Hamster Rescue

Every attempt I make to study has failed. Life just keeps happening around the house and I want to be part of it. This morning, the kids slept in and it was so peaceful. I made myself a cup of tea and sat at the computer to "begin" studying and I heard footsteps coming down the stairs. It's Brian. "Good morning, Brian" I say and he responds that he is hungry and would like pancakes or waffles. I made him a waffle and went back to the computer. I then hear Ethan talking to Brian in the living room as they watch tv. So I go in to say good morning and he responds, "I am a good boy." Uh-oh! That means he did something. I ask him why he is a good boy and he says that Kia, the hamster, is not in his cage and he is in my bedroom. Ethan said he locked my bedroom door. Great! I don't know how long Kia has been out of his cage or locked in my bedroom. I rushed upstairs to the boy's room and there is no hamster in the cage. I then go to my room and as Ethan promised...the door is locked. I unlock the door and start looking in the corners and behind furniture. No Kia. So then I yell down to Ethan to help me. He comes up and lifts a bowl that he had Kia under. When he wasn't there, Ethan says, "oh, he disappeared!" aaack!!! We searched and searched...finally, I found Kia under our bench in the bedroom. Ethan scooped him up, because I'm not touching him, and put him back into the cage. I don't think I'll ever get any studying done. I think I will recommend to the nursing department that summer is not a great time to schedule pharmacology class.

Father's Day 2010

Matt enjoyed going out and golfing this morning with my dad and brother. When he came home, the kids had their homemade cards ready to give. We all sat around the coffee table while Matt openened his father day gift...a mini fridge/heater that he can plug into the car or under his desk at work. We thought it would come in handy for him to keep his lunches cool or his AMP drink cool for his long ride home from work. Matt kept asking where we were going and to keep it a surprise, I had to tell the boys we were going ice skating. So they were blabbing away that we were going ice skating and Matt kept questioning what to wear b/c he knew we were not going ice skating by seeing the kids wearing shorts and t-shirts. None of us had ever been to this place so it was a new adventure for the Gillespie's. While Matt was golfing, I packed up the van with lunches and extra clothing. The plan was to have a picnic lunch and do some hiking. We drove to Rocky Gap State Park. The drive was beautiful! You could look out and see farms below in the valley. When we arrived at our destination, we unloaded and found a shady spot under a tree on the hill that overlooked one of the beaches. We ate lunch and decided to try canoeing. The kids did not want to go and once we were in the canoe, Brian freaked out and told everyone to sit still and not rock the boat. He didn't want it to flip over. Eventually he warmed up to it and when our hour was over, he asked is the kids could paddle next time. :D We then went for a hike. We walked up to the aviary and saw owls and falcons in the aviary and then we continued to hike to the Canyon Overlook. It was beautiful! Ethan was our trail leader. Once we returned to the picnic area, we changed into our swim suits and headed to the beach area. The boys and Matt enjoyed swimming in the lake. Brian was fascinated with the minnows swimming nearby and Ethan was riding on Matt's back....Matt was a dolphin. Dinner was at Friendly's and once home, we lit up the firepit and it seemed the entire neighborhood was in our backyard for marshmallows. It was an awesome day!!

Ethan'isms

Today was a busy day. Kids were everywhere! You can definitely tell summer has arrived at our house. The door is constantly opening and kids are coming in and playing....today especially for some reason. The boys were playing in the basement when our neighbor's daughter came over to play. She joined the boys in the basement and about an hour later, our other neighbor's daughter came to play. Katheryn then came home from a sleepover with her friend and then joined up with the neighbor's other daughter and played here at our house. A little while passed and the doorbell rings. It's Madison's mom Heidi, w/a snack for Madison. Heidi and I start to chat in the kitchen and the doorbell rings. It's Brian's friend Kyle with his mom Danielle and 7 month old baby brother Sawyer. Danielle joins Heidi and I in the kitchen and we're chit chatting until Ethan comes up the basement stairs and sees Sawyer. With much excitement he says, "what is that?! Can we keep it?!" We mom's started laughing so hard, it was so funny. Then a while later, everyone left. Brian went with Kyle to play at his house and Ethan was so upset that he was left at home stuck with me. He then went outside to entertain himself and came back into the house minutes later with exciting news. Our conversation went like this: Ethan: Mommy, I found a lightning bug! Me: You did? Ethan: Yeah, it's dead. It's a dead lightning bug! Me: Ethan, throw it away or take it back outside. Ethan: Why? Me: Because I don't want it inside the house. Throw it away. Ethan: No, I want to keep it -- it doesn't poop!

