An old song

I heard a song today while I was out and about and it brought back a lot of memories...and made me cry. It reminded me of Mark's deployment and how I felt being by myself, with him thousands of miles away.
The first time I heard this song, I remember thinking that it's exactly my thoughts and what a wife of a deployed solider goes through. I learned how to get through a lot of things alone during that 18 months.
I'd like to say that the deployment (while it sucked), helped me become more reliant upon myself. I was the one in charge of our home, finances, yard, cars, etc while Mark was gone. I am not afraid to admit that I was scared, lonely, sad and sometimes angry at the Army for making MY husband go to Iraq.

As our time as an Army family comes to a close, this song is for all the military families who are living through a deployment.  "Come home soon...."

"Come Home Soon" performed by SheDaisy
I put away the groceries
And I take my daily bread
I dream of your arms around me
As I tuck the kids in bed

I don't know what you're doin'
And I don't know where you are
But I look up at that great big sky
And I hope you're wishin' on that same
bright star

I wonder, I pray

And I sleep alone
I cry alone
And it's so hard livin' here on my own
So please, come home soon
(Come home soon)

I know that we're together
Even though we're far apart
And I'll wear our lucky penny 'round my neck
Pressed to my heart

I wonder, I pray

[Bridge:]
I still imagine your touch
It's beautiful missing something that much
But sometimes love needs a fighting chance
So I'll wait my turn until it's our turn to dance

I wonder, I pray

I sleep alone
I cry alone
Without you this house is not a home
So please, come home soon


I walk alone
I try alone
I'll wait for you, don't want to die alone
So please, come home soon

Come home soon
Come home soon

a dip in the pool

Friday, the 3rd, it was HOT!

So, I picked Isaac up from school and we went to the Boone Pool. It was the first time we've been there this summer (well, it only opened a week ago!) and he was excited!

I was too, since I like it to be really steamy outside if I'm going to the pool! The temps were high, the water was cold!

It was still pretty busy at 330 when we got there. He wanted to go in the "big boy" pool, rather than the smaller one. I told him that in the big pool he can't have his hippo (inner tube) and I wasn't going to hold onto him the whole time. It starts at 4', I believe. The smaller pool is 2'6" to around 3' so it's perfect.

I gave him his new pool toys-diving sticks and 2 little plastic squid that you can dive after. He had a blast doing that....for about 1 1/2 hours!

I soaked up some sun, waded with Isaac and just sat on the edge watching him. Oh, it was fantastic!

I am hoping to get to the pool at least three times this week since the forecast says it's supposed to hit the mid-90's!

Ike starts swim lessons at the Y tomorrow night. 4 nights/week for two weeks per session. We chose to go that route since the time works better with our schedules. I hope he does ok and listens to his instructor!

He loves to dive under, swim underwater, tries to backfloat and just in general loves the water.

I'll say this-I don't think he got any of those skills from either of his parents!

Memorial Day Weekend

Why does it seem like kids always get sick on the weekend and/or holidays??

This past Saturday night, Isaac woke up around 1230 crying and not acting right. He had told Mark that his (left) ear hurt. He was running a slight temp at that time.

With Isaac's history, we figured ear infection. He had a double ear infection about 1 1/2 months ago. Before that, it had been almost 1 1/2 YEARS since his last one!

I was actually thinking clearly enough to remember that Ames has an Urgent Care. So, we made plans to head there in the AM. Isaac slept in my bed with his dad and I slept in his.

We took him to Ames in the morning. Apparently, you have to have an appointment for Urgent care. So, we were there at 10, appointment at 1215. It was 10:10. So...we went to Target to kill some time. Then we went to Hickory Park for lunch and to kill more time.

Isaac looked like he did not feel well at all. He wouldn't eat (except for 4 cherries) and had some chocolate milk. Poor baby!

We got to the clinic around 10 minutes to noon and were out of there by 10 after 12! Just as we suspected: ear infection in BOTH ears. Isaac even told the doctor he had an ear infection. His temp was 101.4 at that time.

so, a 10 day course of Augementin and he's on the path to health.

