May 4 - 10

Sunday, May 4^th: After church, I trooped back up to Denton again for one last study group that stretched from 3PM until 10 that night. We studied our tails off!

Monday, May 5^th: The pharmacology final! I got to school at 6:30AM and got a bit of studying in before we all filed into the test room. I felt pretty good about it, but I was a little worried. I needed at least 74 to keep my B. And then I found out I got 98 on the test. That was unexpected :) I guess those studying session paid off! Unfortunately, no good deed goes unpunished, because as soon as I strutted out of school, I found out McKay's Grand Am had gotten smashed up :( Ah, well.

Tuesday, May 6^th: I woke up to a lovely anniversary breakfast from La Madeleine’s. My sneaky husband had woken up early and run down the street to grab Parisian Eggs Benedict and this delicious little treat.  What a lovely husband I have :)

In all honesty, I was so absorbed in finals week that I forgotten our anniversary :) Later that day, Cindy let us borrow her truck to pick up a new armoire for Jamie's room. I spent the rest of the day studying, eventually falling asleep on the couch with my notes in my hands and waking up with them all over the floor. Again :)

Wednesday, May 7: We got off to a rough start getting everyone to where they needed to be on time because we were down to one car. Since I was the only driver, I was the last one to school, with no time for last minute studying, and actually even a few minutes late to my final. YIKES. Luckily it was a surprisingly easy test, and I felt pretty confident about it. Turns out I got an 88, which is not too shabby at all. I needed a 96 to pull an A in this class, but I wasn’t too torn up about it.  I have OFFICIALLY finished up my first semester of nursing school with one A and two B’s. I’m very, very okay with this J

Thursday, May 8: Crazy, rainy, stormy day. Tornado warning or not, I had errands to run and Jamie and I were out most of the day. We had a play group at the Hinze’s, an interview at a Christian private school, a trip to Buy Buy Baby to pick up a gift for Lindsay's baby shower, then back to pick up Tyler, and finally to pick up McKay. The storm was insane and scattered big branches everywhere, and traffic lights were out all over town.

We got a few packages that day as well from our California branch of the family:

It was well received :)

Jamie, obviously, got Pinkalicious, and Tyler got a model jet. THANKS GRANDPA!!

Friday, May 9: Tyler had a free dress day, and Project Clean Up This Yucky House That Hasn’t Been Deep Cleaned In Many Moons began. I got through Jamie’s room, which actually is starting to be my favorite room in the house, all white and airy and cozy.

I went through her toys while I listened to podcasts, and she did her best to help; sort of. We finally got word from Progressive that our car is in fact totaled, and so the car shopping begins. McKay and I started American Hustle and fell asleep in the middle; my switch from Zyrtec to Benadryl is interfering with me staying awake past 9PM :)

Saturday: I snuck in a quick run before McKay left for work, and then me and the babies were off to a hot air balloon themed baby shower, which was adorable.

Funny Things:

• I cut someone off during rush hour, and he flashed the Hook em Horns sign at me. Is this the Texas version of the bird?
• Every few days Jamie sits still enough for me to try some Pinterest hair thing. This was this week's, and it turned out pretty magical:
  
  
  
  
• Tyler's school has a Dr. Suess wall, and I just had to take a picture of him next to it :)
  
  

April 27 - May 3

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 :)

They found this eagle out geocaching and they really like it.

This is so funny to me, because this is how she hold's Bronx too, gently under his chin. Funny girl :)

April 20 - April 26

We had a lovely Easter morning, complete with an egg hunt and baskets bursting with toys and goodies. These cute kids looked great for Easter Sunday, especially Jamie with her Elsa hair. Erica at church handed out this fun Easter Egg set to tell the story of the Resurrection, one symbol at a time. I took mine home and did it with the kids, and Jamie LOVES it. We’ve done it at least once a day for the last week; this girl knows the story! We had Easter dinner at David and Marie's, and it was wonderful to see everyone and Tyler and Jamie had a blast with their cousins, but my goodness I was so tired. Poor Michelle (who is pregnant and exhausted) and I kept making eye contact and just sort of nodding like "Why can't we just sleep right now?" McKay and I collaborated to make this fun carrot cake. 

This was the last full week of classes for me. Thank goodness! On Thursday Jamie and I had a lovely day at home doing absolutely nothing. I am so, so worn out from school that I seriously needed a real down day. Jamie and I watched movies and ate snacks all day. There was a fire drill at my school; apparently the cadavers in the PT school on the fifth floor caught fire??  Tyler’s had his first t-ball practice of the season. I had my final simulation lab in Concepts, and it went so badly; thank goodness I'm not being graded on it until my last semester. Ms Martin told me that Jamie really opened up during their singing time with Mrs. Marshall, and she and her cute little friend Anabelle put on a show for everyone singing Let It Go.Tyler had his spring concert at school, and then his first T-ball game that afternoon, so we had to dash to the store in between to grab base pants and a matching set of socks. On Saturday, we jogged to the park with Bronx, and spent the morning there, and then Tyler had T-ball practice in the afternoon.

Lovely tulips from McKay :)

Funny things:

1.  Jamie adopts a new favorite line from Frozen every few days, and will recite it over and over to me. Her current favorite is: "And by the way, I don’t see no ring!", complete with finger waggling. It's hilarious.

2. Jamie spent much of the park visit singing songs from Frozen. Loudly. Unfortunately, there was only line she knew: "FOR THE FIWRST TIME IN FOREVEWR!!!" Over. And over. Some kids begged her to stop. Some kids joined in. It was a spectacle.