Unexpectedly expecting!!

How quickly the path of life can change! I'm humbled by this new development in our lives and I look forward to meeting our little one sometime around July 7th.

I signed up for an email service that keeps me informed of whats happening in the baby's development. According to my calculations I should be about 5 weeks along.

At 5 weeks:
The baby is about the size of a sesame seed, and he looks more like a tiny tadpole than a human. The big development this week: The baby's brain is beginning to grow! It develops from the neural tube, a structure that will also spawn the baby's spinal cord, nerves, and backbone.


What a miracle!!.....and some people believe this all happened by accident.....

Please join us in praying for our little miracle...... and for us as parents :)

Draggin...

I'm so thankful to finally have a day off. I've worked the last nine days in a row and man I'm tuckered! I was supposed to have this last weekend off but my employer offered me time and a half (since it was overtime anyway) plus an extra $10 an hour. I couldn't pass up that opportunity, especially since I just bought my books for school and they were over $1000! Apparently its pretty much standard practice to buy all your books you'll be using for the whole 2 year program all at once....yikes! Anyway back to talking about my new job. I'm absolutely loving it! I love the fact that I just get to help people all day long. I've definitely encountered some interesting characters but its been fun.

Today was my first day of class. It wasn't all that exciting because it was just "do this" "don't do that" "be here on this day at this time""read this before you come to class" etc etc.....you know the basic first day stuff. However, I was relieved to find out I'll only be wearing my uniform (hunter green scrubs) two days a week instead of four or five like I had previously heard.

With the rapid transition from one job to another, my long list of to do's definitely didn't get done before school started. I was planning on getting some yard work and some organization of my house done before the whirl wind of school and a new job hit. I guess the yard work will have to wait until next summer and the organizing....maybe winter break.

Pest Control....at LAST!!

When Dustin and I first moved into our new house I was all excited to get my yard in order. Its been a slow process but slowly it has started to come together. After a year we finally got our lawn planted and then this year we put in two flower beds and a small garden. That was when the pesky deer started coming into the yard and munching on all my newly planted flowers and veggies.....stupid varmints!!! I even bought deer resistant plants just in case....but that didn't keep them at bay. After much searching (and much complaining on my part) Dustin found our solution. They arrived in the mail yesterday and today they are happily guarding my yard....hehe. Dustin found these sprinklers that are motion activated so when the deer come into the yard to munch on my flowers.....they get sprayed. Its absolutely genious if you ask me!


Dustin placed one on each side of the house so all of my flower beds and my garden are safe and sound....at last I've been sitting in the living room since sunset listening to the sprinklers chase those blasted deer off. I have to admit I've giggled every time. Hurray now I can finally see my flowers bloom....well maybe next year, I think they need a year to recover since they are all chewed down to nubs....so sad.

Orientation, orientation, orientation.....

I started my new job on Monday (yesterday). It was eight hours of orientation. We talked about benefits, history of the organization, blah blah blah.... Actually there were some cool parts in there. Apparently the hospital was originally founded by a group of nuns. We got to meet one of the nuns that currently works and oversees the hospital's operations. She was absolutely hilarious and totally blew my preconceived notions about nuns and Catholics out of the water. First of all she wasn't wearing the traditional penguin suit and she talked about God like he was her best friend. So cool! Not to mention she was hilarious and I don't know about you but I've seen enough movies with catholic school scenes to have the imprinted image of strict and grumpy nuns. I think she was my favorite part of the day.

Today was another eight hours of orientation. I was so bummed when I found out it was another eight hours. I was previously told it was just going to be four hours....but I guess that's tomorrow. I found that out after I was sitting in orientation today anticipating my 12:00 escape... The orientation would be so much more tolerable if we weren't in a classroom for the whole session. Most of the stuff we are talking about is common sense, but there are definitely things I'm thankful we are going over...like the procedure for a patient in cardiac arrest....that's a little nerve racking to think about.

I still haven't seen the floor I'll be working in. This week's orientation is at the old hospital. Next week I think I have orientation at the new hospital. All I've got to say is I can't wait until all this orientation crap is over with!!

