Merry Christmas!

It's hard to believe that today is Christmas Eve! We got about 3-4" of snow overnight and it's still snowing! I love snow at Christmastime. I remember growing up many years where we were hoping to have snow for Christmas.
Last year, we were bombarded by a snowstorm that thwarted our plans. Hopefully it will cooperate tomorrow!

I did it! I graduated last week! I'll get my diploma in around 6 weeks. Many of my classmates walked across the stage as well. What an exciting time! I've been off school a week already and am keeping busy! I've enjoying the time away from the books, let me tell you! I've done laundy, cleaned bedrooms, cleaned the carpets, read two books and am looking forward to more relaxing!

I went up to my parents this past Tuesday and did some baking with my mom. My friend Melissa dropped in as well. SHe's home from Kuwait for Christmas so it was great to see her and have her help! It wasn't as large a baking year as usual, but we accomplished a lot and had fun.

Merry Christmas to all!

Here is our Christmas letter:

In January, I started my first semester of the LPN program at the DMACC campus in Boone. Now, 11 months later, I am set to graduate with my LPN on 16 December! What a great time I’ve had. I’ve learned so much, enjoyed my clinical rotations and have met some great new people! By this time next year, I will be completing the coursework for my RN!

Isaac started full-time daycare in January, as well. The transition seemed to go well and we switched daycare centers in mid-February. His new program has a preschool curriculum built in and he’s learning so much! He loves his friends and asks to go every day.

In May, we made the decision to put our house in Boone up for sale and downsize. We felt it was a good time to do it as I was done with the semester and had time to get it done. We packed up our house, rented a moving truck and moved to Ogden. It’s a much smaller place, but much easier on upkeep! Technically, our house never went “up for sale” as our neighbor’s daughter was interested. On my birthday in July, we got the call that her mortgage went through and we’d close in August! What an answer to prayer.

Isaac celebrated his 4^th birthday this year! He received a bike for his birthday and has already worn out the training wheels! He rode it every day for hours at a time! He knows most of the people and kids in our neighborhood-and they know him!  Isaac also had his first “sleepover” at our friend Jessica’s house. Isaac had a great weekend swimming and playing while mom and dad finished up at the Boone house.

Other than riding his bike, Isaac still loves Thomas the Train, riding his John Deere tractor, Curious George and going to the library. We purchased a boat in late July and spent many weekends down at Saylorville Lake as a family. Isaac absolutely loves boating! He always wanted to go swimming, no matter the temperature. We’re looking forward to late spring already so we can get back out on the water.

Mark is still busy with work and the National Guard. He is also a part-time student at DMACC, as well. With a much smaller home and no yard work, he has time to relax now!

We wish you and yours the best for 2011! Much love to you all! 

5 days, 2 finals and an exit exam....

Yup. It's true.
In 5 days, I will have completed my LPN year. SO EXCITED.
I have 2 tests left: one Monday morning and the other Thursday morning. Thursday afternoon, I have the LPN exit exam. Graduation is Thursday night!

One class if completed already. I have to make up one clinical day because I didn't go yesterday. Isaac was pretty much up all night Thursday so I didn't want to be caring for patients on 1-2 hours of sleep.

It's a cold, blustery day here. We woke up to a trace amount of snow on the ground. Now the wind has picked up. The weathermen were saying 4-6" of snow for our area, but unless it's coming later, they are wrong.

Stay warm!

2 weeks! Happy Belated Thanksgiving!

December 16.
December 16.
That is the day that I am FINISHED with my LPN year of nursing school! WOW! It's 18 days away!

I have a lot to get done between now and then. Today, I just finished a massive paper, along with submitting 3 online assignments. Glad to get all those out of the way!

We're getting pretty excited in class, although our stress levels are through the roof right now! SO CLOSE!

Thanksgiving break was good. We had a total of 6 days off, since we did not have our Wednesday class and we never have class on Mondays! What a much needed break! Wednesday, Isaac and I hung out. Thursday,we stayed home due to Wed's weather. I cleaned house and did laundry. That night, I headed to Ankeny to be ready to Black Friday shop with my sister.

We went to Jordan Creek Mall at Midnight. MIDNIGHT! It was crazy busy, but fun. I'd never go out at midnight again but now i can say I have. We shopped and shopped. We were back to her place by 0630 and sleeping by 7! It was pure craziness on our part!

