Routines

It's taking us awhile but I think we're finally getting into our routines. All of us. Life is a little crazy around this house most of the time but in a good way.

Dominick is in his new school and doing very well. It will be one month tomorrow. I'm so happy for him and love that he's learning so many things every day. I don't even mind doing homework with him because it means he's learning. He has friends and it seems like he's adjusting extremely well. My big boy is SO big!!

Annabelle has been in her school for about a month and a half. She's doing great too. When I drop her off now, she gives me a hug, then a kiss, then another kiss, then she waves goodbye and she's off. Breaks my heart a little but she's happy and that's all that matters. Her speech has improved but definitely still has room to improve so we're keeping an eye on it. We'll probably go to a place and get another evaluation done but I'm happy for her and happy that I'm understanding more every day.

Gretchen is ONE now!?! Holy cow this past year has flown. She's doing so many things. She can take about 3-4 steps at a time and I'm so proud of that big girl too! She's babbling all the time and for the most part a happy baby. She is definitely a mama's girl. More so than any of the other kids. If she can see me, and I'm not holding her, she's screaming for me. If she can't see me, she's fine. But I better not be in the same room. She goes to a sitter 1-2 days a week and to my mom's maybe one day a week and the rest of the time she's home with me. We're learning how to get things accomplished and still have fun at home. It's a work in progress.

Nick is pretty settled in at his new job. I think he's doing well. He's putting in a lot of time and effort so I hope he's doing well! He's been pretty stressed trying to make sure everything is perfect but I think he's settling in.

I am done with orientation!! I am officially an RN on my own! Yay!!! I go to work tonight and get to do everything on my own and I'm thrilled! I love what I do and I especially love getting to do it without a shadow, no offense to my preceptors!!

Nick's mom is helping us in our routine. When I work at night, I don't get home until 8 am the next day. Nick leaves for work at 6:20 so we have an hour and forty minute gap with no child care. She's been coming over in the morning and helping out. It's been amazing. I hope she doesn't get too tired of it!! Because we need her and love her and appreciate it a TON.

All in all, we are getting there. Just in time for fall. My second favorite time of year (after March madness, of course!).

Oh fall. That's another post all by itself.

But we're getting there. On another note, now that we're getting into a routine, I only have 4 more months on my 30 x 30...better get to work! :)

Happy Wednesday!!

BSN, RN

Need I say more? 

Heck yeah! :)

So thankful!

For the past month or so, I've been terrified that I wasn't going to get to keep my new job. There have been layoffs and offers rescinded due to low census and I was afraid that I would be one of those numbers. But I got the word last week that I'm not one of them. I'm actually one of the VERY FEW who get to start my new job in April. I'm thrilled beyond words.

So the countdown begins. :) 2 weeks from today I start my orientation. THANK GOODNESS!!!

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. :)

17 more days!

I know I keep saying that I'll be back and blogging but school and work keep dragging me down! :) Right now I'm officially done with classes (woohoo!) but at the hospital 56 hours a week (36 for my preceptorship and 20 for work) so I'm never home and when I am it's either sleeping, cleaning (rare) or just seeing my family. So I swear, eventually I will be blogging again.

But for the meantime, be excited that I passed all my tests and I'm graduating with a decent GPA! And just excited to be graduating in general. I have only 4 shifts left in my preceptorship. Two this weekend and two next weekend. I have an interview next week. And, again, I'm graduating! So things are finally looking up! And I get to see my kids and my husband again. So I'm thrilled.

17 more days. And they can't come fast enough!

Work Updates

I'm no longer just a Unit Secretary! I'm now a Student Nurse Technician!

Which means I get to work directly with patients! Woohoo! This means a lot to me because it feels more like being a nurse. Last week was my first week as a SNT and I got to do 2 blood draws (1 I got, 1 I didn't, but in my defense, the one I didn't get I was in the vein, the patient just freaked out and begged me to quit. I would've gotten it if she let me). And I got to start an IV.

I get to do vitals during the day and just be in patients rooms all day. It feels so much better than sitting at the desk all day and working on their charts or stuff like that. It makes me feel that the end is in sight and I really can't wait to be a nurse and graduate.

