rest of the day. I'm going to have myself a Glee marathon! I started watching the show this season (season 2), and have seen a few of last season's episodes, but I want to watch them all! :)

Long day!

Man, today seemed to just drag. I had 3 patients today, so I kept pretty busy. I'd hate to know how long the day would have seemed if I'd had a bunch of down time!

After clinical, I hit the grocery store for a few things, came home and got a shower, then made and ate dinner. Now, I'm pretty much ready to crash, but I still have to go put away left overs, load the dishwasher, sweep and mop the kitchen, and make the kids' lunches for tomorrow. Gah!

Almost done

I did not have class today because, this week and next, our groups will be doing our teaching projects we've been working on all term. My group will go teach next week, but today, we got together to try to finish up our project. Pretty much all we have left to do is our individual papers that go along with the project and we need to do a "rehearsal" of sorts so that it isn't awkward once we get there. :) Can't wait to get this out of the way!

And I wonder if I ever cross your mind. For me it happens all the tiiiiime!

Can't get this song out of my head. Thanks, Lady Antebellum...

Picture perfect memories scattered all around the floor
Reaching for the phone 'cause I can't fight it anymore
And I wonder if I ever cross your mind
For me it happens all the time

It's a quarter after one, I'm all alone and I need you now
Said I wouldn't call but I lost all control and I need you now
And I don't know how I can do without, I just need you now

Another shot of whiskey can't stop looking at the door
Wishing you'd come sweeping in the way you did before
And I wonder if I ever cross your mind
For me it happens all the time

It's a quarter after one I'm a little drunk and I need you now
Said I wouldn't call but I lost all control and I need you now
And I don't know how I can do without I just need you now

Guess I'd rather hurt than feel nothing at all

It's a quarter after one I'm all alone and I need you now
And I said I wouldn't call but I'm a little drunk and I need you now
And I don't know how I can do without I just need you now
I just need you now

Oh baby I need you now


(lyrics found at http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/3530822107858791276/)

TGIF

I am so glad this week is over! I made it through mid-terms!

Now, I need to go pick up a few things for my daughter's slumber party tonight, do a little last minute cleaning, and ice her cake.

We will be going ice skating for a couple of hours this evening as part of her party. I have yet to decide if I want to even attempt to skate with the girls. It has been yeeears since I last ice skated, and I will inevitably fall on my arse if I do! We'll see how it goes.

Hmmph!

I really hate the headache that results from crying! :(

Ugh, I'm just being all kinds of whiny lately!

I is dumm!

This week has been pretty stressful with school. I've spent may hours working on papers and studying for tests. My biggest complaint is that I can't seem to figure out how to study for this med/surg class. It seems that no matter how much I study, read the chapters forward and backward, I still don't know the information he asks for on the tests! I know a lot of other people in my class feel the same way. So at least I know it's not just me having issues.

I go through the chapters, and I think I know the material, but when the test is in front of me, It seems as though I'd not even opened the book! I don't understand it! God, I wish I was smarter! I wish this wasn't so difficult for me! For some reason, this is the hardest class for me, by far, in the whole nursing course. Before, if anything, I may have been striving to end up with an A or B in the class. This class, though, I am honestly just hoping I can pass! I need at least a 78% to do so!

I'm kind of having a little mini break down right now. I need to pull it together!

Boo hoo! Self Pity Party Time!

So, I have spent the past 3 hours looking up the required information I need to write one of the two papers I have to write for missing a clinical. I am not even done gathering all the information for this one paper yet! I still have quite a bit to look up, then I need to put it into the form of a research paper in APA format, then I need to do a care plan on the disease. After that, I have to do all of this again for another disease! Uggh!

Seriously, it's like I'm being punished for being sick! Ridiculous. I think that a make-up clinical day at the end of the term would have been sufficient! Instead, they use the make-up clinicals for the people who missed more than the one we are supposedly "allowed" to miss. Personally, I think that is bass ackwards. I think they should do the make-up day for people who miss one, and if they miss two, then they write a paper (and not 2 papers!). But I'm not the one that makes that decision, so my opinion really doesn't matter.