The weather keeps flip-flopping so you never know what's happening. It was 53* yesterday, 49* today and supposed to be 30* tomorrow. Crazy Iowa weather!

Got our Christmas tree up and decorated. Isaac is pretty excited! He also got a little tree for his room and is enjoying that too!

Wish me luck (and sleep!) these next couple weeks! Lots to do!

4ish weeks!?!

I can't believe that it's almost time for LPN graduation! Hard to believe! We have 3 weeks left of clinical with about 4 weeks left of classwork. Whew! This next month is going to be BUSY!

Classes are going well. I'm doing well in my coursework, which is a relief. This semester, the grading is a bit higher, as you have to maintain an 80%, rather than 78%, to pass. We have a test of somekind on 16 December that is sort of a pre-cursor to boards and is a good indication of how you will do on your boards. What a way to head into Christmas break!

I've enjoyed my clinical rotations for the most part. I've done pediatrics and OB at Mary Greeley in Ames, spent some time at Boone County hospital and one of the nursing homes there. This past week, my group is back at Mary Greeley to finish out the semester. What a diverse group of patients/clients I've had! I've learned lots of new things and seen things I've never seen before.

Around the homefront, things are going ok. Last weekend, both my guys were sick. Mark was first. Sunday afternoon, Isaac went to lay down since he felt tired after riding his bike and playing outside in the morning. By about 1230, he was throwing up in his bed. So not fun! That continued with even the smallest sips of water. Later, the diarrhea kicked in and by about 5-6 pm, we were getting worried about dehydration. After a call to First Nurse, we headed to Ames to the ER. They gave him some meds, which allowed him to keep Pedialyte down and prevent an IV for fluids. Very relieved! He stayed home 2/5 days last week since he wasn't feeling so hot.

Northern Iowa saw snow yesterday, but we only had some rain, high winds and an occasional snowflake.  I'm not looking forward to winter and the snow.

Today, I'm baking and putting stuff in the freezer. 3 loaves of banana bread at this time, contemplating chocolate chip cookies and peanut butter cookies. We shall see.

Isaac had a good Halloween. He actually dressed up and wore his costume (Black Spiderman) to go trick or treating this year. On the 30th, we walked all over town here for 2 hours. He got gobs and gobs of candy. As we were walking, "Mom, my legs are tired" LOL It was fun. Sunday night, we headed to Boone. My intent was to hit some friends houses and then come home. Well, we spent 2 hours in Boone too! More candy and quite the tired boy. He literally fell into bed that night.

Isn't it hard to believe that Christmas is now less than 6 weeks away? Where has 2010 gone?  Crazy! We need to get through Thanksgiving first. I have 6 days off, due to the schedule! Awesome! DMACC is closing early on the Wednesday before, so rather than have 1 1/2 hours of a 3 hour theory class, there is no class! Obviously no class Thursday or Friday, but Mondays are my usual day off. 6 days! YAY!

chug, chug, chug..

Another school week is underway, another test finished. Today's test got the last "first test" out of the way for my 3rd class. Glad it's done.

Center Grove Orchard was a blast! Isaac seemed to love every second of it and there was lots to see and do! My sister took the pictures, since my camera somehow grew legs and walked away. Hopefully, pictures soon!

The weather has been gorgeous! 80's in October is something I can live with!

Isaac's new "pet" is a praying mantis that my friend Sara caught yesterday. He took it to school today and was a pretty popular boy in his class! We (I mean, I!) caught 2 grasshoppers for it this afternoon. It had a light snack of the bigger one and at last check, the smaller hopper was still alive. We'll see by morning what's happening!

Isaac and I were discussing milk the other day. I asked him where white milk came from. He told me cows. Great! "Isaac, where does chocolate milk come from?", I asked. "The grocery store!" was his enthusiastic reply. I sure do love my boy!!

fall! Pumpkins! School!

Life is just plucking right along here at home. Got some more school cranked out, including the first 2 tests of the semester back to back the last week in September. Ugh. That was a horrible week full of stress.  But, I got through them both, passed them both and am moving on.

I finished up my OB clinical a couple weeks ago. Oh my goodness, I loved it. I wasn't sure if I would but I really enjoyed interacting with the new families and of course the babies! I got to witness one mom get an epidural and then they were my patients the next day. I learned how to swaddle a baby...only 4 years too late! LOL

Now we are at Boone County hospital. It's a skilled floor. We had our first week (2 days) just yesterday and Thursday. It's such a different facility than what I worked on in Ames. It was different and very, very busy! I guess we got lazy this time around in Ames since we didn't do a whole lot. I left the 2 days very stiff and sore! Next week, I get to spend a day in same-day surgery! Excited for that!

