Summer's end

I started my senior year of nursing school today with mixed emotions. I'm so glad to be so close to done and so not ready to give up the leisure of summer for classrooms and studying. I didn't get to lounge all summer long. The externship kept me busy all through June and July. I sadly didn't think it was a great experience. I didn't seem to get along with my preceptor and I don't know why. I'm usually pretty good at getting along with people and working with different personalities. Just could figure her out. It was also disheartening to see delivery after delivery augmented, induced, or sectioned. The only natural births I saw when I was there the mom literally came in pushing. Shouldn't be that way, IMO.

(I have no decent segway here) So, there was a huge storm that hit just our town and it did more damage than the hurricane last summer. Ripped out trees and took out power lines all over town. They declared a state of emergency and we had a curfew for a couple nights. It was crazy!

The day after the externship ended we started our vacation/visit to Colorado and Kansas. We had a great time as usual. The farm is full of fun for all ages. I get to see my mommy, the kids get to see the animals, and we get to eat fair food for a few days. The big kids got to show hogs! I even put a quilt in to be judged, my mom suggested it, and got a blue ribbon, thankyouverymuch.

Hannah was driving the pickup truck, Simon was driving the skid loader behind it, and Seth was driving a tractor. Only on the farm!

We left the farm with a few tears. The kittens couldn't come home with us. 

My friend Laura came with us on a trip to ride the Georgetown Loop and go on a mine tour. I have to give credit to Laura's mom for the idea.

We got to see lots of wonderful friends and family as well. We went to the zoo, swimming, ate at a ton of yummy places (like a sushi bar with naughty names for rolls), and went to a place called Jump Street which has tons of trampolines. Oh, and cousin time was a must. We even got family photos taken. I can't wait to see them all! Fun was had by all. Ok, Dan didn't have the best time when he was stuck in the airport for a day...

Kids at the Denver Zoo! (Thanks, Amy for getting us in!) The Elephant is very photogenic, no?

One of the highlights for me was seeing The Bloggess (Jenny Lawson) at the Tattered Cover. She's is so awesomely bizarre and hysterical. Love. Her. I've been reading her blog for many years. Her book is snort-out-loud funny. She was brilliant in person and I'm glad I got to see her.

I have been working on a quilt too. I'm always working on something! I love Anna Maria Horner's fabrics! 

June milestones

We now have a high schooler. Hannah "graduated" from eight grade. I didn't graduate from 8th, we had a continuation. She's delighted and excited, I am too. I am also feeling a little old.

Simon will be in middle school and Seth will be in 1st. Everyone in leveling up. :)

We also decided to get a rescue dog. This is Jake. He's a Hound mix. Everyone who sees him says he is a Beagle. He's going to have a great bark if he's Hound/Beagle mix!

I am doing my externship. It's not exactly what I expected. I have so much theoretical knowledge and such limited practical, hands-on experience. There is also a learning curve with my mentors personality. It's not that we don't get along, just trying to figure her out. The hospital I am at has no midwives that work there so it's all very medical. Not a bad thing. I'd just love to see some natural and well supported births instead of induced and augmented ones.

Costa Rica

I am still reeling from my week long trip to Costa Rica. I saw the beauty of the coast and the forests, but I also saw the slums. Abject poverty in third world conditions. They have an illegal immigrant population of native Nicaraguans that come in. They are outside of the government healthcare system. In some ways it's similar to what happens in the US. They come and work the jobs like picking coffee berries for 2 dollars a baskets.

The clinic we worked at was a few minutes drive from one of the slums in Alajuelita.

Here's the pharmacy where we filled prescriptions the doctor handed through the window and the office where he saw the patients. We would also help by pulling files, taking BP, temp, height, and weight. The doctor would let you sit in on the exams and explain in English what they were there for.

A beautiful young girl outside of the clinic.

We weren't allowed in the slums. It isn't safe apparently since you have to walk in, but they drove us to the edge on the dirt road.

This was outside the soup kitchen that we went to visit.

I did get to see some of the tourist things while we were there. Our first day there we went to a coffee plantation, had a traditional breakfast, went to Poas Volcano, and a waterfall.

On Friday we had a short day at the clinic. We went to the beach and I went ziplining for the first time ever! It was so much fun. By the way, it was incredibly hot when we went ziplining, hence my lovely sheen of sweat.

I truly enjoyed my time there even though I didn't speak enough of the language. Our house mom spoke only Spanish. Thankfully, the other girl we were rooming with for the week spoke more than I did and she helped a lot! I don't know if I'd ever get used to throwing my toilet paper in the trash or living behind fences. However, I did like the fruit. Fruit is always in season. I could get used to that!

