~ ~ ChAnGeS ~ ~

So many things are changing around our house!! And I Love it!!

First, I PASSED BOARDS!!! I'm now officially a licensed RN and can't wait to start working as an RN. Unfortunately they canceled June orientation at the hospital so I have to wait until July, but hey, I passed and I have a job, so I can't complain too much.

Second, Nick has a new job!! He moved to a new company and we are both thrilled about it! He's going to be running a big job and he's really nervous but I think, no I know! he's going to be fantastic.

Third, we are cleaning up our house!! We always go back and forth on whether or not we want to stay in the city or move back to the county. I figure we should just pretend that we are going to move so we get our house nice and fixed up and if we want to move we will be ready and if we don't, well our house will be nice and fixed up! So we are starting with some landscaping in the back. We will eventually get to the front but are starting with the back. It looks great already and we're just starting!

We dug up all the old grass weeds in one section of the back and relaid some sod. Then we dug up all the old plants in the flower bed and I'm planting new flowers and some hosta plants. I love it already. Next we'll dig up the rest of the weeds and resod the rest of the backyard. We are fixing up the parking pad too. Right now it's just the old parking pad but Nick's running pipe to add lights outside and make it a nice outdoor space. After that we'll finally redo the deck and be DONE with the back!!

I plan on redoing the front too, which won't be near as much work. Just digging up some old grass and planting some new flowers. Then our landscaping will be beautiful!!

Ahhh I'm so happy right now with everything we've been doing and I can't wait to do more! It's amazing how much time I have when I don't have to do homework or study!!

Happy Weekend!!

It's been awhile since we've been off and actually been able to do things around the house!! I think we have plans to do some yard work and I'm really excited about it!

Our yard is a COMPLETE disaster. It's disgusting really. But with a little TLC, it could be nice!

So that is MY plan. We'll see what really happens but as of now, that's my Memorial Day goal.

Happy Holiday weekend everyone and be safe!

New Approach to food

I was talking to my sister on Saturday night and she was telling me about something she is trying for her and her family. Well, maybe her kids are doing it?? At least she and her husband are doing it. It's a new approach to eating and food in general. It's supposed to make you feel better and make the most of your meals, while lowering cholesterol, etc.

So I'm trying it.

You eat vegan for 2 meals a day (usually breakfast and lunch) and you can eat whatever you want for dinner. Also, you eliminate all processed foods.

It's tough! But I did it yesterday and I really did feel better and I liked it. So I'm back trying it today. I had some oatmeal that I made (not instant, but rolled oats) and some raisins for breakfast. Right now I'm enjoying a soy latte too. Then for lunch I'll do some salad I believe. Then I'll get to do whatever I want for dinner.

This is the kind of "diet" I like. No counting, no looking up calories, carbs, etc. Not too restrictive either because you can eat whatever you want for dinner. Or one meal a day, whichever you choose I guess.

So here we go. My sister has already lost 10 lbs doing this and I would like to lose about 25 so let's see how this goes!!

This idea is from Mark Bittman, a food author that my sister loves. I have one of his cookbooks "How to Cook Everything" and I love it. Here's the article describing this approach to eating.

I can totally do this for 2 meals a day... :) 

Back to school??

Not yet obviously, but I started looking at some MSN programs (Masters of Science in Nursing) and there is a decently priced program at UMSL...It would be part time for 3 years and literally only cost me $2,000 total. TOTAL. (They offer tuition reimbursement where I work so that is clearly factored in).

So that definitely has me thinking...I'd love to have my masters. Maybe after working for a year I'll have to go back and get my masters. Then I'd have my Nurse Practitioner by the time I'm 33. Not too shabby for someone who went back to their BSN as their second degree...

But for now I suppose I'll just focus on passing boards and starting my RN job at BJH. :)

Antibiotics...

It's never a dull moment at our house!! All three kids are taking amoxicillin now. We went to the pediatrician on Wednesday because Gretch has been pulling at her ears and Dom said his throat hurt. Dom had a throat culture done and tested positive for strept. Then Gretchen had her ears looked at and she has redness in one and lots of fluid in the other. So they both got started on antibiotics. Then they swabbed Annabelle just to be sure. She was negative. Then I got a lovely phone call yesterday saying that the swab for Annabelle that they sent off to the lab came back positive. So she got started on antibiotics too.

So two cases of strept and one double ear infection. Right on.

At least I can start them all on meds at the same time and be pretty confident that as soon as one is over it, they won't give it to another. That's what happened with the dreaded pink eye a few months back. And at Schnucks amoxicillin is free. So that's nice too...

Oh well. Here we go. Now let's just pray that none of them end up allergic to amoxicillin!

SO TIRED...

I recently went to the doctor because I was just (and still am) so tired all the time! I literally can't stay awake during the day. Even if I've gotten a full night's sleep. So my doctor ran a bunch of tests and found out that I'm extremely Vitamin D deficient. Extremely! So now I get to take a supplement for the rest of my life (just add it to my pill box of other drugs I have to take every day).

He doesn't think that regulating this will make me feel better and more awake, but I'm hoping it will! I'm tired of being tired all the time!!

We shall see...

Early walker??

I think gretchie is going to walk soon!! She's already pulling herself up and trying to walk around in her crib, etc. I think she'll definitely be walking by her first birthday and maybe even sooner!! Yikes!!

And let me tell you, this kid is cute!! What a cutie! ;-)