Nursing School

So, I started nursing school at the beginning of July, which is why I've been MIA for so long.  I was in class everyday 'til 4 or 5, and I spent my weekends spending time with my family.  I was very surprised and happy with how well I adapted to school.  Having a baby and husband made it difficult, but not impossible so far.  I came out with an A and a B this summer, so I'd say I'm doing pretty good... The summer semester was suppose to ease us into the program, so I don't know how well I'll do next semester. O well, I'm gonna try my hardest either way!  We had a group project this semester that counted for 40% of our grade.  I hate group projects, because I'd rather do all the work myself than depend on someone else to do it.  Anyway, I did the best I could with the people I was working with.  Apparently, one member didn't think I did my part. She gave me a bad peer review.  Now the teachers used the reviews to make sure everyone did equal amounts of work.  If someone didn't do their part, they were docked a letter grade.  Thankfully, my teacher called me to clarify with me what happened before she docked my grade.  I couldn't believe a member of my group would do that!  I was heart broken... I knew who it was, and I have known this particular person for years.  We graduated from high school together!  I've been praying daily for wisdom and guidance on how to deal with her and people like her.  I like the "kill them with kindness" method, so that's what I've been trying to do.  I text her, before I knew about the review, to make sure she was OK and to tell her I was there for her.  Apparently that didn't work.  O well, I've gotta learn that I can't please everyone.  I feel God is using this situation to teach me self control.  It's been very hard, but I'm doing pretty good so far!
Proverbs 16:32 NLT
³² 32      Better to be patient than powerful;
                   better to have self-control than to conquer a city.
Stay Motivated!

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Officially a nursing student

So today was my first day of class... Well, it was more of an overview of what's expected and how the semester will progress... I enjoyed being back in a classroom setting. I'm a nerd and love school.
We took an assessment test for nurses through ATI (an online software that helps prepare students for the NCLEX- a test to get licensed). It's to be used as a guide to show you which subject areas you should focus on. They compared it to the ACT. Anyway, I got 84% correct, which was higher than 94% of the country. To say I was happy is an understatement! Considering I haven't been in school in over a year, I didn't think I would do good. My score makes me cautiously optimistic about the next 2 yrs.!
I go back to class Thursday, they gave us tomorrow and Wednesday off for the 4th, and I'm glad. I needed a gradual adjustment. I was worried about being able to pump, but today I pumped at 12 and 5. Not every 3 hours like I usually do at home, but I'm sure 5 hours will be fine. Plus, I've got plenty stored! The big test will be balancing being a student, mom, and wife. I have faith that God with give me the strength I need though!
Isaiah 40:31 NIV
31 but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
Stay motivated!

Mini vacay

So I know it's been forever since I last posted, and I'm sorry. Last weekend I had family time. Then Monday my husband and I left for Atlanta, Georgia. We left around 4:30 pm and leaving my baby was the hardest thing I've had to do. She stayed with my mother, the only person I trust to keep her for that long.
When we got to Atlanta, we stayed at the inn on Dobbins air force base. It was really nice! We had a mini kitchen, which was helpful because I had TONS of milk to store...
We woke up early (around 8) Tuesday morning, got ready, and went to six flags. I LOVE six flags! Lucky for us, one of my childhood friends and her husband were also there. We met up with them and rode every ride in six flags! Our favorite was batman, although superman came in close second. There is a new ride there called daredevil that was pretty awesome. The Georgia cyclone and ninja gave us a headache, I don't recommend those... When you first get to six flags, I would go ahead and head straight to the daredevil because that was the longest waiting time. Second was superman, but that was in part because they were having technical difficulties for about 20 min.... Going on a random Tuesday was definitely advantageous because other than the hour or do wait at daredevil and superman, the other rides only had like a 20 min or so wait.
Tuesday night we went to a braves game. Our seats were 16 rows from the field! It was AWESOME!! I'm typically not a huge fan of baseball, but a professional game, in person, is pretty fun. My husband caught a T-shirt the braves girls were shooting before the game started. He tried to get chipper jones, who was standing like a foot from him, to sign it, but chipper ignored him. I've heard he's not a very nice guy... Oh, before the braves game, we ate at a Johnny Rockets at the underground. They make the BEST milkshakes!
Wednesday we woke up early again. We went to the aquarium and the zoo. I liked the aquarium because there were several interactive areas where you could touch the animals. The zoo didn't impress me, and I normally love zoos! I bought Eden a onesie that said I love dolphins, and I bought a shot glass from both the zoo and aquarium. We've been collecting shot glasses from the places we go since our honeymoon... When we go back, we'll probably skip the zoo and aquarium...
After we left the zoo, we came home. I missed my little peanut do bad! We were exhausted, and thankfully Eden slept until 10 Thursday morning :-)
I had planned to pump every 3 hrs like I've been doing, but each thing we did took like 6 hrs and I didn't wanna stop in the middle to pump, so I just waited the 6 hrs. I'm sure my supply has gone down some, but I have 2 Walmart bags full of milk. That should last a retry good while... And I'm gonna start pumping every 3 hrs for the next few days before school starts to increase my supply again. Mom has reminded me that I should trust that God will take care of my supply and me :-)
Philippians 4:19 NLT
19 And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.
Stay motivated!!!

