AHHHHHHHHH

The paper is written and will be turned in tomorrow. Sigh...

Break time here I come.

I recognize that there are more serious problems children can have beyond speech, but without the basics, everyday tasks can become very complicated. I have been amazed at how many new words and sounds Autumn has learned this summer. Yesterday she said "book". Not only did she use the "ck" sound, but she didn't drop off the last consonant. I know I'll never know everything going through her head, but it's nice to finally be privy to a few of her thoughts.

I have also started reading the book Mother-Daughter Project. I have only gotten through the first three chapter, but I can already recommend it to any mom. Not just women who have daughters, but mother's of boys can gain a lot of insight, too. I can not quote the whole book, but I have read bits and pieces to my husband, and I think he would agree that the authors have illuminated some of the key issues that mother's struggle with. I will likely discuss later after I've had time to read the whole thing. If you have ever struggled with how to balance yourself as a woman and a mom (sans a moment's guilt), while trying to sort through what society tells us we should be , then I recommend at least reading the first three chapters.

Semi-Sigh

Not that anyone is reading, but if they were, I won't bore you with another nursing school rant. YES, it will be worth it in the long run, NO, nursing school is nothing like nursing. I have finished my community health project (with less-than-equal help).

I am drinking a beer, I'm going to play with the girls this weekend, and I'm go to take a much need break. Then it will just be 8 more pages to type up for a paper before I get a real vacation and will be at the true HALF WAY POINT!!! That alone is an accomplishment, trust me.

This weekend we will also get to spend a little time with Great Grandma and will have a chance to catch up with the Belmont Murphys (the siblings-in-law). It will be great fun.

sigh....

Batman Rocked

Brian arranged for Gramma to watch the kids last night and we went out to watch Batman. That movie was awesome. I've never read all of the comics, so it didn't need to live up to anything specific in my mind. It was really well done. Besides, a girl can't complain when she gets to watch Heath and Christian for 2 1/2 hours.

This community health rotation is sucking beyond belief. It's just not for me. But just two more weeks and I should have it off my plate. As of tomorrow, I will only have 14 (out of 56) hours left to complete. CAN NOT WAIT.

Abigail is getting very excited for Kindergarten. We went out and bought everything on her school supply list. I can not believe she is going to elementary school. Too much fun.

Don't Give A Damn

Literally, I had my meeting with my professor to discuss our final exam (taken over 2 weeks ago) and I could hardly muster a single damn. I'm sure the A- I got as a final grade doused the flames a little. Regardless, we spoke as professionals, we completely disagreed and were blunt, but professional.

On a silly note, Autumn has learned how to say "cocoa" today.

On a proud mama note, the girls were playing together so sweetly when it was time for them to head upstairs and brush their teeth. Brian was doing dishes and I was checking email. When we got upstairs, Abigail had taken it upon herself to change Autumn's diaper and had done an amazing job. She is getting so grown up.

Off to watch the World Series of Poker. Reminds me of Abigail's newborn days. I watched it for hours while nursing. Oh, back when I thought I had no free time, but upon reflection, had all the time in the world.

Plug Away

When I am in school, my free reading time is practically non-existent. I read enough for school, so a tv show or movie are more of what I have in mind in all of my spare time. However, Brian got a free book copy of Indiana Jones by my favorite author James Rollins. I like Rollins other works better, but this story was very in keeping with the Indiana Jones series. It was super nice to indulge in a non-school book. Even more exciting, I am now reading Germ Warriors. I've already read bits and pieces that were featured in other books, but I'm eating up the new bits. Even better I got it (and a ton of books for the girls) from BookCloseOuts.com. Now that I've plugged everyone I can think of, I should look over my stuff for my last clinical before summer break in just three more weeks. Nah, I'll just watch read a book instead.

Happy July

A day late to say Happy 4th, but we had such an All American day yesterday. We took the girl's to grandma's pool in the morning and hung out with the in-laws. Brian even took Abigial on a surprise dip down to the bottom of the pool. She didn't want to do it again right away, but she was smiling and very excited to try again today.

Family nap time, then it was off to see the fireworks after dinner. This is the first year we've kept the kids up late enough to see the fireworks. I know, I know. Other parent's don't think twice about keeping their kids up until 10:30 pm just for kicks, but consistent bedtime is what has maintained our sanity the last five years. Regardless, the girls had a BLAST. They were so well behaved and were ridiculously excited about the fireworks. Abigail was up at 6:15 because of a thunderstorm and Autumn was still up before 8. They did nap well today, though.

Here are a couple of pics of the patriotic ladies.

Cheese!

Abigail and Her Friend Now Known as KK

Just When You Thought Your Program Couldn't Get Any Worse

I took my final Tuesday for one of my summer class, Culture and Health. It had the makings of being a very interesting class. We'd get a chance to learn about different cultures and how they approach healthcare. We'd learn strategies for closing the gap in access and quality of care.

Needless to say, I am not shocked that this information was not included, despite the objectives listed on the syllabus. What a huge waste of time and money. The take home message we were conveyed "blacks have worse outcomes for every disease, than whites and by owning my own home I am perpetuating the suppression of blacks". I get it. Whites have better health outcomes and a higher socioeconomic class than just about every minority in this country, but give me solutions and strategies to provide equality. Pointing out wrong isn't enough to fix anything. It's like telling someone they're obese. You're not telling them anything new. If you want them to lose the weight give them nutrition and excercise information that will help them reach their weight loss goal.

And don't even get me started on the final (too late). For starters, everyone struggled with being able to identify the material that needed to learned. Nothing was really emphasized in class. I'd read the book (aka-skimmed the chapter summaries) and did all the online modules. The final was 25 questions, open book, open note, 2 hours. Who wouldn't ace it? I would not be surprised if some of my classmates didn't fail it. I have never seen anything so preposterous. Short answers were really essays. One even required three references!!! references!!! on an exam!!! I can't get into too many details, as the exam is still open until Monday for my classmates to take, but 75% of the test was not covered in the class and only 2 could be recalled without looking them up (not because I'm stupid, but because they called for the obscure statistic or concept NOT MENTIONED IN CLASS!!!

So, I am meeting with the teacher to discuss this and talking with the Dean of the program. Both are getting a serious ear full. I mean no disrespect, I understand these people have feeling and think they are doing a good job, but I have never seen such horrible education as I have in this program. The nursing educator shortage is very obvious and it's only going to churn out really incompetent nurses.

I'm sure it will come as no surprise when I say I can NOT recommend this program to ANYONE.

On the up side, I finished lecture for the summer yesterday and I don't start clinical until Tuesday. A little break for the holiday weekend, I can not wait. I am going to declutter and polish this place up, then kick my feet up, eat some watermelon, and drink a beer. sigh.