Employed!

I finally got the much awaited phone call. I got the job! I wasn't sure exactly what job I was applying for.....just a CNA position with PeaceHealth since there were so many openings. I was hired for a 20hr position in the cardiopulmonary unit. I was hoping for 24-28hrs but I'm sure I can pick up hours if I need to. The HR person I spoke with kept calling it PCU....not sure how the acronym works out for that one. I have to go for a health assessment before they will officially hire me...more needle sticks, oh yeah. That will be on Wednesday. I'll have to have my 3rd TB test for the year unless they accept the one I just had 2 months ago. I guess I can be sure I don't have TB :) I officially start on Monday....well orientation....but I get paid for that too. It was perfect timing. God always has a way of working that out. I'm done at the University on Friday and start the new job on Monday....no rest for the weary :) I had planned for 2 weeks off before school started, but I'll take the job, plus I'll be working half what I was working before so I'm not too concerned. September 29th is my first day of school....its finally almost here. I have to pick up my 3 boxes of books next week....oh and I finally get to buy scrubs that aren't a solid color....and best of all not white!!

Job Interview!!

I had a job interview yesterday at the new hospital. It was the first time I had been in the gigantic place since it opened at the beginning of August. The place is absolutely huge!! I had to ask for directions twice before I finally found the HR department hidden in the back corner on the second floor. Apparently the signs aren't all up so its pretty confusing. When you walk in the front door you feel like your walking into a resort not a hospital. My interview went well and I was sent for a drug test so I'm thinking that is a good sign. I'm hoping for the best, I'd really like to work here!

Passed!

I just found out yesterday that I passed my nursing assistant certification exam. HURRAY!! I was really starting to stress because I truely thought I had failed. I made some mistakes that I thought would surely cause me to fail since one of my friends just failed for messing up a single step. God had mercy on me though and I PASSED!! Next step: find a job....something new to worry about :) Hopefully I've learned to stop worrying and start trusting that its going to work out....hopefully.

Summer School......

So in case your wondering why its been so darn long since I posted a blog, its because I'm taking 11 units this summer and still working full time..... Let me tell you how that one happened. I wasn't planning on taking summer classes at all until the nursing classes were scheduled so strategically as to keep me from taking microbiology during Fall term. The class is required to be completed by the end of Fall term....so summer classes here I come. Since the extra funds are in short supply, I decided I better take a second class....a fun one.....for the additional credits I needed to qualify for financial aid, since I couldn't get into the only other class (research writing) that I actually need to take. One week into the term I get an email from the writing professor that there is an opening in the class if I'm still interested. I had been feeling guilty about spending the money on the "extra" class so I figured for peace of mind, sure why not. I had every intention of dropping my fun class (nutrition.....yes I'm am obsessed/interested in eating right) and this small voice told me to drop it that very day that I made the decision. But you guessed it, I didn't. The next day I signed up for the writing class that I was finally cleared for and then attempted to drop the nutrition class.....yes I did say attempted. The deadline had passed to get any refund for the class....CRAP.....so what was the point of dropping it now I'd have to pay for it anyway and my conscience surely wasn't going to allow me to pay for a class and not get anything out of it. So......needless to say I'm signed up for 11 units now. This should be interesting. So please do be forgiving if I'm even more flaky about posting blogs :)

Hospital Clinicals

This weekend I spent the majority of my time at the hospital fulfilling my clinical hours for my nursing assistant training class. The first day there was a little rough. I was assigned to the duty of acquiring vitals and sent off to the masses. Yikes that was a little nerve racking! I guess the nerves got to me because I couldn't hear a blood pressure to save my life and I missed the part where the my supervising CNA told me to write down the info to bring to her. Lol that sounds a little obvious but most of the info is written on the chart in the room and that part I remembered. Needless to say my CNA was a little frustrated with me. Thankfully Sunday was much smoother and by the end of it all some of the nurses were asking me where I would be applying for a job after the class was all over with. I'm hoping to get a position at the hospital so I'm making an extra effort to make some connections while I'm there. I have 4 more days of clinicals.....and thankfully none of them take up my weekends. I'm ready to have my weekends back! I'm building a rather large sleep debt and sooner or later its going to have to be paid and I'd rather not be caught sleeping at my desk :)

I'm IN!!!!!!!

