the hinckleys: April 27

Sunday April 27: We woke up to crazy rain this morning with pea sized hail! I made yummy chicken salad pita sandwiches that were not appreciated by anyone under the age of 26 :) I had a YW meeting that night.

Monday, April 28: I started the week off right by going for a morning run. After I dropped the kids off at school, I spent most of the morning and afternoon going over HESI practice questions with some friends at school. My dad flew into Dallas that morning on business, and we went to dinner at Chuy’s in Uptown. Best news of the day: the 4th annual Jack FM throwback festival is on, and we have our tickets.

Tyler, Jamie, and my dad all ordered macaroni sides, and they coordinated their bites together. "One, two, three! MACARONI!" We were for the sure the most annoying guests that night at the restaurant.

The night became infinitely better when it was discovered that the kids would get push pops!

Tuesday, April 29: I got to campus super early to practice in open lab for my upcoming check-offs redo. We had our last Pharm lecture with another easy pharm quiz. After lunch, we trooped upstairs to take the HESI test, a nursing exam that we will have to take each semester in preparation for taking our boards for licensure. We found out our scores instantly, and....I got 98. What? Lucky me, I had the option of using this score in place of the upcoming final. Um, yes. One A for me, please. I picked the kids up from school in a very chipper mood. Tyler proudly showed me that he has gotten an entire month of greens and purples, and I am so proud of him. I got a cute card in the mail from my visiting teacher Barbara, who I’ve had to blow off for a few months in a row now. She is sweet! That night I made McKay stay up late and watch me practice for my skills checkoff.

Packing a wound on a sweet potato, using sterile technique. Eviscerating and then patching up vegetables was not a part of nursing school I anticipated.

Wednesday, April 30: Dun, dun, dun. Check-offs Redo Day! I was so incredibly nervous. My time slot was 9AM, and I got there at 7 to practice for the last time. I tried not to think too hard about the fact that this moment was a make-or-break thing. If I didn't pass, I'd fail the entire class, and I'd have to retake it next semester. I'd be a semester behind all my friends, and worse, you only get one of those chances in nursing school to a class. If you fail a second class, you're out of the program. I practiced my tail off for those two hours, getting increasingly nervous as the clock ticked on. They called my name, and I went in literally shaking. I must have looked petrified, because every professor in there gave me a hug and held my hands and told me I had been doing great in practice, and I would be fine. I went to draw my case study, and I had picked Sterile Wound Packing. The hardest one. Oh, no. I took the first ten minutes to write down the procedure so I would have a guide at the ready. And then I started! It's a good thing I practiced so neurotically because muscle memory totally took over. Also, my professor kept saying "Good girl!" for every right move I made, and I a bit embarrassed to say how helpful that way :) And you know what? I PASSED! In fact, I got 100% on it, not one thing wrong! I am so relieved, I still can't believe it's over. Also, I spent so much time worrying about the checkoffs that I haven't thought a bit about finals, the next mountain! Tyler had a double header t-ball game right after school that he did awesome in.

Poor Jamie got hit in the chin with a kid’s bat while he practiced swinging. She unwittingly walked in his swinging range and got popped in the chin. I consoled her while she cried "He practiced on my face!"

Thursday, May 1: I had a fun day with Jamie with both of us home from school. It was also Donut day! Since we got a last start, we dropped off a donut at Tyler’s school for a surprise snack to brighten his day. Then we were off to a play date with some friends from church. Jamie spent a good part of the afternoon engrossed in this Princess puzzle. It was Tyler’s last day of running club, and he got a certificate: 8 miles!

Insert Eminem joke here.

Tyler's art class had a lesson on famous works of art, and they each chose one to replicate. I am honestly astounded at how well Tyler did with this one, I didn't even have to ask which painting this was. Can you guess?

Friday, May 2: I headed up to Denton to meet with a study group up. The drive home was killer – 2 hours! I have a new appreciation for commuters.

Saturday, May 3: The babies and I had a slow, slow morning, with me alternating studying and playing with Tyler and Jamie, who also spent time playing outside with Bronx and picking "blow flowers". It was a really nice, beautiful morning. We had a T-Ball game that afternoon that McKay took the kids to, and then afterwards geocaching all over tarnation. It’s their new favorite thing to do together to give me time to study :) I stayed up late studying, making up silly stories to remember all 74 drugs for this upcoming pharm test. I am looking forward to nights that don't find me falling asleep on the couch, scattering my notes everywhere in the process :)