A few weeks ago, Isaac and I went to ride Thomas the Train. Much the same as last year, but by going on Friday, I saved like $6. He loved it of course.  It was a reward for having a good week at preschool and doing well going to bed/staying in bed all night for the week.

Last weekend, Isaac and I met my mom at the apple orchard up in Fort Dodge. We got to go on a hayride, sample apples, he played games and picked out a pumpkin. Lots of fun! He had a good time and luckily, it was about 30 degrees warmer than last year when we went!

I can't believe this is really fall! The high today was 88*! Craziness! I worked on a paper for school and spent most of the day inside at the desk. Around 4 though, Isaac and I walked up to the post office. I needed to do some stretching and moving around. I sure felt a lot better afterwards! Got my paper finished up after supper. Tomorrow it's supposed to be warm again! Maybe we'll continue this weather trend until March?? :)

Tomorrow, Isaac, my sister and I are heading to Center Grove Orchard. I've heard lots of good things about it and am really looking forward to it.

Isaac has started going to bed much better at night! Hooray! I put together a "treasure box" that he gets to choose something from in the morning if he's good at bedtime. It's just little trinkets like stickers or stuff from the dollar bin at Target, but it's working!!

I'm keeping busy with school, Isaac, keeping up around the house and trying to fit in a little bit of reading. I didn't quite make my summer reading goal of 25 books by the time school started, but I did make it to 23!

week 4

Week 4 of term 2 is underway! It's going so quickly!

I started my clinical rotation at the pediatric unit at Mary Greeley in Ames. That's already finished and my group moves on to OB this week! Excited for it, more than I thought I'd be! I liked peds, but unfortunately not as much as I'd hoped.
We found out last week we get to scrub in for a surgery during one of our clinical days so I'm looking forward to that!

I think we're still adjusting to this new school schedule. Isaac is thinking anywhere from 3 AM on is a good time to get up. Mom and dad sure don't think so! Bedtimes seem to be getting a little better, thanks in part to his sticker rewards. If he goes to bed with no fuss, he gets a sticker in the morning. If he stays in his bed all night, a sticker. If he gets dressed by himself in the morning, another sticker. He loves putting them on his shirt and showing his friends at school.

Ike bumped up to the 4 year old classroom at his daycare last week. He missed his friends and seems to have adjusted quite well to the new classroom, teachers and routine. I think he misses his old teachers though, as he told me today he got a hug from one of his old teachers.

He's found new friends in our neighborhood and is quickly becoming known to everyone else. Seems everyone knows Isaac! He loves riding his bike (with wagon attached) between our driveway, our neighbors and to the 2 houses across the street. He's getting very good at remembering to look both ways before going.

I couldn't ask for a better group of classmates! They are all so encouraging and are always willing to lend an ear or help out with assignments. We're a class of 15 (down from 23) so we are pretty close. We help drag each other along!

Pufferbilly Days was this past weekend. Mark had drill so Isaac and I went to the parade with "Grandma Joyce" and her 2 daughters and 4 grandkids. It was a shorter than usual parade this year, but Isaac still had fun. We went out the fairgrounds and rode the rides. Isaac, being fearless, wanted to go on everything including the Sizzler and the ride I call the flying bathtubs. He did all the kiddy rides and got mom on bathtub thing. It spun around high in the air and you could spin your tub. He loved it. Mom...not so much. I'm just too old for those things! I was so nauseous afterwards! Ugh.

Ended up with bronchitis last week. Bleh. Seems I can't stay healthy lately. I'm hoping it's not an indication of the winter...

school's in session

I've had one class day and one clinical day so far. Both were all right.  I was most excited to see my classmates again!

It's going to be a busy, busy semester. Only 11 credit hours, but they will be full. 2 days of clinical each week (Thursday 7-3 and Friday 7-1230). Class Tuesday and Wednesday.

Not much else to report on the school front, as it just started.

Isaac is loving having a neighbor boy next door to play with. They play a lot and they play HARD! Saturday night, Isaac was in bed before 8 because he was just wiped out. We had been on the lake briefly, after picking up the boat at Bass Pro then he spent about 3 1/2-4 hours riding bikes, playing in the sprinkler and just running around with the neighbor boy. Too bad it didn't happen again Sunday night or tonight!

