March 30 - April 5

March 30 – April 5 (Sorry for the weird formatting, I don't know why it's happening but 20 unfruitful minutes is all I care to spend on fixing it :) )

Sunday March 30: We had a really great lesson by Erica on the First Vision. I loved how she talked about the different versions Joseph wrote in his life, and her opinion of why they differed. Everyone took Sunday naps after church, which was wonderful :) McKay, Tyler, and Jamie went to the park in the afternoon. And me? Studying, studying studying. Jamie found a pair of my heels and had a ton of fun trying her best to stay upright.

Tuesday: Jamie was sick again at night, and kept us up most of it, meaning poor McKay’s day off was tired and grumpy, and my Concepts test taking was not great. Concepts lecture was on taking care of terminal patients. At this point, we were all feeling such doom over the test we had just taken that we just stared at the lecturer with blank, hopeless eyes. She started laughing at us mid sentence. It turned out I got an 86 (WHAT!), which was wonderfully unexpected. I agonized over each answer, and the longer I spent on the questions, the more confused I got. Nursing test questions are not about which answer is correct, because they all are correct. It’s the MOST correct one that you want, the highest priority and most imperative action to take. It’s just so hard, guys.

Wednesday: Assessment lab on Eyes. When I picked up Jamie from school, her teacher, Ms. Martin told me how much better Jamie is doing in school this semester, that she talks and plays with the other kids and has a really good time, that having that extra day in school each week. I am so glad. I have a lot of guilt dropping her off on her school days, but I have noticed lately that she doesn’t get sad about school in the mornings. She gets really really excited! McKay went to another opera alone, Barber of Seveille. And…..drumroll…..I studied at home. I had to tell the YW leader that I am officially taking my Wednesday nights back from Mutual until the semester is over. She was really great about it. She’s a businesswoman, and knows how crazy life can be.

Thursday: Rainy, humid day. McKay stayed home sick from work, but sadly, that doesn’t mean he got a day off. That only means I get another full day to STUDY! I left in the morning after giving him a practice full body assessment (down to 45 minutes! Just 10 more to shave off!), then went to the hospital to get my patient info, then off to campus to study Pharm for five hours. Finally, home to see my family. Tyler ran almost 1 ½ miles in running club, I am so proud of him! We’re looking at signing up for a kids 1K for him to run in, and he is ecstatic. I spent the evening writing up my preclinical paperwork and charting for my assessment lab. Day ended with a huge storm that was even bigger up in Denton. My friend sent me a picture of the baseball sized hail that fell outside her house: CRAZY. I am so glad we don’t live up there, Denton seems to be a storm/tornado magnet. Tyler was so so excited to watch the wind that night, it took him quite a while to actually sleep.

Friday: Clinical, first day giving meds. I had a great time on the floor, my nurse was a riot. The nurses had a birthday party while we were there on the floor, and we got to see a few of our old patients from weeks past that were still on the rehab floor. Sad to see them still there, but excited to see them again anyway! Tyler’s teacher Ms. Hobson came over during carline pickup to tell me how awesome Tyler had been doing in school, and that he’s reading at a 1^st grade level now! I am so proud of my kids this week. Tyler and I spent a long time looking at funny cat pictures while Jamie got her Yo Gabba Gabba fix after cleaning her room.

Saturday:  I got to listen to a bit of conference, but not much of it. Instead, I had an interesting day trying to study while also spending time with the kids. After watching them march around on my Pharm notes for a while, I started sending them on Silly Missions to get at least 30 seconds of reading in before they’d be back. I had them run out to the backyard, touch the back fence, and then run back. Or run to the dining room, play me a song on the piano, and the run back to me. Run to the living room, sing “Let It Go”, and then run back. This actually kept them busy for the better part of an hour, and I ended up getting quite a bit of work done. For lunch, I took them to this amazing Zoo themed playplace to get a bit more reading in.They loved it, and I loved seeing my reading list tick down and down in length. That night McKay went to this free concert near Reunion tower to see the Killers.

I am so despondent that fun things are not for me for the next month. I miss life. I spent the night studying and making flashcards until close to 3AM. I noticed that as conference weekend has been going on, there have been a lot of people apologizing on the OW facebook page for any past hostility. It was pretty amazing to see everyone remembering that we are still brothers and sisters even when we fundamentally disagree. Unfortunately, this was happening in the wee hours of the morning, I was stressed out of my mind about school, AND I was listening to Jean Valjean's soliloquy: 

“He said I have a soul -- how does he know?” I was a weepy mess, I can tell you that.

Those pictures, you guys. I know many of you don’t agree with any of OW's points or suggestions at all, but these issues have been in my heart since I was little. I was that annoying 8 year old in Primary Sunday School class asking why only the dads give blessings. It does my soul good to see dialogue opening up, even if it is in exasperated tones :)

Funny Things:

Me: (On the way to school) "Oh no, Tyler you forgot your jacket today!"Tyler: (Reaching into his backpack) "Hold on to your hat, Mom!" And he pulled his jacket out of his backpack.

On the way home from school one day, Tyler and Jamie were arguing.Tyler: Jamie, you are a frowny girl!

Jamie: NO!Tyler: You have a frowny face, and you are being RUDE.Jamie: NO!Tyler: "YOU HAVE TO TURN THAT FROWN UPSIDE DOWN!!!"

Tyler: "Mom, did you know that when you are cold, you get little bumps on your skin and your hair goes up, and it is called moose bumps?