We're slowly getting better....

So Ethan made a trip to the doctor for the THIRD, count 'em, third time since Friday. He was not getting any better, still running fever, and miserable. Chad called first thing this morning and since Chad had taken all week off for Thanksgiving he went ahead and took him in. Well, guess what, folks? After being checked Friday AND Saturday (by two different doctors, neither our normal pediatrician) his regular pediatrician diagnosed him with RSV. Yes, RSV. AND also a double ear infection. I am a bit on the unhappy side right now and I think I might be calling the pediatrician's office tomorrow and talking to someone about this situation. I don't understand how he can go from showing no signs of RSV and an ear infection to full-blown RSV and TWO ear infections in less than 48 hours. Perhaps they can offer an explanation for this. That would be great. Otherwise I want to know why it wasn't caught on the second visit, if not the first. Furthermore, it could have saved us $75. Which, I don't want to make money an issue because I would sell the house if it meant making my child well, but by the time the three doctor visits were over and the prescriptions were filled we shelled out $125. That's something we don't really have lying around waiting for a rainy day. But, in the end, he was given an injection of antibiotics, was given a written prescription for Augmentin, AND is having to do breathing treatments every couple of hours. He does look 100% better just after having that injection and doing a couple of breathing treatments. But, I still am going to call the nurse and find out exactly what the hold up was in determining the REAL cause of all his symptoms.

Anyhow, so this is a sort of amusing story. I went to work today while Chad stayed home. I left a few dishes in the sink thinking they would at least make it to the dishwasher today, even if nothing else got done around the house. Well, nothing got done around the house AND the dishes are still in the sink. Actually, they were still in the sink until about 15 minutes ago when I put them in there myself. Not one thing had been put in it's proper place today and I don't recall checking, but I'm sure the bed is still unmade from this morning. So I asked Chad how he would like reversing roles. I could go to work everyday and he could stay home with the boys. His response was this: "HELL NO." I think he got a small taste of what my day is like. So now I won't feel quite so guilty if there are a few things left undone at the end of the day when he gets home from work. Oh, and dinner? Forget about it. He and Brennan went to eat with Chad's mom. Go figure.

Christmas cards and sickness.....

So, it's getting to be THAT TIME of year again! I've been on a mission since August of this year to find the perfect Christmas card to send out. Besides decorating my home for Christmas, sending out Christmas cards is my favorite thing to do. Every year I have to have the perfect picture and the perfect card. Of course, with our budget being tight this year I'm going to have to be a little less picky. But, I'm ready to take the picture and send out the cards!

Other updates: My poor Ethan has been extremely sick this week. I've taken him to the doctor twice within a 24 hour period. I've shelled out fifty bucks for both doctors to tell me the same thing: Just a bad upper respiratory infection and since he's so little there's nothing that can be done but give him Tylenol every 6 hours. What's with this new rule that you're not supposed to give young children cold medicine anymore?! How long have kids been taking that stuff?! Years. I think it's ridiculous when a child is suffering and there's "nothing that can be done". Of course, I didn't go to medical school, so all I can do is take the doctors word for it and watch my baby suffer. He's so sick that he's lost his voice and he can't even cry. It's the most pitiful thing I have ever seen. They pricked his finger today to check his white blood cell count and he wanted to cry but no sound would come out. It broke my heart. I wish I could take away the miserableness he's feeling right now and wish it upon myself. Fortunately he's sleeping a good bit and he's still nursing like usual. Hopefully the worst will be over by tomorrow. I don't think I can stand to see him like he is much longer.

Anyway, Thanksgiving is this week, which at my house, means it's time to put up some decorations and the Christmas tree! Chad has all week off so he said we could decorate on Wednesday!!! (Not that I needed his permission, mind you.) Of course, I have to work on Wednesday so I told him he could have everything out of the attic and ready to go when I get home from work that day. That on top of him painting Brennan and Ethan's bathroom. (The same bathroom I stripped wallpaper off SEVEN months ago!) We've been so busy and preoccupied that the bathroom was put at the bottom of our to-do list. Hopefully it will be finished this week, though. Once that is finished my house will be put back in order for the most part. Up next, wood floors..... (Chad are you reading this?)

