Almost vacation time!

I fear that my last post may have sounded a bit bratty. Kind of "woe is me" when that is not really what I was going for. I was more trying to talk about the worries that I have, whether they are rational or not. I know how lucky I am.

Case in point: we are heading to Disney World next week for a vacation! Probably the last major vacation for a little while, as Nursing School will put a crimp in my schedule for the next two years. I have only one more test left to go in A&P 2 (Fluid, Electrolyte, and Acid-Base Balance) and then I am done untiil August! Yippee!!

We are really excited about this vacation. We've been planning it for 10 weeks, which is WAY longer in advance than we normally plan vacations (DH is vey much a last-minute planner, and I have adjusted to this habit as well). So we feel like we've been waiting forever for the day to finally get here!

We have a ton of fun stuff planned - character meals, riding rides and watching parades, a visit to the Bibbidi-Bobbidi Boutique (dress-up opportunity for my DD), etc. We've also planned a "down day" to just relax around our hotel, go to the pool, etc. Only 6 days until we leave!

Back to work now!

The money post

So, the topic of the day is money. Specifically, how the heck will DH and I support ourselves once I am a nurse. Don't get me wrong, nurses make pretty decent money (though not as decent in these parts as I've heard in others). But he is a SAHD, which means I make 100% of the income. And we've build our lifestyle (admittedly a pretty modest one, but we do get to take vacations and go out to eat and do a lot of fun stuff) around my current salary. And that salary is about twice what I will make as a new nurse. TWICE. Meaning my salary will be cut in HALF right out of nursing school.

We have a lot of ideas on how to deal with this, but we don't really know how it will turn out, which makes me nervous. Some of our ideas:

- save up enough to make it through the first 6 months or so, then rely on me getting OT and/or a PRN job on the side
- hubby gets a job
- try to stay on part-time in my current job and work full-time as a nurse
- cut WAY back on expenses
- continue full-time at my current job (or cut back just slightly) and work part-time as a nurse (don't love this options as a new nurse)

The big question is - will DH need to get a job? We are totally spoiled by having him as a SAHD right now. I never have to worry about calling in to work when the kiddos are sick, etc. He take care of all of the dr. appts. I'd hate to lose that, but we might have to. We can cut back a bit on expenses, but really we don't carry a whole lot of extra expense around. And our cars are getting old (both paid off) and we will need to replace at least one soon. And the house needs to be painted. And the roof is old. And the heat pump isn't so new, either. And neither of the kids have college funds. Perhaps you can see why I get a little nervous?

But then I take a step back. We have a safe roof over our heads. We have plenty of food to eat, and we are all comfortably clothed. We have the luxury of taking a vacation (almost) every year. Becoming a nurse just FEELS right. I know that it's what I'm supposed to be doing. I feel that I am being led to do this, and I trust that we will make this work, that God is there taking care of us.

But MAN, that control freak-ish side is hard to tame! I'm sure I'll be worrying about this more as the time draws near (2 years and counting).

Miscellany...

Well, 4 months to go until Nursing School starts in earnest! I am looking forward to my summer "off" (as much as working a full time job while raising 2 kids can be considered of), but also am quite antsy to get more info on school.

I know that I need to take a CPR class, get books, get some immunizations, and get supplies (steth, BP kit, PDA, uniforms, and more I'm sure)...but I'm waiting for some type of instruction before I start buying stuff! I know that our uniforms are white, but not sure if there's any specific kind. I'm also pretty sure I'm going to get a Littmann steth (either Classic II or Cardiology III).

On the homefront, we took advantage of some beautiful weather today to get a lot done around the house. Hubby mowed the lawn and raked/bagged leaves (yes, still leftover from Fall), which DD and I planted flowers. We also got a bike ride and a trip to Target in there. Whew!

Only 2 more tests left in A&P 2 (I will SHOUT out that I got a 100 on the last one - urinary and digestive systems!). This coming one (next Thursday) is a lab test...now off to start studying!

Going public!

I am going to test out making this blog public for a while and see if anyone finds me! We'll see what happens.

You make me wanna SHOUT!

And not in a good way!

Things that are ticking me off today:

- Passive-aggressive co-workers (okay, there's only one, but she's getting on MY LAST NERVE). And maybe she's more aggressive-aggressive than passive-aggressive, but seriously, do you have to resist me about EVERYTHING? You KNOW I'm going to talk to your manager about your 'tude, right? You remind me EVERY DAY why I want to be a nurse - at least then if I am fighting with someone, it will be about something that matters!

- The urinary system. Not my favorite system so far!

- Having NO WARNING before I get my period! Since I had DS, my periods come WHAM! No cramps until after the flow starts. Seriously, this morning I got up and had breakfast and by the time I stood up it looked like the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Not that I mind not having the 24 hours of mind-boggling cramps, but I'd like a little warning!

Okay, I feel better now. Back to the urinary system (test tomorrow!)

Eager for more details on school!

I've been obsessively checking my school email looking for a message containing more details about my upcoming nursing adventure. The deadline for people who were offered a place in the program to accept was this past Friday, so I assume they are waiting until they finalize the class to send us all of the details (uniforms, med exam, orientation, books, etc). I will just have to be patient. It's hard, but it's just part of my obsessive preparation tendency. Once I know that something is going to happen, I totally go crazy gathering information about it. I did this with wedding planning, pregnancy, and now nursing school.

Oh, and I have a test tonight - gotta put the kids to bed to I can finish studying and take the test.

Busy week!

It's weeks like this that make me wonder how I am going to get through Nursing School while holding down my full time job and taking care of my family. I've been busy with work and studying for my next Anatomy and Physiology 2 test (only 4 more tests to go out of 11!). I have to admit that I tend to procrastinate on the studying - it's much more fun to check out nurse blogs! I think that once I am really into the nursing subject matter I will have an easier time (I tend to do well under pressure).

I have noticed that I have A LOT more interested in the gross anatomy of body systems than of the cellular anatomy. I can picture blood flowing through the heart and circulatory system, air flowing into the lungs, disorders of the skin, etc. But I have a hard time with things like the nervous system and immune system that are more about what's happening at the cellular level. I wonder what this says about what I will like doing as a nurse?