He was disappointed that we didn't get to go the zoo on Sunday like we planned. But, he and I went on Monday then met up with my mom and sister for lunch.

Looking at him now, you would have never known!

SUMMER TIME!

It's summer time for me! Yay!
Classes have been done about 2 1/2 weeks now and it's been GREAT to have the time off.

The last semester was a tough one. I enjoyed it, but it was mentally and physically draining. Between clinicals in Des Moines for 5 weeks (I think), regular clinicals and classes, I was tired. Overall, I did well.

My skills class gave me a scare, as I hadn't done as well as I had hoped on the last exam. That grade brought my overall grade down to a 79, need 78 to pass. I had a HUGE comp skills exam to get through that was going to make or break my grade.
I was so nervous going into the comp skills that I walked out feeling I hadn't passed. Praise God that when grades posted I had done well enough to pass, not only the skils exam, but the class. God was with me!

Come August, I will be in my "5th" term of the program. That means GRADUATION in December! YAY! Sadly, a good friend of mine didn't pass a couple classes so she won't be continuing on with us. We'll miss her a lot!!

I've been spending my days cleaning house, purging, packing. Packing? Yes! We are MOVING! We found a 3 bedroom house here in Ogden that will not only give us more room, but a little more in the bank every month.
We've signed the lease and will take possession on 15 June, moving in on the 20th. I am pretty excited as it's very close to the library, post office and grocery store!

What else.....

We put our boat in the water a couple weeks ago. The weather was perfect and it was great to be out there. I'm looking forward to many hours on the lake this summer! Isaac was excited he got to drive again.

Isaac lost his first tooth last weekend! He was pretty excited!

My own personal summer reading program is well underway. I've read 5 books so far since the end of the term and looking at finishing 32 by the time the semester starts. It's daunting but I hope I can do it.

almost there!

Less than 1 week and this semester is under my belt. Hard to believe that there is only one semester left!

Regular clinicals are over now. I had a good experience in OB-stood in on a C-section so that was cool. I have a makeup day next week in peds.

Time right now is being dedicated to the books. 2 finals next week (Monday and Wednesday) and a pretty big skills exam on Monday. That's what I am most nervous about right now.

1 more month!

1 more month and the 4th term of my nursing education is finished! Then one term to go and finish up in December!

I finish up my clinical rotations on the OB floor at Mary Greeley. Excited to get back and hopefully get in on a C-section this time around.

Mental Health rotation was in Des Moines at Iowa Lutheran. I wasn't a fan of the drive but the rotation itself was interesting, to say the least. 2 other ladies from class and I carpooled so we each drove 3 times, which was nice. I have my last day at MG mental health tomorrow-we go there 2 days.

Not sure what the summer is going to hold but I do know: LOTS of books! Bike riding! Boating!

I am an LPN!

YES! I am an LPN! I have my license to prove it!

18 March was my scheduled date to test for my license.

I was nervous! The GPS put me completely in the wrong area. For some reason, I ended up in the 7000 block of the road, rather than the 3000 block. Glad I was plenty early!

I found the location and got myself checked in: photo, hand scans, fingerprints. Then I sat to wait. Then the proctor could not verify my hand scan, although he had my drivers' license, a photo and me right in front of him! I was like, "Oh man, this is bad!"

I finally got in and went through the initial set up/directions of the NCLEX program. I was there for about an hour, all the while being videotaped/sound monitored. Nerve-wracking, to say the least.

I called Mark when I was done and he was confident I passed. Me-not so sure. I barely had over the bear minimum (85) questions when my test stopped.

All weekend long, Mark tried to convince me I passed. On Sunday afternoon, we were able to pay $8 and get "unofficial results". Well....I PASSED! I was in shock and disbelief! The following Friday, my license was in the mail! I haven't even received my "official results" yet!

I am glad it's behind me! I now have the experience of testing and will be more confident when I take my RN boards next year!