THANKSGIVING 2008

We went up Thanksgiving Day to my uncles cabin in Island Park.

We really had a great time.

Kevin (my brother)and Alyssa, able to come from Fresno, duke it out.

Grandma (My mom) and Jared eager to say 'CHEEZ'
Jeff ate too much!!

Brandon, Matt, & Blake (my brothers) going hunting.

Jared climbing the stairs!

Taylor at air hockey.

Dylan trying to beat Taylor...

Dylan and Taylor hot-tubbing. They loved it .

History Today...

It was a year ago today that we moved into our home. We've been here one year. In some ways it doesn't seem like we've done enough with in the last year. But we have been thankful to do what we have done.

I think it was about 14 years ago today I was in a car accident, a truly defining incident in my life. In high school I worked at Wendy's and would not get home till very late, (or early depending how you look at it.) I called my mom to tell her that I was on my way home, just like every other time I left work. Well, on my way home I hit a patch of black ice and went off the road, catching a bridge over a ditch just right. It flipped the car upside down and somehow slid underneath the bridge/road. You could not see the car from the road. We estimated with time that I must have been unconscious for some time. I remember waking up (having worn my seat belt) hanging upside down, the radio was still playing and I could smell gasoline. I somehow crawled out of the passenger side doors window, climbed up out of the ditch and started to walk home. I had a concussion, scrapes and some beautiful bruises. This accident was not defining by itself, but it coupled with an accident a month later was un-nerving. A month later only a mile from my accident was a accident in which 5 kids were killed. I knew most all of them. Between a classmate at school and co-workers at Wendy's, there was too much of a connection for me. I attended 5 viewings and 3 funerals in 5 days. No one should ever have to do that.
Its really interesting to remember personal history.

Quick Update

I just had a holter monitor put on 3 hours ago. It's supposed to be a 48 hour test. I don't know if I can do it. It is driving me absolutely NUTS!!!!!

Dylan's Psych Eval. is tomorrow afternoon. I almost cannot wait!!!

My brother Kevin and his wife, Alyssa are flying in on Wednesday for Thanksgiving. I really cannot wait!!!

I don't have to work till Friday. HALLELUJAH!!!

Not uplifting, but rather a confession...

To those of you who know me, know this already. To the rest of you, I'm going to make you loose respect for me...instantly. Ready!?!

I'm not a nurse, not a BSRN, not a RN, not a LPN. I have my CNA. I am a nurse extender, health unit coordinator. (Most recently at work, I consider myself 'pond scum'.) When people ask what I do, I say something that I hope holds some regard without mis-leading people. I tell them I'm a tech on Labor and Delivery. I work 99% of the time on Labor and 1% of the time on Post-Partum. As my husband would say, I'm the paper pusher, which pretty much sums it up. I do charts and transcribe orders. I bill patients and stock rooms. I am not to leave my desk (a rule I break as much as I can) and of course the phone is my BFF. I am a glorified secretary. Even our housekeeper has told me (on MULTIPLE occasions) that she would have to take a pay cut to have my job. Thus....pond scum.
I really love patient care. I so appreciate when a nurse will let me help with the routine of a newborn assessment. I love to help clean off the new comer or take a temp. I know you'll think I'm crazy, but sometimes I even enjoy helping a mom push, counting to 10. Don't need a degree for that one.
I don't know what it is that got me dreaming or even thinking that I could become a nurse, but a few months ago I enrolled in an Anatomy & Physiology course thru continuing education. Its meant to be a 2 semester class, but I'm not sure I'll take the second half. Other than financial expenses, I don't want to subject myself to further self-humiliation. I (with about 2-3 weeks to go) have a grade that NO ONE in any nursing program would look at. And thus, quickly wraps up the hope of becoming anything more than pond scum. Don't get me wrong. I've quite enjoyed that class, and I'd like to think that I have learned something despite what my scores say. Jeff has not been too helpful. He just tells me that 'I must not want it bad enough.' And perhaps he's right. But, I've wanted to be a nurse longer than what I can remember. (If your spouse has a goal and take steps toward it, I hope you NEVER tell them that they must not want it bad enough.....)
And now I need to apologize. I'm truly and sincerely sorry, if I have ever lied to or led you to believe that I was ever more than what I am, because I'm not. Please understand that there has always seemed to be a sense of respect that came, when people thought I was a nurse. It's like they instantly trust you or hold you in higher esteem because you would have the RN behind your name. You may think that this is not so... but it is. I don't know how many times, I'll walk into a patients room to silence an alarm or help in some way, and they want to start asking medically based questions. I'll stop them and explain that I'm not a nurse. Their face will change. And even though I am a stranger to them, I have just disappointed them, lost any previous respect in a heartbeat.
There....how do you like me now !?!

Now Jared, Poor Dude!!!

Jared was diagnosed yesterday with brochitis. (If you're wondering why we haven't invited you over lately, we didn't want to get your kids sick!!) We spent an hour at the doctors, an hour at Valley Medical Shoppe getting a nebulizer, and an hour at Wal-Mart waiting for the Albuterol, Pulmicort, Prednisone, and some cough syrup with codiene. (Yeah for Jared!!!)

Well, this morning he comes into our room just after 4AM, wheezing and working hard to breathe. I did a breathing treatment and it didn't really do anything so we loaded up and went to the ER. Poor kid...got a racine treatment, and some Pediasone. He was so irritable, he fought me til he went to sleep. We got home just after 7, just in time to put Dylan and Taylor on the school bus. Then we ALL went back to bed till 11AM. Yeah for sleep!!!! Not so good for anything that I wanted to get done today. Sorry ya'll, some day soon, I really will try to post something positive!!! Thnx.