We checked out a church here in Ogden yesterday. It was a great little place and we'll probably go back. Isaac was singing a song yesterday afternoon that he learned in church that morning!

Hard to believe Labor Day weekend is this coming weekend. Summer flew by and before you know it, we'll be seeing the snowflakes fall!

Summer is flying by!

I'm still alive!

July was a busy month! Isaac turned 4, I had a birthday, we had a birthday party and miscellaneous other stuff happened.

Our house is sold! We close at the end of the month! That was awesome news-came on my birthday!

We purchased a boat this last week. We've already been out 3 times and have had a blast! I even drove it. Can't wait until next summer when we can be out more in it!

Only a few weeks left until school starts. I'm ready, but I'm not.

July 3rd already?

Wow! Where has the summer gone? I can't believe tomorrow is already the 4th of July then on Monday, Isaac turns 4!

Nothing much happening around here. Cleaning, organizing, reading books (11 so far in about a month, with a goal of at least 25 by the time the fall semester starts), seeing family, trying to stay cool...

Today would have been my Great-Aunt Edna's 100th birthday. She favored my sister, but I still miss her. She passed away in 1993 or 1994. I can't remember any more. My sister and I were just talking about her old house the other day. That place held a lot of memories for us!

Highway 30 is closed due to flooding of the Des Moines River. They aren't expecting to open it until 7 July at the earliest. It's been closed since last Monday. It's a big bummer to have to drive around, adds time onto any trip east from here.

Yesterday, Isaac and I went over to Ames to Fire Station #2 for story time and a tour. Needless to say, he LOVED it. He loved walking by the fire station in Boone and always requested to drive by.

It's been warming up lately so Isaac has been playing a lot in the sprinkler and we've been to the Humboldt pool once while we were up visiting grandma and grandpa. Hoping to get to the Boone pool soon as well as try out the new aquatic center in Ames.

He stays home with me one day/week from daycare. We have to pay whether he's there or not this summer (or we lose our spot) so we have opted to send him so he can keep learning! So far, we've been to Humboldt, spent some time with Aunt Kate in Ames and this next week, I'm thinking we'll maybe head to Don Williams park, which isn't to far from here.
He's been doing great at the daycare so we've been so pleased with that! He can now spell his name and we are working on writing at least his name. We've taught him what town he lives in and he know what street, although it's mispronounced.

Happy 4th of July!

settled

I think we're settled :) I was organizing in the garage today and hopefully, by the end of the week my bedroom will be put all the way back together!

We may have a potential buyer for our house already! Pray that she'll like our house and decide it's just what she needs. We haven't even listed it yet, as the painting is still continuing. 


We've had lots of rain lately. It sure gets old fast. Isaac tends to be a bit afraid of the thunder and lightening so we're dealing with that.

The cats have adjusted. Dazey and Jesse normally go out for a few minutes every day and apparently, that was all it took to make Jesse a happy kitty!

It's 2 weeks until Isaac's 4th birthday. I'm in birthday mode, planning a party and treats for his daycare/preschool class and his party here. Toy Story theme! It'll be fun!

I've been a reading fool, as I've read 8 books in about 10 days.  That makes for 9 since school has been out. I've made 3 trips to the Boone library to get books! We've visited the library here and Isaac likes it. It's smaller than Boone's, but that is ok! They still have a train table and puzzles to play with, so it's all good! My goal is to read 25 books by the time I go back to school in August. 

That's all the news from here! 

Moved.

We have moved and I'm glad that it's over, for the most part! We still have the basement to clean out, but that will come shortly!

It was crazy! I got a nasty case of strep throat 3 days before we moved. It was ugly. So, I lost one packing day to a 101* fever and the ickies that come with strep.

We hired a moving company to move the big stuff and are so happy we did! They were polite, courteous, on-time and nothing was broken. They were very friendly too.

Isaac spent the day with a friend of ours, his "Gramma Joyce". It was a relief to have him out from under foot, as we weren't sure how he'd react to seeing everything come out of the house. Before he came to Ogden that day, his room was set up and waiting for him. He didn't seem too concerned, but bedtime has been a struggle ever since we moved. i'm hoping it will wear off soon!

I had most of our stuff put away by Tuesday of last week. (well, the stuff that was here anyway). I'm still actually bringing "my kitchen" over from Boone. The house is getting painted so I'm trying to stay out of their way, although they should finish up this week. We have a few more things to get finished then the sign will be in the yard.

