Tough Times

Mason had a "bad" day at school yesterday and was not allowed to go to school today as punishment. His crime: he threw rocks on the playground. I have never in all my years of schooling have ever been sent home for a day. He is 6 years old people! Why are there rocks on the playground if they don't think kids are going to pick them up and throw them. Joe and I are infuriated with the Post Falls Kindergarten. Deny him recess for a week or the entire school year (when he gets in trouble it is 99% during recess). Have his consequences be at school not at home. Maddening. So Mason is at Little Creations today. I needed to study. I have an all day conference in Lewiston tomorrow which is 3 hours away so I have a full day tomorrow and it won't be studying.
Joe was home briefly for one night, Monday. It was great to see him although I really didn't see him. My new clinical days are Tuesday so I had a 45 minute lunch date with Joe and that was it. He will be home next week for two weeks which is a blessing. However, we may end up taking a trip to CA to check in on Fred. He has been in the hospital since Sunday but is now having surgery today to pull bone fragments out of his spine (related to damage from Prednisone use) and will be on life support as his lungs are damaged from a recent bout of pneumonia. He is down to 167 pounds and not doing great. I am not ready to lose another Grandparent, especially "Grandma Fred". Let's all keep him in our prayers.
Between Mason expulsion and Fred's deteriorating health, I have been in tears and not able to focus on school. I did manage to study my chapter on drugs today but I am still behind on Pain Management and Bowel Elimination. Exciting stuff!
I am off to get Talan. Then Mason. Then some kiddo time before the babysitter comes at 6:30pm tonight. The day flew bye.

Cruise Photos

We went on a cruise last weekend around Lake Coeur d'Alene. It was fun and a much needed break from the frenzy of studying. I have an exam this coming Monday so I have another weekend of studying ahead of me. We have been playing games all morning. Mason has not asked for TV once in the past 4 days. A miracle and a total change in our way of living. I bought 4 different board games from the thrift store yesterday (Battleship, Zoocomafoo, Dandy Candy and something else) so we have been engrossed in learning how to play them. Considering it has started to rain and turned much colder here in Idaho, it is time for a lot more indoor playing. Of course, there are lots of battles over which game to play first etc. Mason isn't much of a good sport either which is Karma as I was a horrible sport as a kid too! Anyway, we did family fun night at the Kroc center last night. We brought Terran, our neighbor, with us. The boys paid his entrance fee from their piggy banks. It is a good lesson for them to learn how to be generous and pay for something meaningful vs. buying toys with their "own" money. Terran wants to come again this morning as we are just about to leave for yoga. I am very consistent about 10am yoga on Saturdays. I will let the boys figure out if they want to pay Terran's way again.

I will have the babysitter Danielle here most of the weekend so that I can study. I am trying hard to keep some balance in my life!

I bombed my test

My test Monday did not go well. I got a 66. That is a D! I am not happy. I have recommitted myself to studying and while I still have a 75 average which is what is needed to pass the course, I have no room for error. I have increased Mason to full time at the GAP program at school. I am studying every available moment I get. I was even looking at my flash cards at stop lights today while picking up both boys from their respective schools. I have a lot of work, reading and memorizing to do. The next material is pharmacology which is intense to say the least. Joe is away for another 3 weeks. That has made it extra difficult for me to find time to study but I am confident I can turn things around.
I have clinical tomorrow at 5:45am so Barclay has the boys spending the night at her house. I have one patient tomorrow. He is 86, just had a cerebral vascular accident (stroke) which has caused him left sided ataxis (problems of coordination). He is also diabetic and has poor vision. I don't know if the diabetes caused the stroke or if the poor eyesight is a result of the stroke. I will learn these things tomorrow when I assess him. Wish me luck. I am happy that he won't be able to see how nervous I am! :) Otherwise, I am enjoying school, my boys and the beautiful weather up here in Northern Idaho.