I still have a long freaking chapter to read to study for my test on Thursday, and I will be in clinical all day tomorrow! :( Procrastination rarely pays off (except of course in situations like having your assignment changed on you after having already started...)!

I CANNOT WAIT to be done with school!!!!!!

***UPDATE***
Clinicals actually got canceled for tomorrow! (Well, postponed I guess I should say since we have to make it up at the end of the quarter.) Sweet!! At least that gives me more time to work on these papers and study! Now hopefully my power won't go out...

Is it spring yet?

I have 2 tests this week! One tomorrow, and one on Thursday. I have been trying to get some studying in tonight. I'm having a bit of trouble keeping focused though. I really just want to curl up in my bed and go to sleep!

I am not looking forward to all the snow and freezing rain that is anticipated over the next couple of days, either. Unfortunately, it will likely not mean any extra time off for me, but rather extra drive time to and from school, not to mention clinical on Wednesday. I *really* don't like leaving my house at 5:00 in the morning!

Thinking...

I have been thinking about possibly getting another tattoo. But not really sure what I want or where I want it. I want the hearts on my back to be recolored, and maybe have that one added onto. I also thought about getting something really small on my wrist. Hmmm...

Friiiiiiday!

Finally! Made it through another week. Think I'm going to relax and do nothing tonight. Sometime this weekend I will need to start writing my papers and care plans that I have to do to make up for being sick and missing clinical last week. :( Such a long, crappy assignment! I also have a quiz and a midterm, next week, that I need to study for.

Next Friday I will get to keep my 3 nephews overnight! I'm sure the kids will have a great time together, and I'll be happy to get to spend some time with them!

The Friday after that, my younger daughter will be having her birthday party. I'll be taking them ice skating and then back home for a sleepover.

D'oh!

For my Nurse as an Educator class, we have a group project in which we have to teach. The first week of the term, we split up into groups of 4, were given a list of topics to choose from, and chose a topic for our group. My group will be going to an elementary school and teaching a group of 3rd graders, so we chose the topic of internet safety. However, another group also wanted that topic and we ended up having to choose another one.

Finally, after going back and forth between bullying and health and fitness, our teacher persuaded us to go with bullying. This project is a huge portion of our grade for this class, so it is something we are working on all quarter long. To get ahead of the game, my group spent about 5 hours on a Saturday afternoon working on the project; researching, writing papers, etc.

Well, yesterday, we got an email from our teacher informing us that the school we are going to specifically requested that we go over first aid with the class. What?! Are you kidding me? We spent all that time and effort on this project and were feeling good about being ahead of schedule! Now, we have to start all over?!

So, after class today, we got together for a couple of hours and started on our new topic. We still have some papers to write, but at least we got a good start on it (again).

Not again!

Seriously...I *hate* shaving! I haven't cut a nail while shaving in a very long time and now twice in under 2 months? Really? How the heck do I always manage to do these things? Ugh! Very painful! I think I need to just switch to waxing.

Wow...

Today marks 7 years since losing my mom. I still miss her like crazy!

Blahs

I have not felt well at all today. Hoping I feel better in the morning! I have to get up early and do some studying for my quiz tomorrow. It's always a little unsettling to go into the first test from a new instructor and not knowing how they test. We'll see how it goes!

Little girls

To quote Miss Hannigan:

Little girls
Little girls
Everywhere I turn I can see them
Little girls
Little girls...

My younger daughter had a friend stay the night last night and she is still here now. Tonight, since the kids are off school tomorrow, my oldest is having two friends stay the night. So little girls are literally everywhere I turn! At least, for the most part, they are quieter than than when my son has friends over! He had just one friend over on Friday afternoon and you would have thought there were 20 kids here!

Finally the weekend!

This week has seemingly taken forever! But, it's finally Friday and week 2 of the term is over. I had chinese food for dinner and taught my oldest daughter how to play rummy. Now, I think we're going to play some more Just Dance 2 and then I'ma take a nice hot shower and go to bed!

