Done

Another quarter down! I ended up getting B's on both of my A&P finals. Phew! So, that gave me a B in that class and A's in English and Speech. Woohoo!

I have the rest of this week off and then starting next Monday, I'm back at it. Next quarter looks like it's going to keep me quite busy. Another A&P, Microbiology, and a nursing class. I'll be in classes Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, and then clinicals all day on Saturdays. Kinda makes me tired just thinking about it.

Just 5 more quarters to go!

I could use a nap!

I have been quite busy lately. On Tuesday night around 9pm, my grandma called to let me know that my grandpa was doing worse and she was not sure if he would make it through the night. I was still studying for my 2 finals on Wednesday but, my family comes first, so I decided I needed to drive out there to be with them. Fortunately, he did make it through that night and after a few hours of sleep, I got up and went to take my first final Wednesday morning.

I left that not feeling extremely confident since I did not get to finish studying all of the material. I came home, took the pup for a walk and chilled for a few before heading back to school for my last final.

After that was out of the way, around 3:00 that afternoon, I headed back to my grandparents' house. The pauses in my grandfather's breathing were getting longer and the effort it took him to breathe seemed to be getting greater as well.

My dad, his mom, and one of her friends stopped by to visit and see how he was doing that evening. They all went in to see him (he was set up in a hospital bed in the spare bedroom). Then as we were sitting in the living room talking, my grandma had an urge to go check in on him. Less than a minute after she went in, she came back out and asked me to come back with her. I did, of course, and as I walked in the room, I noticed that he was not breathing and his face was very pale. I checked for a pulse on his neck and felt his last few heartbeats before they just stopped.

I stayed with my grandma again that night as I had planned. Thursday morning, she and my brother and I went to the funeral home to make all the arrangements. I brought my grandma back home with me last night. I didn't want her to have to be alone but, I didn't want to sleep on the love seat or recliner at her house another night. :o

This evening are the calling hours at the funeral home. We have to be there at 5:00 and that lasts until 8:00. My grandma is going to spend the night here again tonight and the funeral is in the morning.

So...I've been doing a lot of running around with my grandma...taking her to get her hair did and look at apartments and generally just trying to keep her occupied. I am hoping that I'll be able to just relax some tomorrow night, or at least Sunday, but who knows.

Just a lil stressed

Must. Study. Don't. Want. To....I have two finals on Wednesday. Both for A&P. One in lecture, one in lab. I really need to finish studying for them! After those are done, I will be off for a week and a half. However, it looks like my time off will not be as relaxing as I was hoping for. My grandfather is not doing very well and is likely not going to make it very much longer. :(

I have been spending a lot of time at my grandparents' house, trying to help my grandma out however I can. I've been doing dishes, folding laundry, getting up in every few hours during the night to give granddad his morphine and syringes of water so that my grandma can get some much needed rest.

So, I did not get much study time in over the weekend since I spent a good portion of my weekend there. I did make it to open lab today, though, and that was really helpful. He is holding another open lab in the morning, and I will be going to that too. I need as much hands-on studying as I can get!

I am just feeling really down, and really tired today. It didn't help that it was all rainy and gloomy out today or knowing that today would have been my mom's 52nd birthday...

Seriously...

I give up.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

I really just want to scream right now!!

60's = awesome weather!

I am loving the weather the past few days. Minus the rain, of course. But, I'll take some sprinkles over a foot of snow anyday! I would be completely cool with one week of snow, one month of summer, and the rest of the year being in the 60's!

I have been going for walks just about every day lately. I still need to fit in a walk today. This morning I had A&P class and then lab. (The poor puppy had to be in her crate all morning.) Now I need to run to Meijer to grab the rest of the groceries that I didn't get when I went shopping a few nights ago. Sigh. At least this time I am not taking any kids with me AND...I can wear flip flops! :)

School

This quarter is coming close to an end. Next week, I have to give my final speech in speech class and then I will be done with that one. Sunday, my final paper for English is due. Then the week after next, I'll have my last practical in A&P lab, and the final exam in my A&P class. Then Spring break. I think that is only one week, but better than nothing. After that I get to look forward to 12 hour Saturday clinicals for the next three months. But... I'll be one quarter down, and 5 more to go!

Aww!

My son is laying against me watching tv. Then out of nowhere, he turned and gave me a kiss and said "you're pretty, mommy". Awww! It's nice to hear that now and then. I love this little man SO much!!!

Puppy Love!

I got the kids a boxer puppy over the weekend. She is so cute and such a sweet girl! Housebreaking is definitely not a fun job. But, the kids have been very good about cleaning up after her. If she has an accident inside, they clean it up if they are home, they take her out for potty time and walks around the block. So far they have been asking me if they can do these things. I really hope they keep this up!!!

Here are some pictures of my new little girly, Bella:



Can't. Stay. Awake. Much...

zzzzzzzzzzz

More studying!

Wow, long day. I was in class this morning, then ended up staying for lab today. I usually go on Fridays, but I am trying to switch over to the Thursday lab, just so I can be done earlier on Fridays. After lab was over at 1:00, I grabbed some lunch with a couple of classmates from the school cafe and spent the next couple of hours studying. Even with going over things for 2 hours, we only made it through one chapter. Sigh. However, I definitely understand a few things now that I don't think I would have if I hadn't studied with other people. So that is a plus.

After that, I stopped and got the last part of my TB skin testing done (all negative, of course). So, I finally got to register for next quarter's classes. Aaaaand, as I expected, I ended up with Saturday clinicals...7am-7pm. =( I did get my name put on a waiting list to switch to either Thursdays or Fridays if a spot becomes available, but I'm not going to hold my breath for that to happen.

