Wednesday, November 20, 2013

30 Days 30 Days 30 Days

I am soveryclose to the end of nursing school.  Just a few tests and assignments left! This Friday is my last Nursing Spectacular as an undergrad and I get to (i.e. am being forced to) present on a project I have completed while in nursing school.  Only 5-8 minutes . . .

I completed my last round of clinicals in the MedSurg ICU at a local hospital.  I had a lot of new experiences and feel like I learned a lot.  My preceptor was amazing and so knowledgable after 25+ years of working in the ICU.  I am blessed to have learned from her. 

 I am excited but nervous about the next steps to starting my career in nursing.  I know I will pass the NCLEX the first time because I will continue to study and practice questions until I take it.  I am more nervous about getting/starting a job.  We learn a lot in nursing school but there is a lot we still don't know until we are on the job every shift.  I know I will get through this anxiety and become a caring and competent Registered Nurse.


Pinning is December 20th and I am excited for myself and my classmates.  We have persevered down this long, difficult, and stressful road of nursing school that no one can truly understand unless they have also been in nursing school.  We have every right to be proudof ourselves and our accomplishment!

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Update on my boys

September is a big birthday month in our house.  Both boys were born in this wonderful month!

Austin is now a TEENAGER!!  What happened?  Wasn't he just this little boy running around, playing playdoh, and dancing like no one was watching??  Instead, I have a teenager who plays football, is taller than me, and has his phone seemingly permanently attached to his hand.  He is currently taking Latin at school (by choice) and seems to like it.  He is also in Geometry for high school credit, and still playing the trumpet and enjoying it. 

He mowed his Grandma's and Granny & Papaw's lawns all summer to earn some money and I think he really liked making his own money.  He even had a teacher at his school ask him to mow her lawn next summer.

Andrew is in kindergarten and seems to enjoy it.  There were a few bumps in the road in the beginning - he likes to know what is going to happen and where he should go, etc (much like his mom!) and uncertainty is not his friend.  The bus was missed on the way home one day.  But, he has gotten in the swing of things and is learning a lot. 

He is a reader now and I might be more excited than he is!  He knows a lot more words than he thinks he does, and amazes me each night when we read together.  I am excited for him as he grows in his reading skills and worlds open up for him in books.  He has also made a lot of new friends at school and we have learned of a few in our neighborhood.

Andrew has also asked us to call him Andrew and not Drew anymore. :(  I am doing my best to follow his request but habits are hard to break.

Dobby the dachshund had a birthday too, just not in September.  He turned 5 at the beginning of October.  We have had him for over a year now and can't imagine life without my cuddle buddy!

In somewhat related news, I have only 56 days left until pinning and I am finished with my nursing degree!!!  Woohoo!

Saturday, March 30, 2013

Nursing School update of sorts

I stole this from my Aunt Sue (on facebook):

     Student Nurse's Prayer: "Dear Lord, I know we go through this every day, but please give me the knowledge as to why I actually wanted to go to nursing school. Lord, give me the strength to make it through those boring 4-hour lectures without falling asleep. Lord, please give me the patience to make it through twelve-hour clinicals with instructors who can't just give you the right answer. On the same note, give the nurses the ability to remember what it was like to be a student and give us just a little more respect. Lord, give me the endurance to read all the assigned readings and be able to remember it when I am taking a test with four right answers. Lord, give my family and friends the ability to realize I really am on the edge of insanity. Finally, Lord, give me the vision to see that one day I will be a real nurse and I will never have to wear this ugly uniform again"


      I wish I could make people understand a nursing degree is not like other degrees - it is hard core difficult and stressful!  We are learning how to save people's lives.  I thought it was just because I have a family, but I talk to other nursing students who are young and single and they deal with the same emotions and stress levels as I do.  I spoke with one classmate the other day who said she has cried every semester.  (Check).  Many are on anti-anxiety medications (not me yet) and I can see why.   


      I am feeling verrrrry close to the edge of insanity (see above prayer!) right now.  I keep trying to tell myself only one more month until the end of the semester, but there is SO MUCH to do - tests, clinical hours, projects, etc, etc, etc.  




    I have been very blessed to not have to work while in nursing school and I am thankful for that.  I also know Drew (and Austin when home) are very well taken care of by Tony or other family while I'm doing the never-ending school stuff. 


     The light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter, but sometimes it seems so far away . . .

Monday, February 25, 2013

God in (Drew's) School

I was driving Drew to preschool today and we passed Austin's school.  We always say "Hi Austin, we love you!" as we pass his school but then Drew asked me if Austin gets to learn about God at school.

"No, he goes to a public school not a Christian school."

"Oh," he said. "Well I get to learn about God at my school."

Yes.  This year.  Next year he will be going to public kindergarten and won't get to.  I explained this to him as best I could and then he said:  "Some kids don't believe in God.  I will always believe in God no matter what!"

That makes my heart happy and sad at the same time.  I am so glad he has had this great, Christian experience at preschool, and I know he will still go to kid church on Sundays and  kid church choir on Wednesday nights, but not having that as part of the daily curriculum (and the backbone of the rest) makes me sad. 

I think we got spoiled with Austin when he was little.  He went 2 preschool years and kindergarten at our church's school (in Greenwood) and then I homeschooled for 2 years and could weave our beliefs into any part of the day I wanted.  He was in 3rd grade before he went to public school.

I know we have great public schools here - that is why we live in this part of town.  There are many great things about the school system but my Momma heart hurts when I think of signing Drew up for kindergarten in the big public school.


All in all, I am not dealing well with this - - Tony said I was spoiling Drew this morning when I brought him breakfast in (my) bed and he got to watch cartoons while he ate.  But I told him these days are limited because next year I will get him up, feed him, put him on the bus and not see him again until almost dinnertime.  I am having some issues so bear with me please.