Sicky boy :(

This morning, my son woke up with a fever, headache, and sore throat. Of course he stayed home from school as a result. However, I still had to go to my class so he had to spend a couple of hours at work with his dad. After I got out, I took him to the doctor and turns out it's strep throat. Poor little man!

Then, I came home and shoveled the driveway and sidewalk, put a chicken in to roast, took a shower and folded a bunch of laundry.

I'm not really looking forward to getting up even earlier than the normal crazy-early I have to get up for clinicals tomorrow due to the snow. Sigh. Hopefully I can get some good sleep tonight!

Well, of course!

So, my jeans that I ordered last week finally arrived today. As if I couldn't have guessed, they don't fit. Actually, the waist fits perfectly, however, the butt and legs are too loose. So, I don't know if I want to return them and try the next size down, or a different cut of jeans or what.

Aside from that, my first week of the term is almost done! I just have lab tomorrow from 12-2.

One more day

Friday, I got tired of looking at my roots and decided to buy a box color for my hair. I'd had an appointment to get it cut and colored last week, but after spending around $1300 in car repairs over the last month or so, I was told I couldn't spend that money right now. :/ It turned out well, but hopefully next time I can have it done professionally. It is kind of a pain to color it at home. Besides, it could still use a trim, but I suppose that can wait too, because every time I go to a strip mall hair cutting place, they inevitably mess it up.

Yesterday, the kids and I went to my grandma's to visit with family. We ate, exchanged presents for the kids, and I kicked some butt at Balderdash.

Tomorrow, the kids go back to school and I have one more day of break before starting up another busy term at school. I will need to go get my tags renewed on my van (since they actually expired on my birthday. OOPS!), and my grandma has already said she wants me to go with her to the store and lunch. Hopefully I'll have a little time to relax on my last day "off"!

Shopping

I went shopping today with my oldest daughter. We ate Chipotle for lunch, went to the mall, got some coffee from Starbucks, bought a few things from Bath and Body Works on clearance, and hit several stores where I tried on tons and tons of different jeans. None of which made me happy. I don't know why it is so difficult to find a pair of jeans that look decent on me. :( I ordered a clearance pair online when we got back home (the store didn't have the clearance ones), and hopefully they will fit. If not, I'll return them to the store and check out the Pajama jeans. Those look very interesting.

Aside from, once again, not finding any jeans for myself, it was a pretty good time spend with my girly. That is until she started giving me the silent treatment because I refused to buy her everything she wanted. I told her she could spend her Christmas money and get whatever clothes she wanted. Of course she didn't want to spend her own money, so she had a little fit. Ahh, 13 year old girls!

Sofa King Tired!

Tossing and turning once again. I just cannot fall asleep. Ugh! I just want to sleep!! :( This is ridiculous!

What is wrong with me?

I have not been able to get to sleep the past few nights. It's not that I'm not tired, I just can't seem to turn off my brain or something. I lay there and simply can not fall asleep! It is so frustrating! Even more frustrating is when I get woken up after I finally do fall asleep and then not being able to get back to sleep. hhhhhhhh...

Ouch!

I started having pain in my right jaw again this evening. I experienced this a couple of years ago and went to the dentist who told me it was likely due to me clenching my teeth while I sleep. I noticed it was a little sore when I bit down or opened my jaw, and then within an hour it started to really hurt. Now, it is to the point where I cannot bite down all the way. I can't even force my back teeth together. It is really quite painful. Looks like I will be popping Ibuprofen and surviving on a very soft food and liquid diet for at least a couple of days. I don't remember how long this lasted last time, but I'm hoping feels better soon! :(

Uh oh

I am pretty sure that I left my casserole pans at my dad's house at Thanksgiving. Along with the insulated cover. Now the 40 minute trip to dad's will have to be made while letting the food get cold, or I will have to go over early and make everything there. That kinda stinks because the oven at his house will likely already be full of other things. Oh well, I'll figure something out.