So, this is how I've decided I'll face my fear head on: I'm going to treat it as if I have no choice. Just like there are many things in life we don't get choices in, this is going to be treated the same way. There are many days I don't want to get out of bed after being up all night with the baby tossing and turning (especially when it's cold outside!), but I have no choice. Sometimes I don't want to take the time to stop and fill up my car with gas, but I have no choice. Sometimes things are thrown my way in life that I don't want thrown at me and I don't want to deal with, but some things I have no choice but to accept it and deal with it as best I can and keep marching forward. Some days I don't want to get up and go to work, but I have no choice. Sometimes I want to have a day off from being a mommy, but regardless of where I travel in this world I will always be a mommy from now on. If I treat school in the same manner, maybe it will take some of the anxiety away. I have no choice but to do it and get it over with and have a better career opportunity so I can pay for my kids college and help Chad pay off HIS college and to save for the future. Retirement is a very big issue these days and I want to have something when I'm old enough to face retirement. So, I have no choice but to DO THIS!!!!!!

School, school, and more school....

So I did it. Today was the beginning of many small baby steps. I registered for school. Ask me how I feel.... Glad you asked. I. Am. Scared. Totally scared to death. On the way to the campus this morning I was very anxious. I even started to shake a little. I know, it's not like it was my first day of class or anything, but this was the first step in reaching my goal. Small as it may be, it was a little scary.

I've already hit a couple of snags along the way. For starters, I was only intending on taking one class to just get my feet wet and see how I handle school after 8 years of not being in school. BUT, as cheap as Hinds is, (and let me just tell you, it is dirt cheap!) Chad and I don't have the extra $400 to pay for a class right now. My parents don't have the money, so I had to do what I had to do. I signed up for 7 hours so that I could qualify for student loans. I just have to look at the bright side-- the more classes I take per semester the faster I can have my prerequisites done. Which brings me to the next problem.

I was informed that I also had to take Microbiology and Human Growth and Development on top of the three classes I already knew I had to have. So, I need to have 5 classes and my ACT out of the way before I can be accepted into nursing school. I guess two more classes aren't that big of a deal. I just have to accept it and deal with it.

But, I am really scared. For many reasons. Balancing a family, a job, and school will be no dauntless task. I'm taking Anatomy and Physiology I on Monday night. It's from 5:30 until 10:00 which means I will not see my family at all on Mondays since I work every Monday. The next night (Tuesday) I have Sociology, which will be better since I don't generally work on Tuesdays.

I'm also afraid I lack the brains I need to have to get through school. I am so intimidated. Especially when the counselor told me I had to have Micro. Science geek I am NOT. Give me English or History any day. I guess it is better than Organic Chemistry, right?

So, I'm intimidated, nervous, anxious, and scared. I have to look at this in tiny steps, instead of the big picture right now. Otherwise I will get too overwhelmed and I will quit too easily. I ran a marathon last year when something of that magnitude had never even crossed my mind. I did just what I was supposed to do: I took it one step at a time. Little by little. I took small bites of one big elephant and I eventually devoured it. People go back to school all the time with kids, and jobs, and other obligations. I'm young, and if I don't do this now, I never will. It will always be "coulda, woulda, shoulda". I can only do the best I can do and that's it. I can't do anymore than that. I've got a good support system and I have children that depend on me and that will be my number one motivation. Nothing takes away the fear, though.....

Foley is magical.....

Well, I made it back. Foley is such a magical place. All your dreams can come true there. ESPECIALLY if you go with no husband. Although my most spectacular find of the weekend were some really cute shoes that had a price tag of $70 and I left the store with them after only paying $9.41. It was the very last pair and the exact size I needed. Was this a sign that they were meant for me? I think so... And is this the kind of magic that goes on in Foley? YES! Yes, it is. I'm already counting down the days before our trip next year.

