1st Shots

Today we got to give each other flu shots. It was great! I was able to complete my flu shot for my partner and felt really comfortable about it. Likewise my partner got the chance to give me mine and she did a great job. I was a little nervous ahead of time but I really felt fine about it once it came time to do it. We all cheered each other on and kept the person getting the shot distracted so they wouln't get too nervous. I really like the people I'm going to school with. All in all they are a really great bunch of people!

Cup O' Joe Friday

Hello fellow bloggers! It's time for Company girl Friday again


Rachel Anne gave us a mission of letting go of the "Mommy Guilt" and boy did I ever need it. While my kids have been very understanding of the new schedule, I feel a little bit bad about all the time it is taking from their time with me. Especially on Thursday when I was struggling to fit in 2 hrs of studying for my Microbiology midterm and poor Nick really wanted my attention and I had to tell him I would have to get back to him when I got home. Boy did I feel like a heel. He accepted it, but I really felt guilty. So today I am choosing to forgive myself. He certainly has! I did spend a good two hours with him when I came home before digging back into my homework for today.

I think sometimes as mothers we have this idea that we should be able to meet everyone's needs all the time and still do what WE have to do. I am coming to see that this really isn't realistic and certainly not very healthy. We can only do our best and really have to let the rest go. Sometimes our agenda has to come first for an hour or two. Our loved ones really do need to know we are human :) Hopefully this won't have to happen too often, but it makes me very glad I waited until my kids were all in school to attempt this. I know they are all old enough to understand why I'm not here a lot, or why I have to spend so much of my time at home studying.

A day at a time, a brick at a time

This was an incredibly busy week! I guess busy is the new normal. I passed my injection check off, got an A on the first quiz, a B on my Microbiology midterm which I am happy with, and we got a chance to practice some interviewing skills with an "adolescent" actor. Then we participated in our first clinical and got to go watch the babies and children at a day care center to learn how to do a developmental screening. It was fun.

The older boys had their parent teacher conferences Thursday and all is going well for them. Max is writing a lot and made a point of telling his teacher that he's doing better because he trusts them now. That really made me happy to hear that. Jake is reading at a higher grade level and participating in a reading group with 6th and 7th graders and really enjoying that. He is getting a good handle on his new classroom and I had a lovely long meeting with his teacher. I will have to reschedule Nick's since I had a time conflict. Cassie's are next week. Her school had a career day today and she collected info on colleges and careers to look over. It amazes me that she is really only one year away from applying to colleges.

The fall colors are brilliant right now and one of my rewards to myself this weekend is to take some time to take a few photos of the trees before the leaves fall off. I'll be sure to post some when I do.

Company Girl Friday

It's Company Girl Friday again at. Home Sanctuary This week my favorite thing is the mending. Mostly becasuse I didn't have any to do this week LOL. Kind of nice to be reminded to do something you don't need to do when you are feeling overloaded with everything else.

This week went by so fast, it's hard to see where it went. I sucessfully passed my vital signs checkoff. Today we gave a short group presentation on a community resource assignment. It went well. So far so good! I went to study group and it's a good thing I did. We had a crossword puzzle assignment due next monday that was written very strangely. Some people spent over 5 hrs working on it only to discover the reason they were having problems with solving it was that there were spaces in it! Not your standard New York Times type crossword. So that saved me a lot of frustration.

The weather here has turned to fall and the colors on the trees are very pretty this year! Fall is my favorite season here. I am taking the boys Halloween costume shopping tomorrow and picking up some pumpkins. It's time to get the house looking like fall!

Exhausted!

Wow tuesdays are really long. Tomorrow I have no classes. So I'll play catch up on the house, and read a lot of chapters, and try to get some rest.

I have 10 chapters to read by next monday, and quite a few assignments to do this month. We got our temporary id cards, and we are learning to take vital signs this week. I am struggling to do blood pressure but I think I got closer to getting it right today. I plan on practicing A LOT this week. We will be checked off on it next week and can only miss one of the checkoffs to pass the course. Lab is pass/fail so I am putting the skills in lab as my top priority.

This week I also ran for the position of class historian. The OHSU chapter of the Student Nurse Association holds elections for 2 class liasons and one class historian. I was the only person running for class historian so it is likely I got the position unless there was a write in :) I am excited because there is a way to do a yearbook, and they have several cameras so we can take pictures throughout the year to include on a cd as well as in the yearbook. I attended my first SNA meeting today and it was fun. There is a conference in November, but I'll have to wait until next year to go as it will conflict with our schedule this fall. I know two of the members of the SNA as I had classes with them a two years ago.

At the end of the month the SNA will be hosting a social to introduce us to our "buddies" (juniors or seniors who have volunteered to be available to us for support)

The kids are coping well, DH is doing well with his job. Life is good even when I'm tired :)

Having so much fun!

The first week of class has started and we have had 2 labs and 2 lectures for nursing. It's so much fun! It's like playing dress up. We get to practice the skills we learn in a mock hospital. The theory class is more interactive than lecture which is great. I also had Microbiology yesterday and we took swabs from our cheeks and made our own slides to practice using the microscope. Tuesday will be a long day, from 8-5.

Today I have library orientation and I will use the other time to do reading. I have a LOT of reading to do!