Now, I need to spend the evening going over the other 2 chapters that I need to know for tomorrow's test. On a positive note, at least after my test in the morning, I'll be done for the week!

My day

Today was speech class. We gave demonstration speeches. In mine, I demonstrated how to make a chocolate cream pie. It turned out pretty well, and everyone really liked it. Some of the other demonstrations were how to tie dye a shirt, how to change the strings on an electric guitar, as well several other easy desserts.

Then I came home, had a decent workout, and ate some yummy roast with potatoes, carrots and onions that I threw in the crock pot this morning.

Now I need to study for my A & P test coming up this Friday. Can I just say that I freaking HATE chemistry?!!!

Good news and bad news

The bad news is that the results from my grandfather's liver biopsy are in, and it is malignant. My grandmother was not sure of what questions to ask the doctor when he called with those results, and apparently the doctor didn't really elaborate much past that. So, we still do not know what stage the cancer is nor what the prognosis is. As I've mentioned before, he does not want to have any surgeries, and my grandma says she cannot see putting him through chemo with all of his other health issues. So, I am not really sure what will happen from here. They have an appointment with their family doctor on Thursday, so hopefully he will have some answers for them.

I stopped by their house for a visit yesterday and gave my grandma a chance to go to the grocery store without having to take him along. He is not really able to stay alone anymore, and he has not been doing well with going out lately. Each time I see him, it seems that his memory gets worse and worse. While my grandma was at the store, he asked me if I have any kids. I reminded him that I do, and pointed to a picture of them on the wall. He asked me for their names and ages because he could not remember them. He also asked me if I have any brothers? I told him yes, and said his name. He then said "oh, I've met him, but I didn't realize...". It's really saddening.

The good news is that I went in for a parent-teacher conference for my younger daughter this evening and got nothing but good reports! The teacher said that she is doing very well in every subject and is always on task. She told me that she is actually pretty advanced in reading and math. In reading, on the scale they use, they want the kids her age to be at a reading level Q and she is at a level V. In math, she always gets 98%-100%'s and is actually helping out other students in her class. I am very proud of her!

Got Sleep?

Why on earth am I still awake? I have no idea. I laid down *hours* ago and was very sleepy. However, here I am at well past 3 am unable to drift off. So frustrating!

2/19

Today would have been my parents' 34th wedding anniversary. I know my dad was feeling down tonight. He sent me a few sad texts this evening. :( We all miss my mom so much! She was an awesome lady.

Aside from that, my oldest daughter did very well in her play this evening. She had 3 lines tonight. Tomorrow she has a much larger role. She and another girl are sharing the role of the "nurse". She is a little nervous since this will be her first time in a play with this many lines. But, I know she will do great! They don't allow video taping of the performances (I don't really know why) or flash photography, but hopefully I'll be able to get at least a few decent pictures.

Pictures

I took lots of pictures of my daughter's birthday party(s) last weekend. So, naturally, I need to post some. :) In all the confusion of getting all the kids out the door to go to the bowling alley, I forgot to grab my camera. I did take some pictures there with my phone, though.

Here are a couple of her on her actual birthday, February 9th:



Opening presents at her party:


Decorating cookies:



Hmm...somehow, I missed taking pictures of the girls making their crafts...

Bowling:




Cake:


Getting ready for "sleep":


Opening presents at Uncle G's house:


Her face in that last one cracks me up! :)

Sick of being sick!

I feel even worse today! Now on top of my increasingly stuffy/runny nose, I have a very itchy throat and yucky cough. My nose is getting sore, too, from using toilet paper and napkins to blow my nose a million times a day. Man, I could really go for some puffs plus with aloe, some afrin, and some dayquil. But, that would require getting dressed and driving to the store. Blah!

I tried to take a nap, but couldn't get comfortable enough to fall asleep before my kids got home. Guess I'll stop being whiny and suck it up and go to the store now.

*sniffle*

How is it that you can be all stuffed up and have your nose running at the same time? I had a difficult time sleeping last night. I kept waking up not able to breathe through my nose. Not cool! I still don't feel like doing anything. I want to take a nap, but I can't breathe when I lay down. =(

I also wish I could stop all the sneezing!

Tired

I'm still not feeling well tonight. My nose is still stuffy, my eyes are burning, and I'm crazy tired. I haven't really done anything today at all. I didn't even get outside to shovel the driveway tonight, so it's going to probably be crazy tomorrow. :(

I did, however, take a hot bath this evening. That was most productive thing I accomplished all day. Heh.

So, now I'm gonna try to get some sleep and hope to be feeling better in the morning.

My weekend

I spent my day Saturday baking, cleaning up around the house, and finishing up some shopping for my daughter's birthay slumber party that night. It went really well, too. I didn't have to break up any little girly fights, so that is always a plus! They had a fun time decorating cookies, doing a craft, going bowling, eating pizza and cake, and running all around my house.

Yesterday we spent the day with family to celebrate birthdays. It was good to see them all, but it's sad seeing how poorly my grandfather is doing.

I started feeling a little icky yesterday evening, though, so I laid down in bed and watched tv for a while, and fell asleep pretty early. I woke up this morning with a headache, stuffy nose and a slightly sore throat. I am also having a little pain in my ear now and then. :( Sigh...not fun. Hope I feel better very soon!

Note to self:

Don't work out with a belly full of chili and 2 cups of water. UGH!