I just found out last night that I got accepted into nursing school!!!!!!!!

Waiting....

Last Friday I sat for the proctored essay for the final step in my nursing school application process. The questions were all subjective scenario type questions so who knows exactly what they are looking for in the answers but I thought over all it went well. After the essay was over, we were all shown our calculated scores for our applications up to that point. Somehow along the way they lost 5 of my points. Nice huh! As if the application process isn't competitive enough. Thankfully though after a weekend of trying not to worry and let God take care of it (easier said than done of course) I got an email from the school apologizing for the mistake and reassuring me that it was taken care of. Now I'm just waiting to hear yes or no. Officially we are supposed to know by June 1st but I heard a rumor we may find out May 28th. I'm definitely a planner so this waiting period is kinda throwing a kink in things. I feel like I've been talking about nursing school forever so I just want to get on with it already.
In the mean time, I'm finishing up my nursing assistant class. I started my clinicals at the nursing home a couple weeks ago and so far it has been fun. I've only run into a few growly people but for the most part they just made me laugh. One sassy old lady even kicked me out of her room because her pillows weren't arranged correctly. Surprisingly I enjoyed working with the dementia patients the most, perhaps because its like working with kids. But in a few cases it has been sad to see the state of people. It sure goes to show just how fragile the human body is. I get this weekend off of school (a much needed break) and then next week is the last week at the nursing home. Its going to be sad to say good bye to some of the residents. The following weekend its onto the hospital for clinicals there. The rumor is that the hospital isn't as much fun for us as students because we do more observing than actually being useful. Which of course will make the time go by much slower. But I'm hoping to get to meet my next potential boss while I'm there. A friend of mine is a nurse in neurology and has already put in a good word for me for a job once I get my certification. So we'll see how it goes.

Nursing Shoes....or smurf shoes....

I am half way through my CNA class which means I am about to start my clinical hours which also means its time to break down and buy my uniform......and guess what color I get to wear.....ALL white. Hello who wears all white when your going to be doing all the grunt jobs? I'll spare you the details....but white surely doesn't make sense.

On a happier note though, I found out that I made it to the second part of the application process for nursing school.....very exciting! 130 applicants out of 430 were chosen to take part in the proctored essay this month. 60-70 of those chosen will be accepted into the program.....so that's half....not bad odds if you ask me. I will find out either way on June 1st.

So with all that said I broke down and bought the ugliest shoes I think I will ever own....thankfully they are very comfortable and I won't be the only one wearing white shoes. I refer to them as my smurf shoes.....

2 Years!

Its hard to believe its been 2 years already, but 2 years ago (yesterday) was one of the happiest days of my life. I married a very wonderful man that treats me better than I ever dreamed of. I can't say enough good things about him. Of course as with every marriage there are the difficult times but the good times far out weigh the trying and for that I am so very thankful.

Catching up....

So the weather is really driving me crazy right now. It was 84 last Saturday.....oh so nice, I even got a sunburn :) Then come Monday it started raining again...ugh! Yesterday we saw the sun for a few hours and now the blasted rain is back again.....so annoying. I have a bunch of flowers sitting on my back porch about to croak because the weather won't cooperate long enough to get the flower bed prepared and get the plants in the ground. I'm about to resort to a bunch of temporary pots just so I don't lose them all.

On a brighter note, I colored my hair last weekend. Its now all brown instead of brown with blond chunks. I think I like it. Its just such a shock so I'm still deciding. I was needing something different...you know me....I always get bored with my hair :) Plus I was going for something with a little less maintenance. I'll try to get a picture up this weekend....but I have school/family activities this weekend so no promises.

Update...