Isaac likes the backyard. It kinda has some boundaries so he knows where he can play. I got him a little chair and he likes to sit back there watching the cars go by on Highway 30 and having a snack. We'll get his sandbox over here soon.

I especially like that my washing machine and dryer are handy! I mean, no more dragging laundry up and down the stairs-gotta love that! Makes me more motivated to get it washed, dried and put away!

Ogden is a pretty small, friendly town. We visited the library the other day and they were very friendly. Isaac enjoyed it-they have a Thomas train table here too, just like in Boone. the grocery store is pretty small, so I anticipate doing most of my grocery shopping in Boone or Ames. We ended up getting a post office box so that will be a nice walk and/or bike ride to get the mail. (at least when it's not raining!)

My cats seemed to adjust ok. We left them at the house overnight the day we moved and brought them here Sunday. They spent that first day mostly under our bed. They quickly discovered hiding places and love the screen door!

I think everyone is getting pretty tired of all this rain lately. It makes Isaac crazy that he can't play outside and makes me crazy that he's going crazy!

3 weeks from today, Isaac turns 4! He wants a "Buzz Lightyear" birthday party so that's what we will have.  I think we're going to head to the zoo on his birthday and the Friday before, they are having a special story time at one of the fire stations in Ames so I think we'll head to that because he loves fire trucks and always wants to go by the fire department.

busy. tired. busy. tired

I'm keeping busy cleaning, purging, packing, throwing out, watering the lawn. My list seems to keep getting bigger, rather than smaller!

I got my plants planted on Tuesday (thanks Mom!). I've been dragging my hose and sprinkler all over my backyard to water the grass patch stuff.

I've taken 2 carloads of stuff to Goodwill. I've packed up a bunch. I had 2 garbage cans overflowing on trash day.  I've been busy!

Isaac has been sleeping erratically lately. The last 2 days, he was up at 3 to be changed. Yesterday, he slept until 8. The day before, was 7. He crawled in bed with me and was back asleep instantly for another 45 minutes!  Today: 5:30.  I'm tired because I'm working my tail off during the day and then staying up to late at night.

Been selling stuff on Craigslist. Trying to save myself a trip to the consignment store if I can!

The contractor that is working on our bathroom has been here today. It will be nice to get that project done.

It's cooler today than it has been the last few days. I hope we get the rain they are talking about. It's pretty windy, so maybe it will blow the rain our way. I am tired of watering!

Looking forward to Mark getting home tomorrow!

the week in review

Last Sunday, my sister, Isaac and I went north to join my parents for dinner then headed to their place. The 3 of us stayed in a hotel, which was Isaac's first experience. Needless to say, none of us got much sleep that night.
Monday, we went to our parents to begin cleaning/throwing out. Isaac was really well behaved, considering he didn't get much sleep. We found my brothers old tractors and that kept him occupied for quite a while.
Isaac and I went home Monday night, only for me to return on Tuesday while Isaac was at preschool. We got rid of a lot more stuff and loaded up the back of my car with stuff to donate to the Free Store (www.freestore.org). They run a warehouse with donated items for victims of domestic violence. They were happy for our donation!
Wednesday, I cleaned my office here at home. Lots of work!
Thursday, I worked in the living room.
Friday, I got to see Mark for a bit. He flew into town for about an hour so I ran out to work to see him.

Getting a house ready to sell is a lot of work! We have a contractor coming soon to finish our downstairs bathroom. I'm purging/cleaning/throwing out. It's amazing how much stuff we can accumulate!
3 weeks from today, the majority of our stuff is being moved. We're renting a townhouse.
We decided to sell our house for many reasons, the biggest being that within about 5 years, we want to get out of Iowa. Another reason is with me in school full time, Mark working full time and everything else we have going on, it's hard to keep up on maintenance, regular household tasks and try to stay on top of homework. The place we renting is about the size of our current downstairs, all on one level with a 2 car garage. Less space=less mess (I hope)

Finally got to work outside a bit the last couple days. I bought some plants for the backyard as well as some grass patch stuff, as I got a little zealous with weed killer and ended up killing big patches of our lawn. OOPS!

Isaac was awake at 4:30 today, after sleeping until 8 Thursday and 7 yesterday. I have a feeling it will be a long day, but I'm thinking long naps for both of us are in order today. We have to head to Mark's cousin's graduation party tonight and I teach at church tomorrow so we have a couple busy days ahead.