Torn mommy

It's amazing how you can plan your day at a drop, it can be changed again. A busy day was planned today starting with Katheryn's 5th grade graduation ceremony at 9:30am and then a trip to the dentist for Ethan at noon. It was a normal morning, the kids were awake and getting ready for school. I had just put Brian's waffles and milk on the table. He drank his milk and soon after he threw up. Wonderful! I thought that maybe he just had a little too much to eat for dinner last night and it was all catching up to him this morning. I sent him out the door with Kahteryn to the bus stop and about 3 minutes later, they were back. Apparently, Brian threw up at the bus stop. OK! So, he doesn't have a temperature so I put him to bed. After about an hour, he came downstairs and was playing with Ethan and running around. Hmm. OK, so he feels better. It was time to leave for Katheryn's ceremony so I told Brian I would sign him into school and he says, "mommy, I think I'm going to throw up again." I didn't believe him. I thought he was trying to keep from going to school because he really didn't look sick at all or feel warm. I told him he had to go with me and that I wouldn't sign him in. He could sit and stay with me. We all get into the van and head to the school. Upon entering the building, we see the cafteria filled with parents and grandparents. We find three seats together and sit down. Ethan complained of not being able to see the stage and the lady behind us chimed in told Ethan she was bigger than him and couldn't see either to help Ethan feel better. At that moment, we here this sound like someone had taken a glass of water and dumped it onto the floor. Well, unfortunately for me, it wasn't a glass of water, it was Brian throwing up. Great! I immediately jumped up a teacher happened to be walking past when I stopped her to let her know. She left to get a janitor while I rushed Brian to the bathroom. I saw Katheryn's teacher in the hallway outside the bathroom to let her know I wasn't able to stay and I then noticed her class was lined up in the hallway. I went to Katheryn and gave her my camera so she could take pictures and share her day with us later when she got home. I then came home with the boys and Brian is now in bed. I told him he was not allowed to get out of bed unless he needed to use the bathroom. So once I got home, I called the dentist to reschedule Ethan's appointment. So what was a busy day for me today is now a day to stay at home. I feel horrible for trying to get Brian to go to school and I feel sad that I won't be able to see Katheryn's ceremony where she gets to say goodbye to elementary school. It's hard but I know that I can't control it all and there will be many more graduations to come. I just hope Brian feels better soon.

Graduation May 15, 2010

In December, my dad had a "mini-stroke" that hospitalized him over Christmas. I had just finished up my semester a few weeks prior and completed the credits needed to receive an Associates degree in General Studies. Although I am proud of my accomplishment, the degree in General Studies doesn't really hold much meaning for me. The degree completion was done for my parents. I received my diploma in the mail the day before Christmas eve and I decided to make a copy and frame it. I wrapped it up with bows and decorations and took it with me to the hospital Christmas Eve when I went to visit my dad. My mom was there visiting too. I gave my dad the gift and he gave it to my mom to open. Once she opened it, she started to tear up and my dad was wondering what it was to make her tear up. She handed it to him and his eyes began to swell with tears as well. I told them, "Merry Christmas. Now you have 2 college graduates." That piece of paper meant the world to them and although it didn't have much meaning for me, I was glad to see how happy it they were because of it. So, to fast forward to the present, this past Saturday, May 15th, was graduation day. I did not want to walk at graduation but my parents really wanted to see the ceremony to make the diploma come to life I guess. So, I signed up to graduate. My parents and family found me in line before the procession and I took a picture with Matt and the kids before they went to find seats. After the ceremony I looked and looked for them and eventually found Matt and the kids outside waiting. I guess my parents had to leave in order to open up the flea market. I didn't get a picture with them but it's ok. The next diploma will mean more to me -- my anticipated graduation date from Nursing is December 2011...so May 2012 I will be walking again only this time, I will be doing the walk for me.

FIRE!

We had a scare two nights ago. Everyone was asleep in bed while I was awake watching "Army Wives" and repeats of "Drop Dead Diva" on Lifetime while studying. As I was sitting on the couch, I noticed this orange glow from the window. I figured our neighbors were getting ready to light up some fireworks. So when I looked out the window, I saw the neighbor's shed had caught fire. I grabbed the phone and raced upstairs to wake Matt as I was dialing 911. By the time I reached Matt, the shed was engulfed in flames. Matt immediately got up and ran outside...in his underwear mind you....to make sure all were okay. My neighbor caught video of Matt racing back across the yards to grab our house in his underwear. LOL! Thankfully it was dark out so you can't see much but the image is still hillarious. She has footage of Matt with the hose spraying down the tree and our fence. The water pressure isn't the greatest so Matt's silouhette looks like it's peeing on the fire. LOL! If I can get the video from the neighbor I will definitely add it to this post. The neighbor's shed is totally gone and because Matt was out with the hose, he was able to save the other neighbor's tree and the kids' playset. Our fence has about 6 rails and a post that needs to be replaced. Some of the images my neighbor captured with her camera are quite freaky too. They gave me chills when reviewing them. In the clouds you can pick out faces and a few look like demons or possibly what the devil may appear to us as. It was quite chilling. I'll see if I can post some later.