I officially survived finals. Not that it was too bad, I'm just glad they are over with. Now its onto the next agenda and that's to get my CNA license. I managed to land a spot in the training class for the next term so that's a start. The bad news is now the hospitals are requiring a CNA II certification in order to get a job there....RIDICULOUS......the requirement goes into effect this fall. So I'm hoping that I can somehow get my foot in the door before the fall deadline. Otherwise I have to take yet another class and most likely start out working at a nursing/retirement home. I've done the work before so I know I can stomach it, its just sad to watch people sit in their bed day after day and waste away.

On a different not....my nephew Jace just turned 1. He sure is a handsome boy...but I'm not biased or anything :)
He was such a gentleman about eating his cake :)

But He eventually got the idea....Its hard to believe he's already 1 and running around exploring everything. I had the pleasure of babysitting yesterday. We had fun and surprisingly the baby bug is at bay for the moment. I'm focussed on getting through school and I'm enjoying being an Auntie. I only wish I had more time to spoil the nieces and nephews.

Speeding Ticket

I didn't hear my alarm this morning and I had been asked to set up some cultures for one of my coworkers since I usually come in early....and definitely earlier than everyone else. So I was in a hurry to get out the door...but you know when you are trying with all your might to get out the door things just happen....we have a water dispenser in the door of the fridge and I have a water bottle that is just the right height that I can prop it in there and leave it to fill...yeah you know where this is going. In my half asleep state I forgot about it until I heard water splashing onto the floor.....lol major blonde moment! There was water all over the floor and under the fridge...ugh! So I got that all cleaned up and finally made it out the door. I'm not much of a speeder....not since college when I got my first and only speeding ticket. Dustin gives me a hard time for being a slow poke but then he drives 70-80 in a 55 most of the time so he might not be the greatest judge. I normally drive 5 over because of course that's allowed. Anyway I was on the highway headed to work and the person in front of me couldn't decide what speed to travel 55 or 60 so I decided it was time to pass them. After all I was already late and I had no patience for this dawdler. I get right up next to them and I'm going about 62 or 63 and I see a cop going the other direction. I know people regularly get tickets for going 62 in a 55 around here so I know I'm had. My heart sinks and all I can think is "sure the one time I go a little over the speed limit I get caught but Dustin can fly around at 70 or 80 and completely get away with it". I see the cop hit his brakes and whip around in the road. I'm about to be sick, wondering where the heck the money is going to come from for the ticket, finally settling on the fact that my allowance for the entire summer has just been given up....no new clothes and forget a new swim suit...oh how horrible. (such vain thoughts I know). I see him coming up behind me and flipping on his lights, he's 2 cars back but I'm wondering if I pull over now if I'll get some sympathy points.......and then the cop pulled someone else over.....what a relief! Thank goodness someone else was going faster than me....or maybe the cop got the wrong car by mistake. All I know is that all my new summer clothes are going to mean so much more to me now that I thought for sure they were given up all for the sake of getting to work 5 minutes earlier.

What an interesting day:)

Nursing School Application

So the waiting begins. I turned in the first part of my application for nursing school yesterday. There are still two more steps to the application, the next is in April, to turn in my grades for the winter term. If all goes well (meaning if I get enough of the points on the first two parts), I will be asked to sit for the proctored essay. That part makes me a little nervous but I think I have a pretty good chance of making it to that part if I get a 4.0 this term. I have no idea when I will know about the essay, I assume some time in April or perhaps May....the school isn't the greatest about communicating these things.

In the mean time I'll be trudging my way through the rest of my classes. I'm officially done with all the prerequisites at the end of this term, which ends mid march. After that I'm planning to take the CNA course (certified nursing assistant) so I can get a job at the hospital and get some first hand experience of what it will be like to be a nurse....hopefully its what I expect. apparently its pretty hard to get a CNA position around here but one of the hospitals is changing locations and building a much bigger hospital. They are due to open this August so hopefully that will open up a few more job opportunities.