Next week, I'll continue with what I've been working on at home, except my cat Dazey has a vet appointment Monday and Isaac has a dentist appointment on Thursday.

Happy new week!

Happy Mama's Day!

This is my 5th Mother's Day! Technically, the 4th with Isaac physically here, but I was his mama when he was in utero, right?!


It's amazing what I've learned the last few years. 
I was a first time parent, with a husband that was halfway around the world for the first 14 months of our son's life. I learned that I am stronger than I know, have more independence in me than I thought and am capable of raising a healthy boy, keeping our home together and realized that I CAN DO WHATEVER I PUT MY MIND TO!


My house may not always be the most tidy, our meals may sometimes consist of grilled cheese 2x/week, the laundry may not always be folded, but my boy knows he is loved! He's loved more than he knows. It makes me laugh when Mark tells him he loves him. "I know Dad" is the answer in return. How awesome for Isaac to know! I never get tired of telling him that I love him.


The days where Isaac won't listen, he's been disciplined many times, instances of grinding crackers into the carpet...one day, I'll look back and be glad for these days, as they are so short and fleeting.


He'll be 4 in less than 2 short months. Where has the time gone? Where has my baby gone? He's learning to be a "big boy" and getting to be so independent, but that's what we moms want for our children, right?

Happy Mother's Day!  

Term 1:Complete!

YES! It's official. My semester ended on 5 May. I was relieved to take the test, have my clinical eval and walk out of DMACC free for the summer! It was a good semester, busy, crazy, fun, stressful. I met some awesome new people and we've all gotten to be pretty good friends, I think.

I'm excited for the fall term, but glad to have the summer off! Some of my classmates have classes to take, like Speech or Microbiology. Sorry for you girls! I'm actually finished with all the non-nursing coursework, which is an awesome feeling. Next term is 3 classes and 2 days of clinical.

My sister graduated from ISU yesterday! They sure do the ceremony differently than when I graduated from there in 2002! It was great to see all those people graduating and I know Kathryn is excited to be done. Isaac and I are heading to her place today for a celebration BBQ. Isaac is excited to see Kate, Grandma, and his cousins "Big" Jacob and Michael. I wish it were warmer though. Hard to want to be outside when it's only 50*!

Our downstairs bathroom is going to be completed soon! We finally got a contractor in and he'll finish it up. Can't wait for it to be finished. Isaac doesn't yet understand that he needs to go upstairs to go to the bathroom. Sure, he could use the one down here, but there is a hole in the floor, drywall everywhere and pretty much torn up.

Isaac has decided that wake up time is "the earlier the better". The last day of my clinical, he was up at 3 AM. He thought he should get up and have breakfast, watch a movie, etc. We've had some 4 AM, 5 AM, 6 AM wake ups too. Yesterday, it was 7:30, but that's only because he was up at 3:30. Took a lot of convincing to get him back to bed. Today, 6:30. *sigh*

Isaac is really coming along with his letters and numbers. We can tell a huge difference from when he started at Childcare Junction back at the end of February. Every day, he has a new "best friend", stemming from who he saw walking in at the same time with him. He loves it when dad drops him off and even better, picks him up!

Lots of plans for this summer, the least of which is having fun! I'm hoping to go to Adventureland at least once, the zoo a few times, maybe head to Omaha to the Henry Doorley Zoo and of course, swimming!

We'll be heading up north tomorrow for Mother's Day. Kat is going with us up to my parents. We're taking our parents out to dinner and then spending Monday/Tuesday cleaning/throwing out/organizing. Their house needs it badly and we have the time. I guess that's their Mother's Day, Father's Day, anniversary and birthday gifts all rolled into one!

my boy

sunny skies and spring!

Spring has finally arrived! YAY! We've had a couple of 80* days last week, along with some t-storms. It's so uplifting to see sunshine, flowers, and green grass! No more snow!

Have had 2 clinical days now. The first one was rough-mainly because we were still learning the charting system, our way around the floor, the meds, etc. Last week went better and I felt more comfortable. My two patients were complete opposites, so they were very different experiences each week. Still enjoying it but have my eye on the end of the semester! (5 weeks!)

Celebrated Easter with Mark's family yesterday. And actually, Christmas too! It was a good day and Isaac behaved pretty well, for the most part.

