Diary of A Wimpy Nursing Student

Another semester down...and as I head toward graduation, I have advice for future or current nursing students. I hope this helps in your path toward the nursing world.
1. Be prepared to work hard. You will have to do a lot of reading, and it will be very confusing at times. Do the best you can to get through it and, don't dwell on it.
2. Find a few classmates you get along with, and stick with them through the whole program. At times when no one else in your life fully understands what you are going through, they will. I can't emphasize enough how important this mutual understanding is, and I guarantee that these people will talk sense into you every time you REALLY need it. Thanks Paige & Meagan!!!!! Muah!
3. Be prepared to feel lost. My first time doing everything (including putting a patient's sock on her foot), I was so scared I was shaking. It is normal to completely forget how to do everything (even the most simple tasks) when you are nervous. So don't let this make you feel stupid or inferior- it is NORMAL!!
4. Ask tons of questions. If you are told by a nurse to do something on a patient and you are not familiar with it or are uncomfortable, ASK for help.
5. Be prepared to laugh at yourself. When I do something stupid, I simply laugh. I'm not embarrassed, we all do dumb things.
6. Even though I'm extremely busy, I take one night off. This means do not do any school work whatsoever one night every week. Thursday night is my night off. I watch TV, catch up with friends, just do whatever I want. On Monday, when I really want to watch something on TV or feel unmotivated to work, I keep telling myself that I only have a few more days until Thursday.
7. Find an outlet for your frustrations. This blog has been wonderful for me- I just write about what I feel, and even though I usually don't end up posting those things for the world to see, just writing about them makes me feel a lot better. Although this takes away from my study time, it is well worth it. I don't think I could keep going all those hours if I didn't have some way to release some steam.

St Joseph...do your thing

I want to sell my house. Like, yesterday. It's only been on the market for one week but I am tired of showing the house and all the work that comes with it (cleaning, laundry, picking up toys, etc.) I am tired of having projects not done around here. I want to stop worrying about how much my house is worth, and I just want to be closer to family already.
Naty and I burried St. Joseph today, in hopes for an offer to come our way. I did this at our last house and it worked so, I believe that he will help us again. Sometimes, I feel that selling our house is just a dream; that it’s something that will never really happen. I don't want to be 'stuck' here like some people. I guess we will leave it up to faith (and St. Joseph), if it's meant to happen, it will. And if it isn't, well that's ok too.

On the Move

If it's been a while since I last blogged it's because our house is officially on the market. Many people are asking why we're selling our house, so I'd like to take this great opportunity to share. When we moved to Texas it was a great opportunity for our family to live in a lower cost of living area and save money, which is exactly what we did. The market has picked up in Texas and it seems like the best opportunity to sell. Four years ago, we traded palm trees for rolling hills, the ocean for man made lakes, and concrete block for brick. Although we have enjoyed living here, we are ready to get our lives settled, plant our roots, and enjoy watching our children grow up.....near our families.
Moving back to Florida could cause so many problems it’s not even funny. For starters, we both have good paying, stable (as they can be) jobs right now. We should just be thankful for that. And we are. We’re fortunate that we can pay our mortgage. We’re lucky that we’ve got property to grow our own garden, room for the kids to play, and have privacy that we thought we’d never be able to afford. But, we are 20 hours away from our families and I miss them (and the beach).
There are just some things that are more important in life, and this os one of them.

Home Sweet Home

We are the type of family who doesn’t settle, we follow our dreams and we move forward, never looking back and, because we have each other and that’s all that matters. So, when Michael decided to change careers, I knew that I would do whatever it is to allow him to follow his dreams just like he has done for me.

We closed on this house on a beautiful September day. I remember loving all the orange and red leaves that trickled down the streets. This is a picture from one of the first days here with no furniture. I remember having dinner with our kids on the floor but, we didn’t care, we were soooo happy. I will always remember that night!
Today we put our house on the market and although I am very excited, I am also having mini melt downs a couple times a day as we officially start to leave our 1st Texas home, which is the only home my kids really remember.


Moving is super stressful! There is so much to take care of, let alone change states. Right now I want to share some before and after pictures of the house as I say goodbye to our home. We worked really hard on the house for the short time we lived here. Its fun to look back and see what we started with…….it was a nice home and we made a lot of great memories here but its time to move on to the next chapter in what will probably be a big book, haha!!!!

Stop, Drop, and Roll.....with the changes

My husband is now a certified fighter. It’s amazing how a career change makes a huge difference. Our entire married life has consisted of daddy architect, dressing in shirts and ties, running to meetings, wearing a hard hat, carrying a lap-top, and two blackberry’s on his hip. Now that he is a fire fighter things have changed……
Working out and keeping in shape has become a priority.
Aside form the cool fireman attire, the smoke mixed in with his natural smell takes some getting used to.

HE questions ME about medical things…..ok we won’t go there.
The golf clubs are back!
I think I will love having the bed to myself every third night.
My son can tell the difference between a police siren and a fire siren.
My children have a built in hero.
I have a husband who saves lives, cooks dinner (on the grill), does laundry, and takes time to watch a movie in his pjs with his family.....what more could a girl ask for????
We are so proud of you, Mike :)