Tuesday

Joe just left for 4 weeks. That is a huge bummer. The boys cried when they found out. I reminded them that he will be back before they know it. A small white lie. They love their Daddy!

So both boys got haircuts which makes a huge difference in their appearance although Joe and I disagree on the best cut for Talan's hair. The big BIG news is that Mason can ride a bike without training wheels. He is so happy and excited. Joe and I have both taken him on bike rides. It is so fun to be able to go far with him on the bike! Talan loves to ride his bike especially now that we put new training wheels on his bike. His old training wheels got run over. :(

I have my first real clinical this Thursday. I have been assigned one patient. I hope that I do a good job with vitals, assessment etc. It is nerve wracking but this is how we learn best, under pressure and in a real life situation. I am doing quite a bit of research online about paraplegia and spinal shock so that I have a clue what I am walking into on Thursday. Wish me luck!

First Day of Kindergarten

I had my first exam today at school (I got an 84%) so I missed getting to take Mason to his first day of Kindergarten. Joe was fortunate enough to get to do that. :) I will be picking him up in the next half hour but I wanted to post some cute photos of the boys this morning. It is our ritual to take a photo the first day of school. I post later to tell you how it went.

We love our Babysitter Danielle

Yesterday, I had clinical orientation in Spokane from 8am to 5:15pm. My carpool wanted to meet at 6:45am just to make sure we were there on time. We were there by 7:10am! Anyway, Talan spent the night at Barclay's house so that she could take him to school in the morning but she had clients late so she couldn't pick up Talan. His school closes at 5:15pm. So, Danielle volunteered to take the bus to the college, pick up Talan and then take two buses back to my house. :) I was skeptical and warned her Talan would need snacks as he is always hungry immediately. She brought snacks. loved being in the college atmosphere ("lots of cute guys") and Talan loved taking the buses! The bus drops them off at the gas station right near our developments so it was a minimal walk home. I pulled up with Mason just as they were walking up our driveway. Very cool. Then Danielle made us all dinner so I could unwind/study. She walked herself home (as she is staying at her Grandma's which is very close by). She said she had too much fun to get paid. Don't you love it? She is so sweet and strict with the boys. I love it! We took some photos to upload onto her myspace account but I am posting a few here. Happy Friday to us all!

We are getting a visit from the tooth fairy

Mason lost his first tooth! Such a big moment for us. It really feels like a significant milestone. He turned 6 last Friday and starts Kindergarten next week. Wow, time flies. I missed the actual tooth falling out event as I was at school but he showed it to everyone at my Al-Anon meeting tonight and got a lot of attention for it which, is, as we all know what he covets most. Someone donated a $2 bill in the basket tonight so I traded two bucks for it and that is what I am going to put under his pillow. I remember getting a big half dollar coin so this is 400% inflation in just 30 some odd years! LOL

We went boating on Lake Ponderay on Sunday with our neighbors Matt and Keira. Both boys got to drive the boat which was, in their minds, the highlight. :) A wonderful way to enjoy one of the hottest weeks on record up here.

School is progressing. Today we got to try to put on sterile gloves while maintaining a sterile field. Harder than it looks on TV! I have my first exam next Wednesday so I am gearing up for a long weekend of studying. My babysitter Danielle is babysitting all weekend so that I can catch up and do well.

Please keep Joe in your prayers. His step-dad Curt passed away two days ago and, while we knew it was forthcoming, it is still a big shock and loss. A part of Curt died when Susie, Joe's mom, died Christmas Eve 2007 so, in a way, it is a blessing. Hopefully they are reunited in Heaven and enjoying each others company once again. Joe may be going to Anaheim next week to see what he can do to help his step-brothers deal with all the many details left to work out. It is Curt and Susie's wishes to have their ashes scattered together and so that will be an important part of the letting go process. Heavy stuff and nothing that I hope I will not have to deal with for many decades to come. Hawaii in March '10 here we come.