Continuing the Journey

Taking a Quick Breather from the Merry-Go-Round of Life...

...and I suppose I should blog the things I promised.

Before I do, though, that last post...from my daughter...AWESOME! She is the BEST kid and it nearly brought me to tears to see that she was willing to post that (without prompting, I might add). I mean, her FRIENDS read this blog! I feel so bad...she keeps telling me, "Mom, I miss you." I've been home, but buried under mounds of ungraded papers and unread College policies. Today, I ditched the workload (OK, technically I stayed up until 1AM last night to get caught up...) and we spent the day hanging out, had lunch with Carson and my brother, went to the mall, and I drove her to dance tonight. (Sounds mundane, but we have some of our BEST conversations in the minivan on the way to dance.) And we're hitting Target after dance is over.

OK, on to the much-anticipated update:

Christmas with my side of the family actually occurred in early January. My sibs and I have been struggling for quite a while and this was the first holiday in...wow, seems like in forever...that there was no stress, no fighting, no petty silliness between us. And it was so very nice.

The kids had a ball playing Guitar Hero.
Here are all the sisters and sisters-in-law...
...my parents with their six kids......and my parents with all of the grandkids. Can't wait to see Molly in this pic next year!
My sibs all got together at my house the week before this celebration and created a photo collage for my parents. It turned out great and was a HUGE hit!Then the goofing around started...Meggie with Aunt Michelle......Meggie with Aunt Nikki......Aunt Nikki with Sophia...
...and Carson with Nathan.Carson was so excited to get a new Batman action figure in the gift exchange!!All the kids, which this year included a boyfriend, two family friends, and a second-cousin!"Don't hate me because I'm beautiful..."My mom modeling the beer boxer shorts she picked in the White Elephant Gift Exchange!What a cute pic...Meggie and Grandma D.Our little family unit...missing a certain adorable 4 year old girl...In fact, the night was downright fun...until my dear, sweet, adorable niece, Sophia...
...decided it was in her game plan to try to break my nose!!!! She was sitting on my lap and threw her head back, landing soundly on the absolutely worst part of the nose...you know, the part that makes you want to scream?! I was literally BLINDED with the sudden crash of pain and nearly dropped her. (Thankfully, we were sitting on the couch and my brother-in-law grabbed her from me.)

I then broke into the most horrific, racking sobs -- it was uncontrollable and thoroughly humiliating. My sister, Debbie (Sophia's mommy) looked so upset and I really tried my best to downplay the pain. I got up and tried to "walk it off"...that's when I started swallowing large amounts of blood! I went out on my brother's front porch, hoping the cold air would shrink the blood vessels in my nose...and nearly hurled in his flower bed from swallowing so much blood.

This picture is my favorite of the evening. I call it "Making Amends with Sophia"...
...and that look on her face cracks me up! Does she not look guilty?! Thankfully, after two days, the pain in my nose and across my cheekbones completely went away -- guess she didn't break my nose after all. Good thing she's cute...

Speaking of cute kiddos (oooo, nice transition...), Carson came home from school two weeks ago and informed us he was going to "marry Andre." Andre?!?! That sounds like a boy to me. (Needless to say, Kevin had a mini heart attack.) We tried to change the subject, but marrying "Andre" was all Carson could talk about. I secretly hoped this was a phase that would pass quickly.

A few days after that, I dropped Carson off at preschool. One of the teachers giggled as all the girls in the room ran up to hug Carson. One of them, in sort of a bossy manner, informed Carson, "You are going to marry Audrey today!" Audrey? AUDREY!! He's not marrying Andre, he's marrying Audrey!! That is a GIRL!! While I'm not super happy about my son hitching up with every cute girl in preschool, at least he's hooking up with the girls! Our entire household breathed a sigh of relief on that one!

Speaking of sighs of relief (are you enjoying my segues tonight?), Meggie was not breathing any of those when told she had to go back in the "boot"! Since her pain was not resolving as quickly as her Sports Med doctor wanted, he put her back in the "boot" and ordered an MRI. Thankfully, since I used to work in the MRI department at the hospital, I got a pretty immediate reading from the MRI tech -- everything was normal. Knowing that, Meggie and I decided that we were going to rehab her right back into life without the benefit of Sports Med docs or physical therapy (and their accompanying co-pays). I am pleased to announce she is walking without any pain and even taking part in dance rehearsals again! Yeah!!

Speaking of pain (man, I'm on a roll here!), I gotta tell you about my first day as a Nursing Instructor.
I worked 50+ hours a week for the three weeks before classes started back after Christmas to get ready for teaching. I designed my section on the College's online blackboard, complete with cute pictures and kid-friendly quotes. (I am teaching pediatrics after all!) I e-mailed my first clinical group multiple times informing them what was ready and what was expected.

Then I arrived on my first day to actually meet my students to find that NONE of them had done all of the assigned pre-clinical prep work. Some dabbled in the work, but not one of them did everything assigned. I was also enduring attitude, eye-rolling, and disrespect during the morning session (I know, is this 5th grade or college?) where all of the students in NUR 200 met as a group. The students were giving me a true sense that they thought THEY were in charge...and I was told just before lunch that the group was overheard saying they were going to "break in the new Instructor."

After lunch with my mentor, Tiffany (a true God-send to me in every sense of the word), I met with just my clinical group. We talked as a group for about an hour (during which time one of the students actually dozed off!) and then we took a break. When the break ended, I proceeded to tell these nine students (ranging in age from early 20s to late 50s) that, since none of them met the expectations set forth very clearly on my blackboard site, they were all currently failing NUR 200.

The power shift in that classroom was palpable. And I could have walked on water.

Two girls burst into tears and the excuses started flowing. "But our last Instructor..." "But we didn't know..." "But we're always allowed to..."

I wasn't having it.

I stayed calm and professional and very clearly explained to them that failure to do the work results in failure of the course...it really is that simple. While I'm sure I made no new friends that day, I definitely got their attention. And things have been looking up ever since! Not that it has been perfect...in fact in Week Two I had to put one girl on a contract (the College's form of probation) on Thursday, then she called in sick on Friday. Are you kidding me?! A contract means one strike and you're out! Had I been that girl, I would have come to clinical on Friday on a bloody stump if I had to! Goodness, what is this world coming to?!

I think we're about caught up! Today, Meggie, Carson and I went to Build-A-Bear to make fluffy friends for Carson and Molly...it was so cute! We took pictures with Meggie's camera (forgot mine...), so as soon as she uploads 'em on the computer I'll post 'em. And, Grandma B., I'll have her send you the Christmas pics, too!