Anniversary

Yesterday was my 3 year wedding anniversary. During the day, while the husband worked and napped, Eden and I went to my friend's house. She'd made baked spaghetti (yum)! When I got home, my husband made steak, potatoes, and corn! Yesterday was such a relaxing day!
Eden was horrible last night, though... She woke up several times and wouldn't go back to sleep. She turned 6 months today, so I'm assuming she's going through a growth spurt and teething, maybe? Whatever it is, I wish she'd grow out of it soon...
I have like 10 books I want to read (house of night novels, shades of grey trilogy, bitterblue) and not nearly enough time to read them all... I start nursing school in less than 2 weeks- July 2. I'm excited and nervous all at the same time! Anyway, hopefully I'll finish some of those books before I start...
Ecclesiastes 3:1 NLT
1 For everything there is a season,
a time for every activity under heaven.

Been a few days

So my husband got back home Saturday morning, hence the lack of posts... He's been gone for 3 weeks doing his summer military training. We spent time relaxing and hanging with the family for father's day! Today, we went grocery shopping... Together... Big mistake! We're generally a happy, sweet couple, not when shopping though. He doesn't think we need stuff I know we need, or he thinks we need fewer of a particular item, or a smaller size. Sorry, but there's a reason women do the shopping... Especially when said woman is at home all day.
When we got home, he made homemade fried chicken strips (yum) and I made broccoli cheese bites (double yum)! He made the chicken using flour and Italian bread crumbs and deep fried them in our fry daddy... I made the broccoli bites with one head of broccoli minced, two minced onions, 1 cup of cooked bacon, one cup of whipping cream, 2 cups of shredded mild cheddar cheese, and 2 cups of Monterey cheddar cheese. You mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. Roll them into one inch balls, put them on a pan, and place them in the fridge. While they're getting cold, heat oil to 350, make sure it's deep enough to cover the balls completely. Have equal parts milk and eggs in a bowl. Put flour, some salt, garlic powder, and pepper on a plate. Get the broccoli bites out of the fridge, roll them in the flour, then the milk mixture, and again in the flour. Fry them 'til golden and enjoy!
Matthew 25:35 NLT
35 For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home.
Stay motivated!

Girl's Night

I did something today that I haven't done in quite some time. I had a girl's night. Tonight is the last night without my husband, so I wanted to catch up with a friend before I went back to full-time house wife. We bought some chicken, Kraft shake n bake, Mac n cheese, and red potatoes. Our appetizer was homemade, Panko-crusted cheese sticks. For dessert, we made fudge brownies! It was DELICIOUS! We meant to watch a movie, but we got to talking and lost track of time. You don't realize how necessary adult, human interaction is until you get it. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE spending time with Eden and wouldn't trade it for anything, but I miss my friends too...
I'm almost looking forward to starting nursing school because then I'll have 'me time' back. Call me a nerd, but school is my way of getting away. It's always been where I'm most comfortable. I love the challenge and newness. I'll probably read this months from now and think I was crazy, but for now, this is how I feel.
I think it's important for a person to have something that defines them. Something outside of being a mom or wife. Even if you're a stay-at-home mom, you need something to define you. For instance, these past 6 months I've developed patience. My personality and likability have been what defines me. Yes, I'm a mom and wife first, but I'm more than that. And I like to believe that people see that. For the rest of my life I'll be a mom and wife, but I'll also be a nurse and, hopefully, one day I'll be a doctor. I can be all those things, but unless I define myself, my personality, how I want people to see me, I can't reach my full potential. I can't be who God intended me to be.
Psalm 139:13 NLT
13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb. Stay motivated!