Only a few months to go!!!! WOOHOO!!!

Too long

It's been way too long, but again, there's no way to catch up tonight. I'll try tomorrow, but that will be tough since I'll be home with all three kiddos tomorrow.

So instead I'll just mention the most important thing right now, Gretchen rolled over for the first time yesterday!! Yay!! :) She's getting to be SO big!

I'll try to post within the next few days to catch up on everything.

Christmas
Cousins Holiday Party
Gretchen's Newest things
Dom's school Christmas show
My work
My school
My hospital stays, etc
Addie's Scare on Christmas

So much to discuss! I'll try tomorrow, I promise!!

Catch up?

There's no way to fully catch up since my last post. Too much has happened. But I'll glaze over the basics.

First, I went back to the hospital. I got home from the hospital on that Monday. Had a rough Tuesday, an ok Wednesday, a great Thanksgiving, a rough Friday, a bad Saturday and was back in the hospital on Sunday at 2 am. Again, I did a million tests, and again I left with no real answers. The only thing that was interesting is that a spinal tap made me feel better. I was at the hospital from Sunday, very early AM until Tuesday at 6:30 in the evening. It was another long stay. And the worst part was I missed Gretchen's baptism!!! :( And I've still only seen 3 pictures. Nick's sister texted me 3 pictures, which were great, but those are the only pictures I've seen.

Second, Thanksgiving was amazing. We went to my Dad's side in the morning and my Mom's side in the evening. We were going to celebrate with Nick's family in conjunction with Gretchen's baptism, but I missed that. I'm sure it was amazing though as well. And that was the one day I felt good enough to eat!

Third, Gretchen is baptized! Yay Gretch! A big girl! And Dominick completely ripped up her baptismal certificate because he's very into ripping these days. So I have to get her a new one, but that's ok.

Fourth, I went back to work and I love it! I missed it so much!!!

Fifth, Annabelle and Gretchen are at a new sitter's. The old sitter, Stella, didn't have an open spot for Gretchen and it seemed crazy to send the girls to two separate places. So both girls are going to Karen's. And they love it! And I love that Karen charges by the day and not the week. So I stay home with the girls on the days I'm not working. So it's cheaper (although a little more stressful), but totally worth it. I think it's harder work than my work but I love spending time with my girls!

I think that's about it!

I'll try to be better on here, but it's tough. I'm getting ready for bed at 8 with the kids and exhausted by 9:30. But I'll try to get on here more!

30 weeks with Baby #3!

How your baby's growing:

Your baby's about 15.7 inches long now, and she weighs almost 3 pounds (like a head of cabbage). A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will decrease as she gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. Her eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after she's born, she'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.)

How your life's changing:

You may be feeling a little tired these days, especially if you're having trouble sleeping. You might also feel clumsier than normal, which is perfectly understandable. Not only are you heavier, but the concentration of weight in your pregnant belly causes a shift in your center of gravity. Plus, thanks to hormonal changes, your ligaments are more lax, so your joints are looser, which may also contribute to your balance being a bit off.

 Also, this relaxation of your ligaments can actually cause your feet to spread permanently, so you may have to invest in some new shoes in a bigger size. Remember those mood swings you had earlier in pregnancy? The combination of uncomfortable symptoms and hormonal changes can result in a return of those emotional ups and downs. It's normal to worry about what your labor will be like or whether you'll be a good parent. But if you can't shake the blues or feel increasingly irritable or agitated, talk to your doctor or midwife. You may be among the 1 in 10 expectant women who battle depression during pregnancy. Also let your caregiver know if you're frequently nervous or anxious.


I can't believe I am 30 weeks already. Where does time go?? 

I remember after I had Annabelle a lot of people asked me if we were done having kids. They said, "You already have one boy and one girl so you can be done!", and I remember thinking, 'No way...that wasn't the last time I will ever be pregnant because I love being pregnant and I have to do it one more time'. Well this time around I haven't enjoyed hardly any of it. Not because it hasn't been enjoyable but because I've been so busy!! So I guess that means we have to have 4 kids!! ;-) We'll see...