The weekend definitely had it's story-making moments. One consisted of a girl in our group smuggling a chicken wrap from Chick-Fil-A into LuLu's restaurant (Jimmy Buffet's wife, for those of you who, like me, didn't know either such wife OR restaurant existed) and eating said chicken wrap after demanding the waiter bring her a brownie and ice cream when he brought our drinks out. So, she had her smuggled wrap and brownie devoured before we even had our meals in front of us. If you knew anything about this girl you wouldn't even question this little episode.

For this next one I need all males to close their ears/eyes, and anyone with weak stomachs. I did what no woman ever wants to do. I pumped in a very, very public bathroom. In a corner I took out my machine and had two girls stand cover and hide me. This was NOT my suggestion, but I was on the trip with a very feisty nurse who DEMANDED I take care of business as usual. Baby or not. The things I said I'd NEVER do.... Desperate times call for desperate measures I guess.....

So, it's official. Earlier this week I sat down with my boss and told him I had plans on returning to school. I was so upset and worried for several days, but I knew I couldn't hide it from him. It had to be done. And although I wasn't quitting my job at that moment, we both knew the time would probably be coming sooner rather than later. I told him all the reasons why I wanted to return to school and that I have really struggled in making this decision. I love my job, I love dentistry, I love my boss, and I love my co-workers, but I really felt strongly about wanting to pursue nursing. He was very supportive, not that I thought he wouldn't be. But, it's hard telling your boss something like that. In other words, I was quitting, but not right at that moment.

Here's the funny thing. I had been in deep prayer over this, and although I felt right about the whole situation I just asked God to smack me in the head with an answer. So twice this week He did just that. Once happened Monday. We had a patient come in who worked for Sta-Home Health Agency. I don't believe she was an RN, but was like a nurse's assistant. (Whatever they are called these days.) I just started making conversation with her while Dr. Harkins was out of the room. She started telling me how much she loved her job and she looked forward to going to work everyday. She rarely ever called in sick and had the most wonderful patients. She also felt very rewarded in her job.She had also been with this agency for about 15 years or so. So, sign #1.

Sign #2 happened yesterday. Dr. Harkins and the patient were talking about a friend they both knew who returned to nursing school later on in her adult life. So Dr. Harkins tells the patient that I had made the decision to pursue nursing. The patient looked at me and told me that I needed to talk to this friend of hers and Dr. Harkins' because she returned to school at 42 years of age and just started her first job as a nurse. Her friend said it was the best job she's ever had and the decision to go back to nursing school was THE BEST DECISION SHE'S EVER MADE! Isn't it weird how sometimes God can smack you with an answer and other times you're wondering what the hold up is up there?!

Wish me Luck....

I'm leaving tomorrow for a short weekend trip to Foley, Alabama. So, why wish me luck? Well, I've never been to Foley, believe it or not, but I've heard LOTS of things about it. Like, gee, I don't know.... the SHOPPING! And I'm only going armed with a 100 dollar bill. That's it, folks. One hundred smackeroos and I'm going to try to make it all day Saturday by not spending more than the cash I have in my purse. Sound crazy? Darn right, it sounds crazy. Is it possible? Mmmmm, probably NOT. Am I going to try really, really hard to have self-control and be a good girl? Well, try I might. But, TRY is the key word.

So why even go? Well, just to get away for a night. Away from the kids and the hubby, as much as I love all of them, sometimes you just have to have non-mommy time. Of course, the girls I'm going with won't be great influences. They have money to burn. All of 'em. But, for the sake of wanting to be debt free and trying to pay off hospitals and doctors I MUST stay strong. MUST....STAY.....STRONG..... Pray for me.

Text messaging Part II

Now it's really getting scary. My dad has been text messaging me. AND my mother-in-law has caught on......

Text messaging

Here is what bothers me about text messaging: My mother knows how to text message. Granted, I actually have friends my mother's age who text all the time. But, my MOM?! This is so uncool on many different levels. When did she come out of the dark ages? This is someone who never, for the life of her could operate a computer properly. For years. Now she texts AND she sends emails. WHAT?! The first time she sent me a text message it kinda freaked me out a little bit. My mom just joined the new century. Eight years later......

College bound? (Again.....)

