Black Friday

We are laying low avoiding all the crazy shoppers out there this morning. Unlike last year when Barclay and Joe went and got smoking deals on a flat screen TV. There is nothing that we really want or need this year so we are skipping the chaos. Instead, the boys are having tons of fun playing with the gigantic box that my new office chair came in. They have made it into a fort and all sorts of other things. Amazing how much fun a big box can be. :)

We had a wonderful time up at Luke and Casey's new home in Rathdrum yesterday for Thanksgiving. Luke is Mr. Matt's brother. We had Easter Dinner at their house earlier in the year but that was before they moved so we were excited to see what they had built. It was gorgeous and comfy! They are great hosts and it was a really relaxed atmosphere. Despite Mason accidentally giving Zachary a bloody nose, the boys all got along great. It is so nice to have friends that have boys of similar ages. I got to sneak in a few sweet moments with baby Riley who just turned one last week. Keira and Barclay and I (and Zachary) played a game of Yahtzee. It was the longest game ever as all kids kept interrupting and wanting to know what we were doing.

We were home by 6pm and I managed to do about three hours of homework which is great as that has been my goal to do some work every day. Yesterday morning I volunteered at the hospital to hand out blankets to patients to fulfill some of my community service hours that my program requires. When I got home the kids were telling their neighborhood friends that I had gone to donate blood! Crazy rumors.

So anyhow, Joe finally figured out how to download my iphone photos onto my laptop so I can now post them onto my blog. My one and only attempt to blog from my iphone was unsuccessful. It takes a lot of time to get familiar with all these new tools.

My mom is flying out next week to help me with the boys while I finish the last two weeks of my nursing program. Then we will all fly out to Marin on the 16th to catch up with Joe who will be out there catering. Barclay is flying out on the 23rd for four days so that we can all spend Christmas together. I am exciting to have something to look forward to. It's been a very long semester to say the least. Mason is counting down the days to Christmas. FYI 28 days to go!

Blogging from my iPhone in bed

Status of my Nursing Program

Monday we took test number five. I now have a 74.8% average but need a 75% average to "progress" to next semester. So, I am feeling a little stress as there are only a couple more tests for me to take to pull my grade up. They do not round up or grade on a curve. Quite a few people dropped out this week. It is sad to see all that hard work not pay off. I am in it for the long haul. I just need to really focus and study daily. It is such a challenging and time consuming program. All this stress and uncertainty will just make it that much more rewarding when I finally finish. I am thinking positive. I can do it.
Joe is at his last race this week. Yippee! He will be home in a week. He did stop through Marin, again, to see his dad. Fred is not doing well so keep him in your prayers. He is on a feeding tube as he has lost his gag reflect which means his ability to swallow is compromised. He might swallow food/liquid into his lungs. He will be on this feeding tube for the rest of his life and, therefore, he will need 24 hour nursing care after he gets out of the hospital, assuming he gets out. At the other end of Joe's trip, he is going to visit with his step-brother in So Cal to deal with the material items from Curt and Susie's house. Not a pleasant visit under those circumstances. My poor hubby. I feel for him.
Joe will be going to Marin to cater for the month of December. Not great timing for me as I have a lot of stuff happening in my nursing program in December but I have lots of support here. I am toying with the idea of Joe taking Talan with him but that would mean finding a lot of babysitters to help him out while he is at work. I think Fred would love to see Talan. Joe brought Mason when he visited Marin two weeks ago. Joe works mainly at night so it might be possible to do so finagling of various resources there but it might be too much work. I am thinking I'd like to book a flight around Dec 15th/16th to Marin to see Fred myself and celebrate the holidays early with my folks. I do want to be back here in Idaho for Christmas as we like our white Christmas!
Anyway, my mind is wandering. I need to get back to studying. Just wanted to reach out to my friends and let you all know where I am at. I am enjoying school but just shocked how hard it is. I mean, I am at a community college in Idaho. :) I wouldn't have guessed I would be struggling to pass. It is the best program in the area by a long shot but I am used to earning great grades. Wish me luck. Lots of love to all of you. xoxo Brianna

I got an iPhone

Yippee! Barclay and Joe have had theirs for over a week but I have just been too busy to get into mine but now I have and I can't wait. What fun. Expect a lot more short posts from me now that it is going to be a lot easier. :)
Joe and Mason went to Marin for 3 days to visit Fred in the hospital. He is doing better but looks very weak and frail. Joe will get a chance to stop in for a day on his way to Pomona on November 9th and then he will be in Marin to cater after Thanksgiving. Thank goodness he will be able to see a lot of his dad as I think it means a lot to both of them.
Meanwhile, back at the home front, I am in week 10 of nursing school. I am going ok, I need to pull my grade up 1% to pass. My clinicals are about to double to two a week for the next 7 weeks which is very time consuming as the paper work before and after each clinical takes about 10 hours. Plus I still have two lectures a week, which is usually 2 chapters a lecture, and I have my regular life. Crazy busy but I am enjoying it. Remind me of that in the next few weeks. haha

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.