Anyway, school is going well and almost done, thank goodness. I'm ready for a nice break. This past week it's really hit me that I'm exhausted. I've been trying to be so strong with work, school, kids, house, pregnancy, all of it and I'm done. I can't hardly take it anymore. I'm just flat out exhausted. 

I have 3 weeks of school left and 1 week of finals. All 4 of these weeks will be crazy. I'll be busy and stressed, but it's one more month...less than that actually since my last day is August 24th. 

I'm really looking forward to JUST working full time! And then being off for a few months with my new little baby!! 

And speaking of my new little baby, I think we have baby names narrowed down to 2 boy names and 2 girl names. So that's exciting. It will be a lot easier deciding from 2 than starting from scratch. 

I know that I've been the one who's wanted to wait and not find out, and up to this point it's been fine. But now that I'm digging through the baby clothes and trying to get stuff ready, it would be a LOT easier if i knew what we were having!! I'm still looking forward to that one special moment when we find out and get to meet him/her at the same time, but I realize why people do want to find out early!

That's all I got for now. More next week I hope!  

Oops!

I disappeared again! Darn it! : )

Life is busier than ever. It seems like every day it's a struggle to keep my head above water. I know lots of people are like this, so I'm not trying to complain, but I can't wait for life to slow down!

I survived my first round of tests this semester. They went a lot better than the first round last term. One test wasn't great but for the most part, I'm doing well. Thank goodness.

I'm loving my clinicals right now. Every Tuesday I'm on a cardiac floor and get to learn about different heart problems, tests, and treatments. Every Wednesday I'm on a Women and Infants unit and get to take care of new moms and their babies, as well as see some babies being delivered. I'm very lucky to have already seen 1 vaginal delivery and 3 c-sections. I really want to be a labor and delivery nurse so this is great experience.

I'm already almost done with the 5th week of school so that means only about 8 weeks to go! Well 9, but one of those weeks is a Summer Break so that totally doesn't count.

Work is still going good. I love where I work and who I work with but sometimes it's hard when I know I have to get up early for school the next day. But it's a great opportunity and I definitely want to stick with it.

Kids are amazing. Dominick is starting to push our buttons a LOT but he's so great it's hard to stay mad at him...He's so smart. Too smart actually. And the kid is a sponge. He remembers everything. EVERYTHING. It's kind of a pain sometimes, but mostly I'm happy he's so smart.

Annabelle is also amazing. She's no longer just walking, she's RUNNING everywhere. She can climb upstairs but not down so we definitely have to keep an eye on that one. :) She actually has her 15 month appointment today. She's getting a few shots, so hopefully she's ok tonight. I don't want her to be sick.

Nick is awesome. Just awesome. I've been doing so much with school, work, doc appointments, etc. and he just does what he needs to do. He hardly vocalizes how hard it is that he's almost always on his own with the kids. He does laundry. He does bath time. He sweeps and vacuums. He's an amazing husband. Truly amazing. I'm one lucky girl!!

I'm really going to try and keep up with life on here. I really want to be able to look back and read all of these posts but it's so hard right now. Hopefully soon I can be done with all this and look back and just smile about all this.

Not too much longer until I'm done and I graduate! :) Let's pray time flies!

Wow...

So a LOT has happened in this past week. Some of which I can talk about and some of which I can't even say yet. It's just been a crazy crazy week.

But let's go ahead and talk about the stuff we can talk about.