He's still LOVING preschool/daycare. He's learning so much, he blows me away. He's decided lately though to get up at random times: 3:30 AM, 4:30, 5:15, etc. Hard to get him back to bed after that so last week was LONG and tiring. Last night, he was in bed by 730 (meaning dad and mom were downstairs) and slept straight through until about 6:30! YAY! Easter Sunday he woke up at 7:30, but only after getting up at 3:30 for a while.

Isaac was pretty happy with Easter Basket. He got a new Curious George movie, some candy, some rubber bugs, sunglasses, a new raincoat, bubbles, and coins in his eggs. Even though it's not raining, he had to wear the new raincoat to school today to show his friends. We went to the town Easter egg hunt Saturday morning and he had lots of fun.

Now onto homework...this was my way of procrastinating for a little bit! :)

Spring Break

We got Isaac's trike out the other day! We didn't go far because it was windy, but was nice to be outside for a bit! 

SPRING BREAK! It seemed as if we would never get here! I was so ready for break when it came!
Today is Wednesday, so it's day 3.
Monday-I cleaned my bedroom, folded laundry, put laundry away, sorted stuff for Goodwill. Amazing how good you feel when you sleep in a CLEAN CLEAN bedroom!
Tuesday, my mom, sister, Isaac and I went to the Science Center in Des Moines. Isaac seemed to enjoy it. I've been there before and I must say that it doesn't excite me, but wanted to do something for Isaac.
Today, I've cleaned both bathrooms, including the floors. I got a Shark Steam Floor cleaning thing and LOVE IT! You can use it on wood and linoleum. Which is excellent, since the bedrooms are wood, the bathroom and kitchen are linoleum. Makes the floor super clean!

The sun is shining brightly! I Have a few windows open, although it's only 54*. Mark jokes that I open windows when it's above freezing. I try to wait until it hits at least 50*.

Had orientation for clinical last week. Went well, no patient contact. Just learned their computer system, drug dispensing system and where to find stuff. I'm excited for next week because we actually get to work with people! (Not so excited about being to Ames by 7 AM, though. )

One of these days we need to get out and pick up the branches and sticks that came down in the yard over the winter. All the snow is just about gone and in another month we can burn. I'm excited for spring!

This is on the way home from Ankeny. It's a field!Another field! 

1/2 way!

Wow! Last week, I finished up the first half of my first semester! I did well in both classes and was pretty pleased with my grades. We have now started our Nursing Practice class that coincides with the clinical (that I start TOMORROW!). It's going to be a pretty intense class, with classwork, outside stuff, clinical, etc. But next week is Spring Break!

It's been raining here the last 3-4 days. At least it's not snow! And we can see some spots of grass! Hopefully, spring will arrive soon and it will warm up!

Isaac continues to love his new preschool. Can't wait to go every day. They have been playing outside the last week or so (when the temps were warm enough) so he's totally loving that he gets to play in the snow!

It's my "day off" but I have a lot of stuff to accomplish: school work, laundry, cleaning up the house a bit, etc etc. You know, the stuff that gets neglected during the school week! I'm off and running!

Moving Forward!

I can't believe that I am about halfway through my first semester of the PN program! It's gone by fast, yet slow at times. Next week, we have a test in each class (2) and then a day off (we are going to go vent our frustrations by playing laser tag) and then start our Med-Surg class on Friday. This is the class that will coincide with our clinical. I'm excited for clinicals!  I'm pulling high B's in both classes so it really helps my confidence level!

It is an in-service day today for the college so I'm home. Working on the last little bit of homework, getting test guides put together, housework. Fun times!

Isaac started a new daycare/"preschool" this past Monday. He seems to love it and we are so glad! He's transitioned very well (and quickly!) and can't wait to go every day. There are new kids to play with, he gets to play on a computer, a sand table, and if it ever warms up again, they play outside (as the weather permits). It's nice that it's like 1 block from DMACC so he's really close by and I can pop in for lunch if I wanted!

We haven't had any snow for about 2 weeks now, although we were supposed to get some last weekend. I'm not complaining! It's been cold this week, but NO SNOW! Warmer temps on the way next week, but I hear there is a storm coming in for next weekend. Of course there is because I *might* have plans. Never fails!

Taken on Feb. 20, 2010. Isaac and I played outside for a little bit that day!

Nothing else really exciting happening around here! We're anxious for spring, warmer temps and Spring Break!

just sayin'...

