My Life, a Story in Pictures

The last few weeks have been so overwhelming busy that I'm...well...I'm overwhelmed & busy. Completely, utterly, totally, and hopelessly overwhelmed with my schedule. There's an end in sight, as my break from school is in just a few breaks, but by golly, it doesn't feel soon enough. I feel like I just ran a marathon and I've collapsed and am barely able to drag myself across the finish line...it's just an arm's length away but being this exhausted and smothered in to-do's, it might as well be a mile. 

That's how those couple weeks feel. Yup. 

So here's some of the things I've been doing...

I needed updated shots and TB tests so I got jabbed and poked all over the place. I could have spaced them out but I'll totally deal with multiple pokes and jabs to not have to try to figure out where to put more appointments in my schedule. 

2 days after I got jabbed and poked, I went back to the clinic to get my TB test read. As the medical assistant was looking at my arm, I thought, "Oh, wow, my other arm is really sore and heavy feeling." I looked down at that arm and said, "Oh, wow, that's not what you want to see." The medical assistant tried to stay calm and reassure me with, "Oh, yup, that's a reaction to one of your vaccines." No kidding. Her fake calm was an epic fail when she got on the phone and, panicked, "I need an RN in here immediately!!"

Site of my flu shot...
septic. 

Let me define septic for all of you non-medical peoples. (No, I'm not talking about the poo holder on the farm.) It means I had an infection in my bloodstream...from a contaminated needle. Fun, no?

Before the RN came in, I knew exactly
what kind of reaction I was having.
I took a picture cuz I was so amused.

Yeah, I thought it was funny. The nurse asked why I was laughing, since she knows I'm a nursing student and I know how serious this infection is. I showed her my calendar without saying anything. She laughed too. "People say they don't have time to be sick, but you're the first person that it really, genuinely applies to."

I survived. In fact, I survived to find this after a rather blistering cold snow stormy night...

WTF is that in the passanger seat??

Ah...it's my banana
peel from my snack the
day before.

So one night in below
freezing temps makes
for an interesting fruit.

Something I had never before considered about being a parent to an adult...I had to fill out paperwork for my adult child to take a minor out of the state on an airplane. I had to mark her as the temporary guardian of...get this...her best friend who is 17. I didn't want to get a call from Amazing Grace that she was in prison for kidnapping so I made sure to drill into both girls' heads how important it was that they keep that paper (signed by BFF's parents, of course) on them at all times. 

After months & months of preparation & daily countdown, Hubby & I drove the girls to the airport at the unholy hour of 6a on my day off, anything before 8a & so far away is unholy...

First flight for both.

As I watched them go through security, I did not run across the airport, through the "DO NOT ENTER WITHOUT A BOARDING PASS OR WE WILL SHOOT TO DISABLE AND THEN FEED YOU TO OUR BEAUTIFUL GERMAN SHEPHERD WHO HAS NOT HAD BREAKFAST YET AND THIS INCLUDES OVERZEALOUS MAMAS" signs, barreling through TSA men & women who didn't see me coming, pushing down lines of scared passengers, screaming, "They're babies! They can't go cuz their Mamas need them!" 

Bye bye, girls.

I may or may not have thought about it. But I didn't do it. That counts for something.

Coat Tree aka Mom. 2 coats, 2
scarves, 4 mittens.
"Don't forget to bring them back
when you pick us up."

I went home and stalked their plane while I did homework. Flight Tracker was definitely invented by a parent. I knew where they were, how long they'd been in the air, & how long till they landed. I would take pics & send them to my parents who were on the other end to pick them up. I knew they had landed before the airport even announced they had landed.

Stalker! 

My kids have shown me just how awesome they are. With all the time I spend studying & away from home, I get Mommy Guilt something fierce. Then they do something like offer to make dinner, drive a sibling somewhere, clean the house or do laundry without being asked, or even just write me encouraging notes & it makes me want to cry (sometimes I do cry) when I realize how supportive & understanding they all really are. One early morning I turned on my phone to find this from the day before...

Ginger Girl's orange
smile made me smile.

Hubby & I had a date. A real one. We had dinner & saw A Christmas Story..

The Partners' Lounge
before the show. 

With the props after the show. I didn't unwrap the
gift cuz I didn't want to shoot my eye out. 

When hubby & I were dating, we discovered that he had done the same thing I had. Every time I went to a show, I bought a coffee mug. We consolidated our coffee mug collection when we got married & continued the tradition. Our collection of coffee mugs grows as we buy a new one at each show we go to. We broke that tradition with A Christmas Story & instead of a mug, I...

...finally got my own Leg Lamp!

Another "finally" happened when I got to the point in my classes where I am legally allowed to poke, jab, and puncture real living people with sharp objects. Not only is it legal but I'll get paid for it....

Normal needle.

Then I learned about these bad boys, which thrilled me...

This sucker is almost as long & thick as
my pointer finger. And it's purple! Don't forget
that I get to pick the size of your needle,
so it's in your best interest to be nice to me.

After clinicals, the days I have to get up at 3a & don't get home until 14+ hours later, I can usually be found like this...

Watson loves nap time.

In fact, one day I came home from a day at clinicals to find hubby had been so thoughtful to leave me this...

In case I was so tired that I didn't want to
stop at the bathroom before going to sleep. 

Hubby tried on my glasses...

Does he actually look better
in them than I do??

After a long, not so good day, I found another surprise on my phone...

Blondie's smile always makes
me smile.

We had Thanksgiving, which was weird being the first without Amazing Grace. 

Ginger Girl decorated...

That smear on the oven above the
turkey? That's where it had originally
said 'Don't put me in here!'

Ginger Girl stalked this
bowl for an hour,
waiting for it to
be filled. 

Blondie, the Carb Princess,
 claimed all 12
rolls for herself.

I had a lot of eyes on me while I ate leftovers...

Hubby, Zipper, Lennon,
Watson.

That's just pathetic. 

One morning Little Blondie & I did Twin Hair. I was actually not thrilled with how I looked but Little Blondie announced that I was beautiful & she was so excited that we "looked alike". Being told I was beautiful when all I see are dark circles & pale skin was quite unexpected. I took a picture to remind myself to see things through the eyes of a child & enjoy the small moments that make awesome memories.

Her happiness over something
so simple made me no longer care how I looked.