Last Wednesday we had to put Brady down. It was a hard decision but one we had to make. One we actually didn't make on our own. The vet took a look at Brady and tried to find something good to tell us but there was nothing good to say. It was his time. The last week of Brady's life was crazy how quickly it turned around. He was playing with a ball again and eating and trying to run even while on the meds. But then something happened. He started throwing up. He stopped eating again. Then he lost complete control of his back legs. Complete control. Nick and I were carrying him everywhere. It was tough. But we made the right decision and Brady is no longer in pain and playing with Yosha in Doggie Heaven. :)

Thursday was an emotional day. It started off sad because we were sad that Brady wasn't with us anymore. Then some other stuff happened which I'm not quite ready to talk about yet and that made me really emotional all day. And finally I had my first lab check off that afternoon. I had to draw blood, start an IV and insert a foley catheter on a practice patient. I was so nervous I thought I might throw up on the mannequin! But I didn't and I accomplished that goal. So it was a nice ending to a crazy day. Or almost nice ending. That night I also got an email from work that since I was hired to work 24 hours a week, I can't cut back to 16 hours a week even though I'm in school full time. So things are about to get even crazier this year...Way crazier...

Friday was another tough day. Bridget came over to do our online test in the morning. We got her test done and she left and when I went to take my test, blackboard logged me off and wouldn't let me back on to finish...I thought I was going to fail! I was freaking out. We decided to get out of the house for a bit and went to Costco and visited my parents for a little bit. That night I wasn't feeling great so I laid down while Nick watched the kids.

Saturday my test was back and available. Nick went hunting in the morning with our neighbor, Jeff, so I was on my own with the kids. When Annabelle went down for a nap, I took my test. I got a 90%. :) Then I got an email from my teacher saying that the grading was wrong and my grade would change...but it went up so I'm ok with that!

Saturday night I still felt pretty crappy so we didn't do much but went over to Nick's mom's after dinner. We stayed there for a bit and then just came home and went to bed.

Today has been way too lazy on my part. I have 3 tests this week and 1 test a week from tomorrow. I've done next to no studying. I just still feel like crap. I have NO motivation to study at all. Nick keeps telling me to grab my stuff and just leave to go somewhere else to study and I might have to. He's watching the kids downstairs right now so I can study...and what am I doing?? Updating the 2 people who actually read this on what's going on in my life!

Well I better get back to studying, but will try to upload our new pictures from this year so far and post those this week.

Finals Week

So it's the end of another semester...I feel like I've been in school forever. Well I guess I kind of have. But there is an end in sight. If all goes well (KNOCK ON WOOD!) I graduate nursing school ONE YEAR FROM TOMORROW!

I had a final today (got an 81% on the final and a 91% in the class) and one more tomorrow (have NO idea what I'm getting in the class, but it better be an A) and then I'm done until all hell breaks loose on January 17th.

I'm so ready to be done and still loving every minute of school at the same time. Does that make sense?? I already know that I won't stop at my RN. I'll have to go back. I'll either go back for my nurse practitioner masters or a nurse anesthetist masters. One or the other. I just have to keep learning! :)

But for now, I'll be excited to get my BSN, RN.

One more year! :)

HOTY

That stands for "Housewife Of The Year" and if there was an award, I'd get nominated today. :)

WHAT A DAY!

I felt like I didn't sit at all. From the moment I got up with the Bananabelles, I was working until I just put the kids to bed.

Today I cleaned the whole house, did 5 loads of laundry, did the grocery shopping, cleaned out the fridge, freezer and pantry, reorganized the pantry, made baby food for Annabelle (carrots, sweet potatoes, green beans, peas, blueberries, peaches and raspberries), and took care of Annabelle all day and Dom part of the day (he went to Ms. Stella's for part of the day), packed up the kids and as soon as Nick walked in the door, we went downtown to get our race packets for Sunday, and there has to be more, I swear. I literally didn't sit (except to feed Annabelle her bottles or to fold laundry).

I feel accomplished!

However, this does mean I didn't sit all day when I have the week from Hell ahead of me, which was kinda silly to be honest. Here's my schedule for the upcoming week: Work a 12 tomorrow, 1/2 marathon on Sunday, school Monday morning-early afternoon, work a 12 that night, work a 12 Tuesday night straight to school Wednesday morning-early afternoon, school Thursday afternoon and a 12 Thursday night...

But then I'm off next Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday! :)

Until then, I better make sure my work clothes are clean and get to bed! I have quite the weekend ahead of me.

PS - GO CARDS!