This summer I may take a few courses as well just in case I get into the program this year. The word around the school is that its best to get some of the minor classes like Microbiology and Technical writing out of the way that are usually taken during the nursing program. Since I'll be working part time and going to school full time I think its probably best to take them, its better to be safe than sorry. Its weird to think that I will be leaving my current job in a few months. I've really been blessed by the position that I have. I make my own hours and get more vacation time than I know what to do with. But I've reached the peak salary for my position, with the exception of cost of living raises so inevitably this is a short term position for people. It will be sad to say good bye to the perks and my coworkers but in two years or so it will all be worth it.....no more working full time....won't that be nice :) At least that's the plan for a while so we can have a family....and that's a whole other story.

Snow!!

I know not everyone gets excited about snow but considering how often we get snow it is exciting when it happens. Its been cold and rainy for weeks now and I've been saying if its going to be so cold it just needs to snow....well I got my wish :) We got 7 inches of snow yesterday! Sadly though I had planned a surprise birthday party for Dustin's 30th birthday (which is on Tuesday) and all his friends and family couldn't come due to road conditions. But we improvised and played in the snow instead. My brother-in-law broke out the sled and his 4 wheeler....I bet you can't guess where that went....



and then we moved onto the inter tube......


I made the birthday cake.....and well it sure tasted good.....it was chocolate peanut butter, the best combination in the word......but it was so ugly I refuse to post a picture of it. I have a new respect for cake decorators :)

I love the snow....I just don't enjoy driving in it and today I'll be staying home from work. The radio news is full of wrecks everywhere because it froze last night. Suits me just fine though, I have an anatomy & physiology test tomorrow so it just gives me another day to study.

The birthday boy making a huge snowball



Kloee thought Uncle Dustin's huge snow ball was fun to climb....


Jace wasn't too sure what to think of the snow.....





It sure was a beautiful day!!

Random Things......

I know its been a while since I last posted a blog so I'll do my best to give an all inclusive update.

Christmas was fun but in some ways it went on and on since there was the annual family hopping and such but it was nice to see everyone. My favorite presents were my new car stereo (Thank you Dustin). I've never actually had a car stereo that wasn't the stock stereo....I guess it was never really that big of a deal. But my new one is great. I can hook my ipod up to it....so no more driving with my ear buds in....which I'm sure is illegal anyway. My second favorite gift was from my mom. She bought me a professional hair straightener and blow dryer....I guess it pays to be related to a beautician :)

My birthday was a blast. Dustin and I went wine tasting with my brother and his wife. We went to 3 places, 2 of which we hadn't been to before. After 3 I had had enough because the 1st place kinda poured a little heavy....That must be how they get people to buy their wine....lol we bought a bottle from them but when we got it home and opened it it wasn't as good as I remembered it. No actually they really did have some good wines....we probably just got a bad bottle.

New years was fun as well. We went to a friends house for dinner and played games until 4AM. Dustin was introduced to the Wii. It sure was funny watching the guys box. I'm just thankful Dustin isn't really into playing video games so we won't be acquiring a new toy :)

I thought for sure I would get some down time during my winter break but in someways I think I was busier during break than I was during school. And now I'm back to school. Last week was the first week. It amazing how much longer my week feels just by adding one more class. I am taking my last term of anatomy & physiology and a psychology class: human development. I was a little worried that my psych class would be painful but the first class was really interesting. I'm relieved because its a 3 hour class (so I only have to go once a week). I'm still trying to adjust to having evening classes 3 times a week but soon I'm sure it will be no big deal.

Dustin and I have decided to start helping out with the youth group in our community. Ironically its not the one at our church but its a mixed group from many different churches so we won't be the odd ones out. I went for the first time this past Sunday and it starts off with the girls and guys separate and then we all get together later. The girls are going through a book call "Every Young Woman's Battle". Its a great book that I wish would have been around when I was their age. It sure would have saved me from a whole lot of heart ache and stupid decisions. It about respecting yourself and keeping your sexual purity. But perhaps my mistakes can help some of these girls and keep them from making the same ones.