In other news, my father in law got out of the hospital today after having major surgery, as a result of cancer, on the 17th. He had to have a good portion of his colon removed and now has a colostomy bag. This will be permanent, and they are not sure if they were able to remove all of the tumor. Anyway, we got a call this morning from his long time girlfriend with whom he lives, and apparently, she is inept and didn't think she could take care of him his first few days at home, so she wanted to know if he could stay here for a couple of days. Well, this was not exactly what I had planned, but of course we aren't going to say no. So, he will be here until at least Sunday or Monday.

Almost done!

I think I am pretty much done with my Christmas shopping. There are just a couple of little things left to get. I spent my entire evening wrapping, and I am still not done. However, I did get a LOT done! Most of what is left is the stocking stuffer things that are a pain to wrap.

I also got all my shopping done today for everything I am making to take to Christmas dinner. It also happens to be what I made for Thanksgiving: sweet potato casserole, corn cake casserole, green bean casserole (I see a pattern forming here...), and homemade cranberry sauce. I also bought stuff to make a pumpkin-y dessert. If I have time, I will make that too.

Tomorrow, I hope to finish up with my wrapping and bake cookies with the kids! Hopefully they will not fight as much tomorrow as they did today! Because I was considering selling one. :/

On the go!

Today, I have to take my oldest for yet another orthodontist appointment. Eventually these will slow down to not be so often. I just had her there last week. At that time, they put in spacers to make room for bands, today, they are putting the bands on her back teeth then, I think, her appointments will slow down to once every 4-6 weeks.

Hopefully some time today, I will have time to at least sort out all of the Christmas presents I got for the kids and see what I still need to get. I still have a few presents to buy for the kids and something for my dad. I also want to make some cookies with the kids and take them to see the lights at the zoo some time this week!

So, it is turning out to be a busy "break" so far! But at least it keeps my mind occupied, and I don't have to sit in lectures!

Finals!

AHHH! Crunch time is here! I have to cram tonight and tomorrow for my finals. I have one tomorrow and one Tuesday and then I'm done til January. Can't wait til Tuesday evening. I'm sure I'll feel much less stressed. At least briefly.

The big 3-1

I am officially another year older. Birthdays get less and less exciting with each year. Ha!

I had my last Ob clinical rotation yesterday and was assigned a laboring patient. I was hoping to get to see her deliver before I left. She hadn't progressed very far halfway through my shift, so my hopes weren't high. However, it was her 4th baby, so I had my fingers crossed. Then, not long before it was time for me to leave, the Doc came in to break her water and she had a prolapsed cord and had to be rushed in for an emergency c-section so, I got to go in and see it. It was wicked exciting from the Doc yelling "Go NOW!" to the nurse riding on the bed with the patient holding the baby's head up as to not crush the cord, to everyone running down the hallway and rushing to scrub and dress for the OR! Yeah, it was pretty sweet.

Then last night, my dad came up and we all went to dinner at Hoggy's. That was delicious. I hadn't been there in quite a while, and that's where we went last year, so that sounded good to me.

My little nephew is doing well and having a good time running around the room with Bella. It's really cute. I am enjoying having him this week, but I can say this for sure...I definitely appreciate that I no longer have diapers to change at my house, and am glad that all of my kids can get their own shoes and coats on and get in the car and buckled in all by themselves. You forget how much extra time all that takes with little ones!

Aww

My little man just saw my new picture on fb and said "ooh, I like your new picture. You look pretty!" Aw! Well, at least one guy thinks so! haha. I stinkin' love that kid so much!

Brrrrr

I am SO not diggin' this frigid weather! Only going to get up to 23 degrees tomorrow! Eeek! Is there anywhere in the world where it is 50-70 degrees all year long? If so, I want to move there.

Ooshoobooboodoodoo, so cute!

Well, the first night with my little nephew went well, though he did not want to sleep in my son's bottom bunk. I had it all set up for him, with the side thing on there to keep him from rolling out and everything. He just did not want to go to sleep!

