Post 8

Sorry for the lack of posts the past two days. While 365 consecutive posts might not be possible for me, if nothing else, it will get me to post much more frequently!

The past two days have been busy for us. Yesterday was my share day at Johns Hopkins Bayview. It went really well. I like the nurses on the unit and I really like the manager, and while they said it was "fast-paced", it wasn't as fast as I was expecting, which is fine with me. The nurse manager said she really liked me and that I should expect to hear back from the nurse recruiter by Monday. Since monday is a holiday, however, and the nurse manager probably wasn't thinking about that, I probably won't hear back until Tuesday. This gives me a little more time to try to get Hopkins main campus to move that interview closer, except that the recruiter there will be out of the office Monday and Tuesday. Ugh. I'm really interested in Pediatric Oncology so I would really like to go on the interview and shareday, but if they're not able to move it closer, I don't foresee being able to have Bayview "wait" for me to give them an answer that long. And in that case, my choice will have to be Bayview, which isn't a bad choice at all. But if they do move the interview closer, the choice will be difficult and will ultimately come down to which setting could I see myself working in for a long time. Hopefully it all works out the best way possible. At this point it's not about money or benefits or location, but about the job itself. Hopefully I'll have Someone on my side to help me make the best choice.

After my shareday Justin and I went out to dinner, alone, leaving Jackson with his parents. We went to Tidewater grille and had a great meal.

Today I slept in and it was fantastic. We then went to the store, had lunch, and joined our friends at Bert and Laura's house for a "cook-out" (food around a fire pit, and mostly inside) and some Ravens game action. I actually missed most of the game because Jackson was overtired and was really difficult to put to sleep. He is stuck to me when that's the case and I can't put him down, so we napped on the couch together. While I would have liked to see the game, from what I hear, I didn't miss much, so I'm not too bummed. And now we're home, ready for bed again, and the world is updated on our lives.

As you enjoy your weekend and your holiday on Monday, don't forget to pray for Haiti and the Hurricane victims. May they find safety and comfort and feel great love from all of the world during this time of hardship. Goodnight.

Happy Half Birthday Jax - Post 7

Happy Half Birthday to my wonderful, beautiful, amazing little man. May you be blessed with more birthdays then I'll be able to count. I love you endlessly!!!!!

Today was my interview at Bayview. It went really really well. And then I get home and find out that Hopkins downtown has scheduled me for an interview and share day on a Pediatric Oncology floor for the 29th. Crazy. So now what if bayview offers the job. Two weeks ago I was stressing about not having even an interview, and now I'm stressed about the decisions I'll have to make. Oye.

But in other much more exciting news to a mommy, today was Jackson's Half Birthday. Yup! My boy turned six months old at 8:16 tonight. I cannot believe where I was six months ago and where I am today, but I've loved every minute (okay, maybe not recovery, but I love jackson every minute of it). We celebrated by having crab cakes at grandma's... Jackson had gerber chicken noodle. Then we came home, had a bluberry muffin (Jax's birthday "cake"), made six month imprints of Jackson's hand and foot, and then went off to sleep. We also found out that Jackson may be teething yet again, but this time with top teeth, YIKES!!! Pretty soon he'll be eating steak and potatos with the rest of this.

Here are some pictures to share. The first two are of Jackson and Justin... Do they not look identical?? The rest are of Jackson celebrating his six month birthday.

Kaplan, Bayview and No sleep, oh my.

Today was another day of Kaplan. And boy did that review class come quick today. I stayed up watching movies with Justin last night and doing some online kaplan quizzes so i hopped in bed at 12:30. Well Jackson woke up at 2:30 and screamed andcried everytime Iput him down for three hours. I had to get up at seven so it was a brutal night. And this morning he screamed everytime I put him down again, so needless to say, I was late everywhere today. BUT, on the bright side of things, he was good for Oma and Lucas, and I got called for an interview for tomorrow at Johns Hopkins Bayview. I had to quickly arrange some last minute letters of reference and a transcript, but it all pulled through, so we'll see how tomorrow goes.

To end the day, I leave you with no images, just a prayer request for all those suffering from the devastating earthquake disaster in Haiti. May we people of such prosper and blessing find some way physically, financially, spiritually and emotionally to help those who so desperately need it at this time.

Goodnight.

Kaplan day 2 - blog 5

Today was Kaplan day 2. It seems that this $379.00 class may be helpful after all. I didn't learn a lot about content today because, as a graduate nurse, I should know the content. But I learned a great deal about how to work my way through those tricky NCLEX questions. I'm hoping that tomorrow and the next few days of the review will be just as helpful and that, when the time comes, I'll be confident and prepared enough to pass the NCLEX and become a Registered Nurse.

Images of the day: Kaplan's logo and Stephens Hall, one of the main buildings on Towson's campus in the winter. This is where our pinning was held.

Review day 1 - Blog 4

Today is my first day of Kaplan Review for my NCLEX exam. It's only 8 classes, but man will it be greuling. And it was sooooo cold in that room AND I'm getting sick :(

But in better news, Jackson's 2nd tooth is finally in and growing strong.

Unfortunately I have homework (graduate college and get homework the next day, ugh) but I wanted to make sure I got this blog in.

Goodnight!

GRADUATION Jan 10

The big story today was that I FINALLY graduated from college. I gratuated from Towson University with a Bachelors of Science in Nursing. It was a very nice ceremony, yet long awaited ceremony. I truly thought today would never come, but standing in line waiting to enter, I couldn't believe it was finally here. It's amazing how fast time seems to have flown when you look back on it all. I still remember moving into the dorms in August of 2005. Since then, there've been a lot of ups and downs and so many changes to my life. And it's definitely odd to think that that chapter of my life is finally closed.

After the ceremony ended, those who attended and my brother, his girlfriend and my uncle went back to my other brother's house just in time to watch the Ravens beat up on Brady!!! Seriously, what a GREAT ending to a much deserved day.

Below are a few pics from the ceremony and after. My blogger is being weird so I can't space the pics out to add captions, but I'll try to figure it out!!!! Enjoy.

Jan 8th - Pinning

So today was my pinnign ceremony which officially ends my nursing school career. I still have to take the NCLEX but that is completely outside the realm of actual nursing school. The pin we receive is what distinguishes us as RN's. (Because it's silver and shiny and small and my camera is not equipped for those items, I can't get a great pic of it.) Leading up to today I thought this whole thing was a waste of time and a waste of money for that little pin that I'll never wear. Then I started seeing how much this pinning meant to so many other people. Like the friend who has nurses in every generation of her family, and my friend who is graduating from Towson's nursing program sharing this experience with her sister who is graduating from another nursing program this semester as well. And listening to the speaker, I started to appreciate the ceremony and the pin, and my future title of RN more than I have throughout the program. It's funny though how you struggle for two looooonnnnggg years and have so many trials and tribulations and it all comes down to this one triumphant day and this tiny little pin. I forgot for a few hours how grueling these past two years have been and I truly looked forward to my future. I only hope that in my future, I can live up to the standard that has already been set by so many smart, caring nurses that exist today.

So that's today's blog. Here are a few pictures to share with you my experience.

This was after the pinning before bedtime, but I added this because in this pic Jackson looks exactly like Justin when he was little. I'll have to get a picture of Justin up here sometime for comparison.

And this is during the ceremony when I'm getting pinned.

Below are my four best friends throughout nursing school, the girls I turned to and complained to and leaned on and studied with and cried with the most!!!

Starting with Julie...

and Sarah...

and Emily...

and Melissa.

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