Sleep training

I had always told myself I wouldn't have my child sleep in the bed with me because it's hard to get them out. Well, things never turn out the way you plan them to... Needless to say, Eden slept in the bed with us from the first night. In my defense, I had tried laying her down, but she started crying and I soon realized it was easier to just let her sleep with me... The other breast feeding mommas might agree to that. She's now a few months old (and I'm a month shy of starting school) and I am seeing the benefits of her at least starting out in her own bed. Those few hours would give my husband and I much needed alone time, I could study some if I need to, or I could get some simple housework done, maybe read... Anyway, the benefits of her being in her crib are endless... So while my husband has been gone, I figured I would attempt to get her to sleep in her bed.
The first night was a complete accident. I put her in her bassinet because she was fussy and I'd tried everything to console her. Times like that I would let her cry for like 10 minutes tips, go get her, and she would go straight to sleep. This night was different... After maybe 5 minutes, she had fallen asleep ON HER OWN!!! Up until this point I had been trying to lay her down and if she didn't stay asleep, I would pick her up and start over again. Imagine my surprise when my smart, beautiful, perfect baby fell asleep by herself!
So the next night I figured I would try that again. I got her full, she fell asleep in my arms, I put her in her bassinet, she woke up and fussed for a few minutes, and then again she fell asleep! So I now realized it wasn't a lucky now; I learned the secret to getting my baby asleep.
That didn't totally solve my problem, however, because the bassinet was still in my room, so I had to be quiet. The next step was to get her in her bed. Up until this point, we'd only been using her bed as a changing table basically. So after a few nights of her falling asleep good on her own, I decided to move her monitor into her room (we use the motion detector kind). That night I continued with the same routine, but in HER crib. And here we are 3 weeks later and my baby is sleeping in her room.
I was fully prepared for a long, hard process with many late, sleepless nights. I suppose God knew how bad this needed to happen and that I needed it to be easy. He does know best after all, which brings us to the Bible verse for today:
1 Peter 5:7 NLT
7 Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.
Stay motivated!!!

New project

I've decided I'm gonna tell a story, then have a Bible verse at the end. Change things up a bit :-)
So for the past several days I've been working on a DIY shirt... It's one of those died shirts with glue.. I wasn't sure how it would work because it called for the blue gel glue, but all I could find was the white kind. 4 days later, and I have a successful glue dyed shirt! I'll post pics later...
I'm a naturally positive person, negative people upset me... I have faith and trust everything will work out for the best. For instance, I'm staying at home with the baby for 6 months, so we're living on one income. We have a good amount saved, so we're not hurting. Next month I'll start nursing school. Then in January, my husband will start student teaching. So next year, we'll both be in school with no income... Am I concerned? Of course, I mean we have a baby and bills... Am I gonna worry and obsess over it? No... Why? Because I have faith the size of a mustard seed, so mountains will move! Now I'm sure you've guessed the Bible verse for today... Here it is:
Matthew 17:20 NLT
20 “You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.[a]”
Stay motivated!!

So this past weekend, my mother decided to take my 2 sisters, my baby, and I to the cma music feet. It was a very last minute decision... Needless to say, the tickets were sold out... So we get there and stand outside listening to the music. The ride to Nashville was half the fun! It was a 5 hr trip. If you have siblings, you know that long in a vehicle can be quite entertaining... My 16 yo sister has no sense and was making us laugh the whole way.. Windows had to be rolled down several times, you can imagine why. My 9 yo sis was whiny the whole way. And I had to pump every few hrs to feed my little one... Again, getting there was half the fun... The ride there and back was longer than the actual time we spent in Nashville. That was my first time there, so I had no idea what to expect. My husband is gone to the coast for training, so there was no option for me to leave Eden with anyone. Anyway, I wanted her to be with me. I didn't realize the night life was so energetic. She was asleep by 10 and stayed asleep the whole time we were walking around. I got several looks and one drunk guy even questioned why I had a baby there. I could let that get to me, but he was a drunk idiot and not worth my time. She was a perfect angel! Even with the loud noise and fireworks, she slept the whole time. Should she have been in that environment? Maybe not. Did I have a choice though? Anyway, so I live in the south. Hot and humid almost all year round. Because it never got super cold, the flea population has sky-rocketed... My mother has been fighting the battle for several weeks now. She's tried everything chemical you can find. I like to try more natural routes because I have an infant and a tiny papillon. So when I got home last night, I saw 3 fleas on my daughter. It's around 9:30 pm by this point. I go on a cleaning rampage. I vacuum the whole house and start washing everything my dog has come in contact with. I read salt and baking soda should dehydrate and kill fleas, so I sprinkled that everywhere (after I put the baby to bed). I spent nearly 30 min rubbing it into the carpet. I'm assuming I inhaled some of the powder, because when I wake up this morning, I'm coughing a lot and finding it a little more difficult to breath... I have now washed another load of blankets, bathed the dog, and vacuumed up the powder. I'm hoping continuing with this routine for several weeks will solve my flea problem... Anyone else have any suggestions? Stay motivated!

First timer...

So I'm typing this as my 5 month old sleeps in my arms. She's my first baby, so I'm learning all the ropes. I hope to share my wisdom with other moms like me. I've learned a lot about being a mom. I'm an expert breast feeder. Accidental sleep trainer. And an all-around multitasker. I'm going back to school in July, so I suppose then I'll be a bonafide crazy person. It'll be a major adjustment, but I'm motivated to do my best. If not for myself, then for my baby girl. My blessing. My angel from God. I know this is a short post. Think of it as a teaser. But it's bedtime at my house. Bedtime is not something you take lightly. So until tomorrow, stay motivated!