I ended up laying down with him in my bed to try to get him to go to sleep. He laid there and made me sing the alphabet song and twinkle twinkle little star to him about 100 times each, then I finally said I'd be right back. I walked out and he stayed in my bed for around an hour. When I went back in to move him to the bunk bed, he was wide awake and wanted to go downstairs. He refused to lay in there, so I laid down with him again in my bed and then I fell asleep, so...he stayed with me all night. Hopefully tonight will go better. Not that I mind him being in there, he sleeps much more calmly than any of my kids! I just don't want to make it hard on his mom and dad when they get back as far as getting him to fall asleep in his own bed again.

Oh well, at least he's cute!



Now he is at my grandma's for the afternoon, and I get to go to my clinical tonight (a night early). My instructor, I think, just didn't want to go 2 nights this week, so she's combining Monday and Tuesday groups tonight. Fine with me! I'm done with the psych clinicals after tonight. I'm hoping that she will just give us our final reviews and let us leave early because my oldest daughter has a solo in her choir concert tonight and I don't want to miss it!!

Making a list, checking it twice!

I was able to get some more Christmas shopping done yesterday. I still have some to do, but at least I've made a decent dent in my list!

Right now, I am waiting for my grandma and my 2 and a half year old nephew to come over. My brother and SIL are going on a cruise all this week and my grandma and I are working together to take care of their youngest until next Sunday. My house is totally not toddler proofed, but it should still be fun! Well, minus the whole diaper thing... ;)

Ouch!

I had a shaving accident yesterday. No, not *that* kind of accident, thankfully. However, it is still painful. I caught a fingernail with my razor blade and now 1/3 of that nail is split! Gah!

zzzzz...

I am exhausted. I am so glad I don't have to get up early again tomorrow! Sista needs sleep!

It's like pulling teeth!

My oldest daughter went and got her 6 remaining baby teeth pulled last night. Poor girl was in a lot of pain. However, it very much needed to be done. Her permanent teeth behind them are already showing through the gums. How those teeth hadn't already fallen out on their own is beyond me!

As far as school goes, I have no more tests until finals the week after next! I do have a paper and 2 case studies due next week though. And I'm pretty sure I'll have a care plan to do for clinical by next week as well. Ugh!

I am really not looking forward to getting up crazy early tomorrow. But hopefully I'll get to see something cool in L&D.

Early night

My clinical instructor let us go home early tonight! This is a good thing because I need to study for the psych nursing quiz that I have first thing in the morning. I guess I should probably get started on that now. :/

Just one more week of clinicals and one more week of classes after this week for the quarter. Then I'll have a few weeks off. Yay!

Tis the season

This used to be my favorite time of year. Thanksgiving, my birthday, Christmas. However, over the past few years I have really started dreading it. Now, I can pretty much say it is my least favorite time of year. :( Hopefully someday that will change again.

Braces

This morning I took my oldest to the Orthodontist, this time not just for a consultation! She got a few brackets put on her top teeth. She has to go back to get spacers put in and her top molar brackets put on. Some time later, after her teeth do some adjusting, she will get the bottom ones put on.

She will also be getting a palate expander because the top of her mouth is too narrow, which has been causing her issues with crowding and ultimately the reason several of her baby teeth have not yet fallen out and the permanent teeth grown in. Which means a trip to the dentist to have 6 baby teeth pulled! Oh joy! She's already complaining about her teeth hurting. Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow should be fun for her. Looks like lots of mashed potatoes in her future! Oh, I remember those days. Not fun!

Here are some pics from her appointment:

Why do I bother?