Ethan's hose

Okay, this morning I was in the office reviewing some notes. Then, I hear this noise like someone taking a hose and filling a bucket with water. Curious, I leaped out of the chair and headed towards the kitchen. I then see Ethan standing by the basement door with his little hose out pee'ing down the basement stairs. NICE! He immediately said he was sorry when I screamed out his name. *sigh* All this right before having to send Katheryn and Brian out the door to school. Sometimes I wonder if Ethan will grow out of these mischievous acts. Right when I think he's put it all behind him, something like this happens. LOL!

Week for the Medical Experts

What a week we had here. Sunday evening our washer started to leak water from the bottom while Matt was washing his PT's. Then Monday evening, Brian wasn't feeling well at all. He had fallen asleep on the couch right after school and slept until 5pm but seemed to be back to himself on Tuesday. When he got home, he had started a cough. I thought maybe the change of weather was getting to him with the flowers beginning to bloom. Wednesday I received a call from the school nurse as I was sitting down to prepare for class. She wanted to know if Brian had any cough medicine before coming to school because he was coughing up a storm and was distracting himself. I went to the school after class at 12:30 and administered another dose of cough syrup and gave Brian the option of going home with me or staying in school. He seemed fine other than the persistant cough and he chose to stay at school. Later while at Katheryn's dance class, Brian was buzzing around and then suddenly he just stopped. He didn't seem well at all and I was getting worried. I had clinicals the next day and if I miss class, it counts against me. Once we arrived home, Brian's skin temp had gotten really warm. I took his temp, 102.5. I gave him some Ibuprofen and lots of hugs. I had then received an email stating clinicals were cancelled so this brought much relief. Matt then tells me that he thinks he broke his ankle. Great! He was limping around the house and before bed soaked it in some epsom salt. I was able to schedule Brian an appointment for the next day. Thursday I let him sleep in and when he woke up at 7:30 he came downstairs dressed and ready for school. Hmmmm. I almost took him to school but decided to let him stay home. We went to his appointment and the doctor said he was the third kid now in a row with the same symptoms. He said he was ok as long as his fever didn't come back. Thankfully it hasn't been back. So this leaves us to today. I had clinicals this morning and my friend picked me up at 5:30am. My patient was ready to go so I really didn't have much to do. I was finished with everything by 8:05 and we are there until 12. I had a lot of time on my hands that I needed to fill. Thankfully the adjunct let us finish at 10:30 and were out of there at 11am. I went to the lobby to wait for my friend. She finally came at 12:15 from her floor and looked like a train had hit her. She said they were so busy. We leave and are headed to school so we can test off our skill of hanging IV bags. We are both extremely tired when we get there and I volunteered to go first. She starts recording me and my cell phone rings. Great. We stopped the tape and because I didn't recognize the number, I chose the ignore option so I could continue with the testing. As I start back up again, my voicemail music starts to alert me that I received a voicemail. Again, we stop the session and I check it. It's the YMCA calling to let me know that they think Ethan has nursemaids' elbow. Lovely! I can't get an appointment and I'm in the middle of a skills test. I finished the skills test and am flustered. I hope I passed it but I'm sure I made some mistakes. The hard part was that I couldn't just leave because I didn't drive. I had to wait on my friend to test out too. So she begins and keeps having to restart because all she can think about is getting me home. Finally we make it out of there. As we're going down the road, I put on my sunglasses and I find it to be blurry on one side. I kept wiping it with my finger trying to rid the blur but it wouldn't go away. My friend and I continue talking and at one point I turn to look at her while she is talking and she starts to laugh out loud. I asked her if she saw what was blurry on my sunglasses and through heavy laughter, she says, "you just need to look in the mirror." She was in tears laughing and I pull my sunglasses off and gosh darn it....the lens on the left side is missing. No wonder that side was so clear! We both are laughing hysterically and I had my camera with me so I snapped a shot of us. We so needed to laugh. aaaahhhh. The minute I got home, I let Cody out for 2 minutes...poor guy....and the kids were walking around the corner when I left to get them from the bus stop. We get Ethan from the Y and head over to the ER. Ethan puts on a show for the lady checking us in and puts on his puppy dog eyes and whimpers, "can you help me? I have an owie." Pathetic and yet so cute. We go into the room and a nurse comes in. He says, "hi doctor! Can you help me?" She tells him she's a nurse and she checks out his arm. She goes to order an x-ray of his wrist. Then the PA comes in. He takes Ethan's arm and moves it just so and it pops back into place. He told Ethan to move it and he didn't believe that he fixed it. So the PA moved it for him and when Ethan realized it was better, he told the PA, "you can come to my home, it's clean!" The PA asked what was for dinner and Ethan told him pot roast. Then as we were leaving, he invited the ER volunteer, RN and receptionist to dinner at our house at 5pm. LOL! Thankfully no one took him up on his offer. :D I'm so thankful to be home now.

