Shocked and sad...

Hans lost his battle with Neuroblastoma on Friday.  He was Zachary's best friend, our neighbor for most of his life, and he fought a long and courageous battle with a nasty cancer for nearly six years.  I wish I could be in California right now to hug his parents and sister! He is one of the reasons why I chose to be a pediatric nurse, and why I choose to volunteer with the Layla Grace Foundation.

If you feel so inclined, Hans' family is asking for people to donate to the Children's Neuroblastoma Cancer Foundation, who made some of Hans' treatment possible, here.  There are many other children like Hans still fighting, and they need all of the help they can get!

Just Keep Swimming...

I really suck at the whole work/life balance thing. I work more than 40 hours per week, with few exceptions. On weeknights, by the time I leave work, sit in traffic to pick Zoe up at daycare, come home and help Zach with homework, figure out what to serve for dinner/go to Scouts, etc...I am exhausted. Therefore, I do almost no housework during the week, and on the weekends, have to decide between doing something fun with the kids or cleaning/laundry/grocery shopping. There has to be a better way to do this. I don't exercise, don't really socialize, and have no hobbies beside reading. I miss doing things with friends and scrapbooking. Summer starts for the kids in a couple of weeks, and we are going to have babysitter at our house, so at least I won't have to feel guilty about the kids being in daycare all day. They will be able to walk to the neighborhood pool, and Zach will still be able to play with his friends in the neighborhood. Plus, it will save me a 30-minute round trip drive in the evenings, and I will be able to have lunch with the kids on most weekdays. That will be really nice! We are also hoping to take a cruise this summer. We haven't booked yet, but for now, we are planning to take the same Carnival cruise out of New Orleans on the Conquest that Darren and I took eight years ago. This time, we'll have the kids, so I suspect there will be less relaxing, but it will be our first vacation with just our little family. I can't wait! Zach moved up to Boy Scouts in February, and we are having such a good time with it. The troop we joined has a lot of parent involvement, and we were made to feel very welcome. Zach really enjoys it, and has made a lot of good friends. He is going off to camp for a week in June with the boys; that makes me nervous, but I think he will have a wonderful time. I will try my very best to post some pictures soon; hopefully it won't be another 8 months before you hear from me again.

In the last three months...

I have: --Left my home health job and started one in pediatrics that I absolutely love --Become the mother of a fifth-grader who is in intermediate school --Thrown a Super Mario Brothers birthday party for a 10-year-old and a Little Mermaid party for a 4-year-old --Become a soccer and ballet mom --Still did not manage to take a vacation, nor do I have one planned --Tried to exercise, but that has only happened sporadically --Started cooking more --Started our last year in Cub Scouts, as a Webelos II den leader --Pinned lots of things to my boards on Pinterest that I will hopefully get to do someday --Still not conquered the clutter in my house that seems to multiply daily Yeah, I guess that's about it. I have lots of pictures that are still on my camera, and lots of ideas for blog posts that are in my head. I'll get there, someday...I am much busier than when I was a full-time student, but at least I get to spend more time with my family.

Where has the summer gone?

Wow, I blinked, and school starts in a month. Where did the time go? We spent June hanging out at home, with the exception of a week at Cub Scout daycamp, and a few days in Louisiana to visit my parents. Then, things sped up at an amazing rate.

I took the NCLEX exam to become a Registered Nurse on June 28th, found out that I had passed on the 30th, and decided to go out to dinner to celebrate. I ran into one of my nursing school friends at the restaurant, and she told me about a job opportunity. She had been hired by a home health agency, and they were looking for one more person in our area. I sent them a copy of my resume that night, and the owner called me the next morning and hired me over the phone.

That was Friday, July 1st. My parents came in that weekend to celebrate the holiday, and we participated in two of the local events. We went to the free patriotic concert that The Woodlands puts on each year at the Mitchell Pavilion, and marched in The Woodlands' parade on Monday morning with our Cub Scout pack. I'll get around to uploading photos eventually.

Tuesday, July 5th, I started work, and the kids started daycare. If you know me, I don't like to rush into things, and I like to think things through before committing to them. I was so worried that I had rushed into this job, but after sending out 80+ resumes and only having two interviews, I decided that I had better take this opportunity.

Things have been a little hectic around our house since I started working. I leave the house around 6:45 to make it to the office by 8:00, and Darren gets the kids up and takes them to daycare. I either spend time in the office doing paperwork, or ride along with one of the other nurses, seeing their patients. I leave the office by 5:00 in order to make it to daycare to pick the kids up by 6:30. Some days I can't make it in time, so Darren has to leave work to get the kids in time. It can be stressful at times, knowing that I have a 45-mile drive, and hoping that the traffic gods cooperate. A helicopter would make the commute so much easier, but no one has offered me one yet, unfortunately.

Once I finish my training, the plan is that I will be seeing patients in my area, and will only have to drive to the office once every two weeks, for supplies and my paycheck. I am really enjoying the job, and am learning so much every day. Most of the patients are very grateful for our help, and I know that I am really making a difference. I like the fact that I will not have to work nights, weekends, or holidays, and I will have the opportunity to see different people and not be stuck inside all day.

Since I am gone for so long every day, we don't do a whole lot in the evenings during the week. Weekends are reserved for catching up on sleep, cleaning, washing clothes, and grocery shopping. I try to do as much as I can to make our lives easier during the week, and I know that things will get easier once I am in the field in our area.

I would really like to be going somewhere on vacation this summer, but Darren never seems to be able to get away from work, and loses several vacation days each year. We're talking about a trip in October, which would be wonderful. Zach is leaving tomorrow to go spend two weeks with my parents, and they will be taking a vacation to Tennessee with my sister and her family. Once he returns, there will only be two weeks until school starts. I'm not looking forward to the craziness that the beginning of school brings. Zach is playing the trumpet in the band this year, and we've already bought a used one. We ordered school supplies from the school, so I don't have to deal with that headache. The next hurdle is planning his birthday party, which is the Saturday after school starts. We have the Game Truck coming, and we're thinking about a Super Mario Bros. theme. It should be fun. More updates soon...

And the winner is...

Comment #12, Heather R. I used random.org to generate the winning number, but I am not savvy enough to be able to show you that on here. Congratulations, Heather! I'll be emailing you the code to download the software.

Thanks everyone for playing! If you are still interested in purchasing the My Memories digital scrapbooking software, you can use the discount code on the right to receive $10 off the regular price. I hope to have another giveaway to share with you soon.