I have had a headache all afternoon. I tried taking a nap earlier, but as soon as I was about to drift off my son got home from school. Then, I had just gotten back to almost sleep and my younger daughter got home. She, of course, came immediately into my room and wanted me to sign her assignment book (something that is required daily to make sure parents are making sure kids do their homework). I told her that I had a really bad headache and to wait until I got up. This child, however, is not like me in the procrastination department. She wants to make sure she gets all of her things done ASAP, even if that means waking mom up. >:(

So, after finally falling asleep for approximately 5 minutes, my aforementioned daughter comes busting back into my room saying that Bella puked in her crate. UGGHHH! I told her to clean it up and headed back to try to sleep. A couple minutes later, she comes back in saying that she "can't do it". So I told her to leave it and I'd get it when I got up. I just drifted off once again and my alarm went off to go pick up my oldest daughter.

So, I still have my headache and my on and off "nap" only made me feel worse and, quite frankly, kinda cranky!! Hmmph! I think I'ma have to call it a night early tonight.

Well, isn't that just great?!

So, my oldest daughter chipped her front tooth several years ago. The bottom half of that tooth is made up of the same stuff as fillings. It's a temporary fix. Eventually she will have to have it capped. Once that happens, it won't be noticable that it is not her real tooth. However, as of now, until her teeth are fully grown in and braces are done, she will have to deal with the filling.

A couple of years ago, she bit into a sucker, and popped that filling off her tooth and it had to be redone. Tonight, my younger daughter was...wait for it, wait for iiiitt...twirling around a metal baseball bat (seriously? yes.) and hit her sister in the mouth. Well, guess what happened. Yep, it came off again. Sigh.

Blah

Feeling :'(

The hills are alive...

My oldest daughter was in The Sound of Music at school last night and tonight. The kids all did a very good job. Of course, there were a few kids that could have done better :o but for the most part, it went well. Here is a picture of her in costume after the performance tonight:



And a short video my SIL took of her singing with the other nuns:

Untitled from Lora S on Vimeo.

Emails and IM

I am really frustrated with my email/IM situation right now. I am attempting to move all of my emails to 1 main email account and completely ditch my old email address that I've had since 1999. I wanted to switch to something easier to tell people, that does not require a long explanation each time I give out my email, and perhaps looks a little more professional.

Well, this has seemed to cause me more stress than I think it was really worth. The new email does not work the same way with my IM client of choice. Before, my email and chat were all connected. If I signed into IM, I was also signed into my email and could have notifications of new emails pop up if I chose. I could click an icon and immediately get to my inbox. It was all so easy and all in one place.

After switching over, I now have to have two different IM clients open in order to have all of this available to me at the same time. On top of that, when I first signed up with the new email on my old IM, I left out the . in the middle of the email address, thinking it was not that big of a deal. Well, for some reason, even though I received the verification email and verified it, it still kept saying that my email was not verified. Very annoying.

So, I signed up, once again. This time using the dot. I only sent out requests to a couple of my contacts, because I am still trying to decide if I'm going to stick with this, or just go back and use the old email, at least for IM purposes.

Early day

Tomorrow is going to suck! I am on to my L&D clinicals now, and I have to drive 40 minutes, park in a lot across from the hospital, ride a shuttle to the hospital, and meet in the lobby at 6:30 am. So, I guess that puts me leaving the house by around 5:30 am. :( UGH! Hate me some early days!

On a side note, on my way out from dinner at Red Robin with my grandma tonight, she says: "Well, I enjoyed that, but it was a big one". Yeeeah, I had to bite my tongue...

Yuck

So, a friend told me today to try a home remedy for my cough that I've had for the past few days. It's called a hot toddy. It is hot tea, honey, lemon juice and a shot of bourbon whiskey. I am drinking it right now because, at this point, I'm willing to try almost anything. I am so sore whenever I cough! It makes my whole body hurt. I can tell you one thing...this is some nasty crap. I sure hope it helps!

Siiick!

I have been miserable all weekend. I have been coughing crazy hard. My head and chest both hurt every time. I've been chugging cough syrup, but it doesn't really seem to help. I woke myself up coughing several times last night too. :( Ugh,I just want to feel better! On top of that, I already had to go pick up my oldest daughter from school because apparently she was "swallowing puke on the bus" because she "didn't have a bag". Nice.

Hello Weekend!