New Discovery

While trying to figure out how to video a class project and edit it, I realized that our home camcorder is a digital camcorder. We've had it for years and I don't know why I never realized this until now. I'm not tech saavy so please don't laugh. I researched video editing online and found that all I needed was a firewire cable to hook my camcorder to my computer to allow me to download. I didn't understand how that would work since I have tapes and not a memory stick but I guess having the mini DV tapes is best and it allows for better quality on the video download. So, for the past two nights, I have downloaded one tape each night. I can't believe how time has flown by. Katheryn in 1st grade on these videos ...wow! I can't wait to get everything downloaded and to make them into DVD's. It'll make sharing videos so much easier. I can't wait to share!

Day 1 of P90X

Okay, so here we go. It's the morning of Feb. 22. I have claimed this to be day 1 of P90X since I've had it in the house now for 2 weeks. It's so hard to find the time to get anything started with school going on. If it wasn't for Matt and his helping hands around the house, I don't think I would be organized. Matt has done so much to help. He has taken over making the kids lunches and he's even cleaning the house and doing laundry. Last night he made dinner. He's doing so much to help me achieve my goals. I am so thankful. For breakfast I am having an egg white omelet with mushroom, tomatoes, green onions and some cheddar cheese. I have lab in about an hour and when I return I will be doing the first workout. I will blog about it tomorrow I suppose...if I'm still alive. LOL! This is something I really want to do. My brother's wedding is in August and I want to at least have arms that have some definition to them. :) Deep breath in.....head held high. I can get through nursing school and I can get through P90X. Bring it!

First Day of Clinicals

Thursday was orientation at the hospital. I was excited to be going away from the school for learning but not looking forward to the long day of 8-4. We got a tour of the unit we would be working on and a quick class on the computer system and our badges. It turns out that my adjucnt didn't quite give us the tour we needed or the information we needed to start on Friday. Friday morning, clinicals start at 6:30am. Luckily I have friends here in the neighborhood and we decided to carpool. However, we are each on a different floor/unit. I am on the rehabilitation floor. I am thankful it's not trauma! I got my nurses' report at 7am about my patient and reported back to my adjunct with notes. My patient is a 72 year old female with R-CVA. I went to introduce myself and take her vital signs only realizing that there wasn't a blood pressure cuff in the room. I excused myself and came back with a machine. After I took her blood pressure, I noticed her RN was in the room waiting to take her assessment. So I stepped aside to allow her to take her assessment as I watched. I was very thankful because I really didn't have a clue as to what I was doing. I observed the nurse take her assessment and then it allowed me to fill in the gaps of what I needed for my report. My patient probably thought I was a nuissance but I was able to get everything done that I needed to. Phew! The hardest part of this whole experience was just getting in there and doing it. We didn't go over head to toe assessments in class other than just lecture. We didn't actually have to do one and get checked off so I wasn't quite sure what I was doing when I got in there. I felt like we were fed to a pack of wolves. However, I survived but I am now wondering what the heck I am doing in nursing. I'm not sure that this is something for me. I won't quit since I've started but it's going to be one rough road. I feel as though I am playing catch up all the time and that the kids may be suffering from my time away from them. Ethan spent the night with my parent's Wed and Thursday and when I went to pick him up, he told me to go away and that he didn't love me anymore. It broke my heart. At least he was able to change his tune before I left and said that he loved me forever and always. :) After clinicals, tensions and emotions were running high. Most of us had to report back to the school to get our sterile techniques checked off and donning sterile gloves. I hadn't slept the night before because I was busy preparing my prep card for clinicals. We get to the school and start to work. Everyone is just chaotic and confused. Overwhelmed. We all needed to relax somehow but it was just too much for one day. I made it home, went to my parents to pick up Ethan. I sat on their couch and about 30 minutes later I fell asleep. I didn't wake up until 9pm. Yikes. I made it home and immediately went to bed. I slept in until 12:30pm!!! I so needed it. Now I am studying for my quiz on Monday and exam on Tuesday. I'm no where near ready. This is soooo much!!! I would love for the semester to be over with already. Red Bull has become my friend.