I'm REALLY REALLY tired of the snow. And cold. And plain old winter in general.


More snow last week, more snow this past Saturday (because I had plans of course) into yesterday and more snow overnight! 
Local schools have had 10-11 snow days! Some districts around us are extending the school day, others are considering classes on Saturdays! 


My check off went well last week. I got 96/100 and my 4 points were pretty stupid mistakes. Grr. I'm pulling B's in both classes and am pretty excited for clinicals to start in about 3 weeks.


Spent Saturday afternoon down in Des Moines with some girls from high school. Did some shopping, had dinner, caught up. Then I drove home in snow, which is never fun. 40 mph on the Interstate! I was finally into Boone County before I could do 60 mph! That's unusual because normally Boone County is horrible about clearing the highway.


Today is a get everything caught up for school/at home day. Isaac is at day care, which allows me to do school work and other chores undisturbed. Pretty much caught up for the week for classes, except for practicing my med/eye check off tomorrow AM.


We signed Isaac up for soccer this spring. I hope he likes it and I think it'll be fun to watch a bunch of 3-4 year olds running around trying to play soccer! 

Week 4 going into Week 5

About a 1/4 of the semester is behind me already!

Things are going well. I'm enjoying my classes and enjoying getting to know the others in my class. With all the assessments we are learning, we will know each other pretty well in two years!

Tomorrow (Tuesday, hopefully?) is our first "check-off". We are going to be doing a head-toe assessment on our community partner. We need to attain 90% on all our check offs in order to pass the class. This is a big one, as it is literally head to toe. WIth the weather we are having today and into tomorrow, there is a possibility that it may be pushed back.

Yeah...weather. Snow yesterday was supposed to amount to half an inch. We got over 2". Today it's snowing and every weatherman has a different guess as to the amount. So, I'll just say we're supposed to get a lot (I'd say we have about 4-5" as of 1:30 CST) and then the winds are to pick up tonight and into tomorrow.
They are saying that we may beat the snow record from 1961/1962. I guess the amount then was 59". I would think this storm may put us near or over! I've lost track of all the snow, it's just gotten so old.

This was taken from our driveway on Christmas Day. (It was snowing then too!)

Today @ 1:30 PM CST

My feet were covered when I stepped out to take the photo. Brrrr.....

Here's hoping that spring comes quickly!

Week 3

Well, tomorrow marks the end of Week 3 for Semester 1 of the nursing program.
Week one was hectic and busy, although I was done by noon each day. The second week started the "regular' schedule, but we had a snow day and a delayed start the next so we didn't have a "full" week until this week.
Classes (2) are going ok. I already knew some of the girls in my class and am meeting new ones. We're a class of 23-24 women. Wide range of ages, backgrounds, family situations, etc.

I have class Tuesday-Friday, with every Monday off. I use that day to either catch up or get ahead with homework. Oh, and to run the errands I don't have time to do! Wednesdays I'm on campus until 4, Tuesdays until 3, Thursdays until noon and only until 11 on Fridays.

I'm excited for the upcoming weeks. We get to break out our really *cool* (cough, cough) blue nursing scrubs. We start clinicals mid-March and that is what I am most looking forward to.

Isaac is in daycare full time and it's been a bit of an adjustment for him. I think we're still figuring out schedules/time with mom and dad/weekends but it's getting better.

Sunday is our 7th wedding anniversary! WOW! It's hard to believe!

I've been oriented.

Well, nearly 2 months have passed since I've blogged.

*Had a major winter storm that closed schools and postponed my final presentation in Microbiology. Got a B.
*Had another storm right before Christmas, not allowing us to travel on Christmas Day. We stayed home and enjoyed our time together.
*Had my family over the day after Christmas for Christmas.
*Watched ISU win the Insight.com bowl on New Year's Eve. (Did not stay up until Midnight that night though-too tired).
*Went to Orientation for the nursing program that I start TOMORROW! I'm excited and nervous.
*Currently dealing with Isaac's coughing/breathing issues. Friday night, I was up about 3 1/2 hours with him, took him to doc Saturday morning and was told to continue the nebulizer treatments. He slept better last night (about 8 hours before I heard him coughing, 6 hours for me!)
*Excited to go see The Lion King next Sunday with my mom and sister!
*Did I mention the cold snap that we've been experiencing? It's cold, but a warmup is on the way! OH, and we had more snow this week!

Brownies in the oven from my new cookbook. Can't wait to try them!