Where it’s at
Well, I’ve turned into such a slacker of a blogger. Shame on me. I have been making straight A’s in school though so hopefully that suffices as an excuse!
I’m in the midst of anatomy & physiology II and the Science of Nutrition. Both really interesting classes. I’m really loving school.
I have to start working soon though. The kids are starting Kindergarten in late August .. and I don’t have enough loan money left to pay for it. So Melanie needs a job. I’m looking in the health care industry but if I have to start out somewhere like Wal-mart until I can find something better, I’ll do it.
It’s going to be a real challenge going to school, working and trying to make quality time with the kids. I’m going to have to be a lot more purposeful with my time, that’s for sure.
The kids are liking daycare and will be going to that same small Christian facility for their Kindergarten program. The ratio of kids to the teacher is very good and I think it will be a good thing for both of them. Plus it’s the only place that I found that agreed to bump Mikaela up a year to go ahead and start Kindergarten. I think she would be bored in the 4-year-old class, I definitely think she’s ready for K. Their kindergarten teacher has 30-plus years of teaching experience and has a really sweet personality. I’m really hoping this year is a good, fruitful one for both kids.
And me. I am still looking at all my nursing school options. The three on my radar right now are:
- Temple College’s 2-year associate degree in nursing, which I would start in the fall of 2010 (the earliest I could get in to that program) and finish in 2 years.
- Texas Tech University’s 1-year, online, BS-to-BSN degree. I would apply this fall and start in January 2010, finishing in December of 2010. It’s intense and I would wind up with a bachelor’s degree in nursing within that 1 year. It’s so intense, in fact, that they make you sign an agreement not to work that year. This option is seeming less likely for financial reasons.
- The University of Texas’ Alternate-Entry Masters of Science in Nursing. This 3-year-program would start next summer and end in 3 years – but I would have a masters degree when I finished. The application is due this December, and they let the applicants know their decision by the spring. That’s a long time to twiddle my thumbs and wonder! This is my dream option that I’d love to get into … but UT is very competitive and there’s no guarantees. I have straight A’s since re-starting college though … so I’m going for it.
So as you can see, I have a lot to mull over. There’s so many variables and options to think about its maddening. But I’m excitedly looking forward to it and I know God will open the right door at the right time.
Conversations with the kids
The kids are cracking me up lately. Some recent examples:
Mikaela: “mama, adults can do whatever they want?”
Me: “well … no, not exactly … if we break the law the police will arrest us.”
Mikaela: “no, not that kind of things, I mean can adults touch breakable things?”
Mikaela pointed out the car window, identifying a ‘cow’ we drove past, when Jay mentioned that it was actualy a ‘boy cow,’ a bull. Mikaela replied:
“Boy cows say (in a deep voice): moooooo! … girl cows say (in a high voice) mooo!”
Gabriel gets on obsessive cleaning jags, which to my neat-freak husband is a good thing. I hate that he feels compelled … but it really IS nice to have such a willing helper. He’s turned into a bit of a slave driver, though. Last night, he said he would clean his room and Mikaela’s room. Then he went into the kitchen with Jay, pointing to the sink full of dirty dishes. “Papa, can you clean those dishes for me?” Jay replied: “aw, do I have to right now?” I laughed and said maybe we could teach Gabriel how to wash the dishes. Gabriel, who was still standing there, exasperatedly said, “I got enough things to do around here!”
And don’t you forget it! :D
The kids were arguing recently as follows:
Gabriel: uh-huh!
Mikaela: unh-uh!
Gabriel: Mikaela, you don’t know everything. You not the boss.
Mikaela: you not the boss either, Gabriel
Gabriel: Mama’s the big boss!
And don’t you forget it
We were in the car on the way to the doctor (I’m sick again … shocker) today and Mikaela had just apparently noticed her beloved stuffed doggie’s spots. This is the conversation that followed:
Mikaela: my doggie has spots! he’s sick.
Gabriel: your doggie already had spots
M: did not
Gabriel: yes
M: did not
Gabriel: YES MIKAELA
M: you don’t know everything, Gabriel.
G: I played soccer and I have a trophy.
Done, Done and I’m on to the Next One
I am done with my first semester of this summer session. What an incredibly intense 5 weeks. I took “computers for healthcare providers” and Anatomy & Physiology I. The computer class was a (relatively) easy “A” – the A&P I was an “A” earned by 5 weeks of the hardest studying I’ve ever done. The A&P class was from 8 am-12:15 pm Mon.-Thurs.; all other hours were pretty much occupied in the lab poring over the plastic body models, organ models and skeletons – or at home studying ’till the wee hours. I seriously spent 50+ hours per week outside of class studying. Thank God for my husband – he played Mr. mom. He’s done all the cooking and cleaning, most of the kid-tending (they were in daycare during the day) and also helped me study. Remind me to buy him a nice present when I get my first “big” paycheck as an RN … 
Anyway, that A&P I class was seriously, ridiculously hard work. But I would up with a final grade of 96. The class average was 68. But honestly … almost no one (other than the very few of us that made A’s) put in the long hours that it required. Can I even tell you how glad I am to be done?
Nevertheless, here I go again. Tuesday I start an online class – Science of Nutrition, and the following Monday I start Anatomy & Physiology II. Same instructor, same time-slot, hopefully same grade! 
So, that leaves me three classes to take in the fall: Microbiology, Human Lifespan/Growth and Development (a Psychology class), and Statistics (UGH! math). I am applying to Texas Tech’s school of nursing this fall. They have a one-year, online, bachelor’s-of-science to bachelor’s-of-science-in-nursing degree. It starts Jan. 2010 and ends in December. I really want it. I double-checked with them today that it was OK that I was taking some classes in the fall when I applied; they said it was.
Also before I apply I have to shove in a medical terminology class and a certified nursing assistant (CNA) class. The terminology course I can get online; the CNA course takes a month and I need to start it soon.
We’re sweating bullets about the finances … student loans only go so far. But I know if God wants this to be, He will help us out. And so many doors have been open so far, I can’t imagine things falling apart now. Your prayers for us during this challenging but exciting time are very welcome!