Well, I finished up my pediatric rotation at Children's Hospital today. Next week, I'll be in labor and delivery. Hopefully I'll get more experience than I did in the LPN L&D rotation. I am so glad this week is over! I am starting my weekend now because the reflection journal paper I thought was due tomorrow for psych nursing is actually not due until next week! Bonus!

Wellll....

It wasn't really what I was hoping for tonight with the adolescent group, though I would say it wasn't anything unexpected. They are definitely a group of troubled kids.

The fun part of working with the kids was that we got gym time. There were only 5 on the unit, and pretty much all but one basically just sat around talking the whole hour instead of playing basketball or kicking a soccer ball around. So, there was an LPN, another student from my school (who is in his 6th quarter and working in the psych hospital with his preceptor), my clinical partner, and myself playing...and one kid. Something was wrong with that picture, but whatever. I only got hit in the face with a basketball once and hit in the stomach with a soccer ball once. :/

The other end...

Well I'm on my way to clinical for the evening. I'll be working on the adolescent unit of the psychiatric hospital tonight. Last week I was on the geriatric unit which was very similar to being at a nursing home. Hopefully seeing the other end of the spectrum will be interesting! We shall see.

Colored for Fall!

Welp, the color is done. It is actually not as dark as I remembered. I thought it was more brown that this, whereas this seems to have more of a red tint. But it is supposedly the same as she used last December. She keeps all that stuff written down. Maybe I just remembered wrong. I looked at pictures from right after having it done last time and it seemed darker in the pics. But, maybe it was the lighting of the pictures, and that is why I thought it was darker. I dunno. It's ok though, I still like it. And my hair smells wicked awesome right now, too. I have got to buy some of the stuff she uses!!

It's time!

I have put it off long enough. It is time to get my hurr did! Last December, I got it colored dark brown and I really liked it. I got highlights sometime last spring, and as of now, it has basically faded back to my natural hair color. So, since it is Fall, I'm thinking it is time to go dark again. So, now, I just need to decide if I want to get a cut too, or just a trim. Hmm, decisions, decisions!

For the lack of something better...

Here are some Bella videos from today. She gets super excited when she sees we're at the dog park...

Untitled from Lora Shearer on Vimeo.

And then she gets her face slobbered by another dog (EW!)...

Untitled from Lora Shearer on Vimeo.

Crazy puppy!

I just got back in from walking Bella. We would have walked longer, but I had to cut it short because she couldn't tell the difference between a small animal and a leaf blowing down the street. This wouldn't normally be a big issue, but tonight, it is particularly windy out and there are about a million leaves blowing around in the wind. She lunged at all of them and almost got away from me several times. She is so freakin' strong!

Week 1 done!

Well, I got through my 2 clinical orientations and my one day of classes. While I only have 2 classes (one is 2 hours, one is 4 hours), it seems like I will still have quite a bit of work to do. There will be more writing assignments this quarter, which is a bummer because I suck at writing papers! A lot of work will be required in these 2 classes. Might not be as "light" of a term as I'd hoped, but at least I have 4 days a week at home to work on it all.

GAH!

Break is over! Back at it tomorrow. It's kind of bittersweet. I don't want to go back to school, however, it means I'm that much closer to being finished. Plus, I get to see my friends.

Also...I cannot seem to keep myself motivated to work out! It is very frustrating. I know I have no one to blame it on but myself. I simply don't have the willpower to make myself stick with it. So, I'll go for a little while and do well and then I just get tired of it and give up. Even though I know that I need to do it to lose weight, to feel better, to look better, to be more confident, to decrease my chances of developing health problems...I still just can't stick to it alone! Yep, I'm pathetic.

So, I guess on that note, I will go downstairs and visit my treadmill. Maybe this will be the time I stick to it? Who knows. What I *do* know is that even off and on is better than none at all. So, I will try to keep it up. I will try to motivate myself. I will try to not let temptation get the best of me. All I can do is try. If I fail, then I will just try again. I think it's time to start using my weight loss blog again. Maybe, just maybe, it can help.