FIMRC is doing a great thing in Alajuelita and other places in the world. I am very glad I went. It's eye opening. Would I go back? Yes. I think the next time I do a mission I want to be a nurse or working on my Master's so I can do midwifery work abroad.

Spring

Spring is slipping by so quickly. I've hardly had time to get out there and enjoy it. I'm in the last two weeks of my semester and it's rather hectic. I did get to head into the city with kids over Spring Break. We had a full and fun day. We saw Dan's new office down in the Wall St. area. went to the Central Park Zoo, walked around the park, and went to the Met. I love Central Park. We even ended up in a Occupy Wall Street march on accident.

I'm getting ready to go on my medical mission trip to Costa Rica in a few weeks! I'm so excited to go. I have to take a gift to my homestay family and I'm not sure what to bring them. This is going to be such an incredible experience. Hopefully, one I can repeat again.

Maybe once I'm back I can squeeze a few projects in around my summer extern program.

God, I'm already looking at grad schools... Sometimes, even it the midst of the constant chaos, it feels like things are coming together just fine.

highlights

Time flies by and I forget to update so here are some highlights from the last month-ish.

Seth had an awesome 6th birthday party. He cut his cake with a sword. He loved it.

Hannah placed 3rd at State on bars. (That's not her score in the picture.)

I had some friends come to visit for a weekend. I feel loved and had a wonderful time.

Simon's FPS team went to state. They didn't make it to Internationals... maybe next year. Simon also moved from Cub Scouts up to Boy Scouts.

Dan has a new job up in the city. It's a huge adjustment for us all now that he has a big commute like this. He likes the new job, so hopefully all the traveling back and forth to the city will be worth the adjustments.

My semester is cruising along. I registered for next semester already. I can't believe I only have two more semesters to go after this one! Getting my BSN seemed so far away for so long and now it's just around the corner.

update

Poor little neglected blog. Things are a bit chaotic around here, but that's normal, right. The semester is in full swing. I am taking 17 credits this spring. So, what's everyone else up to?

Braces. Again.

She refers to them as medieval torture devices. Can you argue with that? And, she's doing fantastic with gymnastics. She's going to States again this year!

Simon is about to move up from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts.

And, he's doing FPS like Hannah did. His team came in first place, so they are going to States. It seems to be a theme around here. Maybe he'll get to go to International like Hannah did in 5th grade.

The big chaos around here is Dan was let go from his job. They reorganized and it put him out. So, he's looking. Hopefully it won't take long to find new employment. I'll continue to trudge my way through school. If I get to see this view every morning when I have clinical it'll be just that much easier...

Gettin' crafty

Sewing makes me happy. Since my little break started I've managed to do a bit of sewing and hope to do some more. I got the throw size quilt basted, quilted, and bound.

I made myself a new bag! I got the pattern and fabric on my trip to NYC with Amy and Monica Back in November.

And, I made some more coffee cup cozies for friends.

I think they're adorable. Hopefully others think so too. What do yo think?

mini vacation

December was a whirlwind of semester finals, Simon's 11th birthday, Christmas, and my mom coming to visit.

Now, I am on winter break until the 23rd of Jan. Nothing could sound sweeter to me. I do have things to do for school while on break like apply for a nurse extern position, order books for next semester, and try to get the house in order before I can't keep up. Once the spring semester gets under way I can't seem to get anything done around here.

Simon is 11 now. I am always amazed at how quickly they are growing. We had a nice little party here at home with some of his friends. He asked for a drawing tablet as a birthday/Christmas present. I try to make sure he feels like his birthday is a separate thing and doesn't get mixed into the holiday. He has figured out that if he wants something big he can ask for it as a gift for both. As long as it's his choice.

This year my mom and little (littlest) brother came out from the 25th-31st. It was a great visit. We were pretty mellow and didn't do a ton of touristy stuff. We went to the Statue of Liberty and walked around Princeton one day as well. Ellis Island is really fascinating. It was freezing when we were on Liberty Island to see the statue. Cold + water + wind = damn cold.

Rebuilding Ground Zero.

Seth didn't appreciate Ellis Island like we did. Think he might be a wee bit bored?

Close sleeping quarters in the dormitory on Ellis Island.

Three little popsicles.

There she is, in all her glory.

Hannah and her Uncle Paul. She loves him, he hates having his picture taken.

Hot chocolate was just what we needed after walking around the statue... and freezing.

Enjoying the ferry ride back to Liberty State Park.

I am planning on enjoying my little mini vacation from school. I still have to get up every morning and get the kids off to school, but then I can mostly do what I want. I already devoured read the Hunger Games books. I've sewn. I've watched movies. I could get used to this...