Night Shift

So I had another 12 hour night shift last night and I have to admit - I love working nights! Of course I miss the kids bed time and sleeping when it's dark but I really like nights. And getting the bed all to myself the next morning is kind of nice too. :)

More about this later. Just had to get a quick post in so I didn't miss an every other day post. That's my goal for August and I can't fail this early!

Back

My goal this month is to blog at least every other day. Or every day if I can.

I don't have much to report, but I'll tell you about my wonderful kids.

Dom is doing great. He's so smart and so funny. This morning when I brought him to Ms. Stella's, I was wearing glasses. He looked at my with a funny look when he got out of the car and I asked him, "Why are you looking at me funny?" and he replied, "Not looking at YOU Momma. I'm looking at your glasses!". I laughed and said, "Are my glasses ok?" and he said, "Yes. I think I like them.". What a goof!

He's HUGE! Almost 42" tall and running around like crazy. He plays great by himself and has a crazy imagination. He LOVES his sissy more than anything in the world and if she cries, he runs straight over to her to make it all better.

We are so lucky to have him.

Annabelle is perfect too. She's getting to be at such a fun age. She's smiling and laughing and putting EVERYTHING in her mouth. She is such a happy baby and we are shocked by that. We thought Dom was our good baby and that our next one was bound to have colic or something. Nope. She's just perfect!

Nick and I have been stressed a lot lately with money. I don't make much at the hospital and I'm going to school and everything. But we'll be ok. We just have to make it another year and a half. We've been cutting a lot of things out (like cutting back on cable and not eating out EVER) and we'll be fine. Just one day at a time.

I'm really enjoying working at the hospital and can't wait until May when I'll know enough and move from a unit secretary to a student nurse tech! Then I'll be able to get vitals and do actual medical stuff like that! That's not too far away!

Until then, I'll just keep working, studying and clipping coupons! :)

Orientation

I had my first day of orientation at my new job today. :) I started at Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. I won't go in to any details about what I learned today (partly because I can't and partly because it would just bore you I'm sure) but I will tell you this:

I'm totally PSYCHED to be working there! I can't wait to get started officially and learn and do more!

I continue with a half day of orientation tomorrow and then I'll be done with hospital orientation and on to my department orientation. YAY! I can't wait!

New Jobs

Has it really been that long since I've blogged??

I guess it has. I have two blog posts written on paper that I wrote during Jury Duty and they just never made it to the computer and they are in my briefcase downstairs...I'll have to remedy that one of these days. But not tonight. This post is about my new jobs.

Yes, I said jobS.

I officially have accepted a job at Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. I will be the Unit Secretary in the Antepartum unit. I'm not gonna lie, when they first offered me this position, I had no idea what antepartum was. I was just thinking of post partum and they're obviously not the same thing. But then when I got to my final interview, they gave me tours and I realized what I'd be doing and I'm thrilled. It's the unit of the hospital where women are admitted if they are hospitalized while still pregnant. Like if they are put on mandatory bed rest and must stay in the hospital for it.

The antepartum unit is literally right next to Labor and Delivery and the Pregnancy Assessment Center. I get to work in all three units to a certain extent (like if they need extra help or something). I'll be doing a lot of secretarial work but a lot of that will be directly with the patient. I'm really excited to get to be working so closely with the patients. I have my drug screening this Friday and then my Employee Sign up on Monday and then my orientation begins on July 5th. I'm so excited and can't wait to begin!

My second job is working at a company called E&B Granite Inc. My cousin works there and got me a position doing sales. They obviously sell granite but also have cabinets, flooring, hardware etc. I've been training all week there.

Monday I worked in the shop and learned how much goes into cutting granite for a kitchen. I used to think that you just cut it and install it. WRONG! A lot goes into it and that's part of the reason the price is higher than other countertops. And if you are getting granite for a really cheap price, they are probably cutting corners somewhere that you don't want cut. To do it right, a lot goes into it and it's worth it. I learned about scanning templates into the machine to cut the pieces. I learned about cutting and reinforcing sink holes. I learned about polishing and creating edges. I learned about slab layouts and determining what looks best. I learned how to make beautiful, thin seams. I learned a LOT.