So, in ten days I will be eligible to enroll in school. I just got off the phone with Hinds verifying they got my application (since I never heard from them after completing my application online) and making sure I had the correct days to start enrolling. Now I feel a little nervous about the situation. It's one of those things I've talked about and talked about and now I'm actually DOING it. At least I HOPE to find myself standing in the enrollment office in a week or so. I've gotten positive encouragement from almost everyone (except for the couple of people who think I should be barefoot and pregnant for the rest of my life). My number one supporters are Chad and my mom and they have both been encouraging me. But now, I have a slightly elevated heartbeat and sweaty palms after hanging up the phone.

I just have to remind myself that this is something I really feel lead to do. I feel very strongly about this. I haven't been left alone about it, and I know that if this is something God wants me to do, then he will get me through it. Even retaking my ACT. Which I dread more than anything.

So, we'll see exactly how much nerve I have in ten days. I AM capable of doing what I want to do with my career. And I have the much needed support to do it and finish it, if that's what is meant to be.

VOTE!

I got out and voted today. How about you? I even took my boys (not that one really had a clue what was going on), and explained to Brennan the importance of what was happening. I don't think he really got it, but I could tell he was thinking about what I was telling him. I'm glad I got to take him. Maybe this will be one thing that sticks in his head as he gets older. It is very important to exercise that right, and every vote counts. If the past two elections haven't taught us that, I don't know what else will.

I don't really care who you voted for, that's your right, (I wish to offend no one) but I put my ballot in for McCain. I read an article on the Clarion-Ledger website, and they quoted a college student who drove five hours round trip to go home and vote this morning. I like what he said: “John McCain all the way. I’m conservative, and the liberal views of (Barack) Obama are totally different from my values.

“McCain gave us 5 1/2 years (as a POW during the Vietnam War). The least we can do is give him four.”

I learned a lot about both candidates during this election. I think Barack is very well spoken and educated, and he carries himself well. However, I don't agree with 95% of the changes he thinks we need. Not that I agree with McCain on 100% of his views, but he has values I think we can be proud of, and the stand he takes on most issues has gotten my vote. I watched all 3 debates, and I learned where the candidates stand on issues. I can't say that for everyone else in America. I would hope that most everyone has done their homework and researched the candidates and what they really stand for, and where they came from, and where they want to take this country.

Now, if you haven't done so, GO VOTE!!!! It's your right as an American. Be proud we can have a voice in who we want to run this country. And if your particular candidate loses this election, you still have the right to complain for the next four years. :-)

Ready for Christmas!

Christmas is right around the corner. It's so close I can taste it. I CANNOT wait. My tree is begging to be decorated. My oven is ready for baking. The Wisemen are ready for display. Baby Jesus is ready for the manger. The wreath is patiently waiting to be hung. The wrapping paper wants a gift to wrap. Can you tell that Christmastime is my favorite time of the year? It could be Christmas 365 days a year and it wouldn't hurt my feelings. Of course, I guess that would take away from the specialness of the season. First things first, let's not forget TURKEY DAY! Just a few weeks away and then the MAGIC begins! :-)

And yet there are more.....

The youngest Marine recruit ever. :-) (That is one heavy-duty bib! My brother brought it home when he was born.)



Brennan's first time to eat cotton candy. He wasn't a fan.



MiMi and Brennan.

Trick-or-treat.

Brennan and his cousin, Brooklyn.



Brennan and his friend, Grayson. (Trouble and Trouble.)



At the Fall Festival at church.



My sweet little Pumpkin.



At MiMi's house.

Friday Afternoon....

Some residents at Wisteria Gardens. ( Mr. and Mrs. Kelly--he was a former Jackson City Councilman years ago, before it became a JOKE.) This couple never had children and they wanted to hold the baby so bad. Very sweet people. He has Alzheimer's now.




We took the boys to trick-or-treat at Wisteria Gardens in Brandon. It's an assisted living/nursing home where my grandfather lives. (He HATES to hear it called a nursing home....) Brennan got lots of good candy and Ethan even got some candy! (In other words, I got the candy.)