Tuesday I went out on a few installs and saw how they physically install it into a kitchen. I went to two installs and it's beautiful. I got to see how they make the razor thin seams with a special machine. I got to see how sinks were installed. I got to see a whole room completely transform with the addition of beautiful granite.

Today I did two things. I went on a few sales calls, which was scary but a very good experience for me. I also got to go to the slab yard and see all the different slabs of granite we sell. They are so gorgeous that I want to cut a few of them into 16X20 foot pieces and hang them on my wall as art work. No joke. After that, I got to go out and do a template, or measure. I got to see exactly what has to be done to measure a kitchen perfectly. It was a lot of work but now we know that kitchen will be perfect.

Tomorrow will be more sales calls and I'm excited. I can't wait to present myself and hopefully get a few customers. :)

I'm really happy right now. It's good to be out of the house again during the week and feels good to be productive. I'm hoping to keep all this up until school starts on January 17th!

Oh and if you know anyone in the market for some granite in the St. Louis area, please leave me a comment and I'll email you! We have amazing prices and only a 7 day turn around from contract to completion. That's impressive!

Man, I love being back to work!

Work, or lack there of...

A lot has been going on in the work front for me and I'd like to blog about it.

First off, since December of 2006, I've worked at a company that my best friend is the VP of and his dad is the President of. It's been great. I've worked in a very casual environment and gained a lot of experience since I was the main person in the office. It was a stressful but good job for me. I loved working there.

I had Annabelle 3 weeks early and kind of threw them for a loop. They had to figure out where I was with all my work and take over. Luckily, just that week I had been writing everything out and tell them things to do. But still, I'm sure it was an adjustment for them. Just as it was an adjustment for me to have a baby early; before anything was really done at home for her.

Anyway, we came home and got into our routine and I sent an email to my boss asking if it was still ok that I start when Annabelle was 2 months old.

I requested started on May 11th.

They asked that I start back on a Monday. So they proposed May 16th. I said ok.

A few days before I was due back, they pushed my start date back to May 23rd. I was upset by this. I had already been off for over 2 months and was eager to get back to work.

I said ok, but if I didn't have a job by May 23rd, I had to look elsewhere.

In the meantime, I started really considering nursing school again. I had been taking classes at night and had already applied to start nursing school. But I was using that as a back up plan. In case the economy hit hard and my company didn't survive or something. I wasn't planning on HAVING to use that back up plan.

On May 20th, I got an email saying that my start date was pushed back again to June 1st and that there were going to be changes made around the office.

I also got a phone call from Barnes College of Nursing that I could start nursing school in January 2012 instead of May 2012.

Nick and I talked. We decided that nursing was the best way to go. I didn't want to come back to work for 7 months and then leave them hanging, just like I did when I had my baby 3 weeks early. So I made the ultimate decision. To leave my former job.

I tried to do it in a professional manner. I sent my letter of resignation along with my thanks to the VP and President. And I am thankful. For everything that they have done. But this is what is best for me and my family right now.

I've been applying to jobs at all the hospitals around town. I've been applying to colleges too. I went on an interview at Wash U but haven't heard anything back yet.

Today I got an email from Barnes hospital that they think they have an opening for me. I'm ecstatic. I hope they do. I'm calling tomorrow to discuss it with them.

This is hard. I didn't want to leave my last job, but I think I'm doing the right thing. I didn't want to leave them in January and right now they've been handling everything on their own without me for almost 3 months. Hopefully this is as smooth a transition as it could be for them.

I'm really nervous about nursing school now. It was an idea, a dream, a back up plan and now it's my reality. I'm going to nursing school. I'm going to be a nurse. The idea both thrills me and terrifies me at the same time. I know school will be tough. Especially with two young children. But I'm very excited. I think I'll be an excellent nurse. And I can't wait for the opportunity.

Wish me luck on my call tomorrow. Hopefully this is a job and it gets my foot in the door at a great hospital!

Again, a thanks to Mike, my BFF, for everything he's done for me since late 2006. He's been an amazing friend and boss and I hope he is still my BFF forever. Love ya Mike!