Working nights and new baby.

Well i have to say i'm enjoying working nights! its a little slower paced, there aren't 500 doctors running around that i don't know who they are, i don't have to figure out who to call because there are only like 3 choices, and the best part is the mentality of the night staff that everyone is there to help you. during the day its so busy that its every man/woman for themselves and at night its not, its a group effort. I love that! and it makes me more relaxed. i definitely feel like i'm ready to be on my own and on days i never felt like that even after weeks and weeks of working days. its such a different animal working during the day.

I now have a new niece named Elle she was born on May 28th and she is beautiful. Ira and i went up to sioux falls on thursday and friday last week to see her. It was so exciting to finally meet her, i can't wait to see her grow and find out who she looks like. below is a picture of big brother jakob and baby elle. i will upload more pictures soon.

Ramblings....

Well, the inevitable is now upon me...working nights. starting this sunday night i will officially be working nights here on out. prior to now i was okay with this transition but as it has gotten closer i'm not as sure as i was before. i have emailed the ladies on my floor that i will be working with for advice on sleeping, eating times, and whether to work 3 in a row or space them out. i still have 6 weeks left of orientation so i will be able to test the 3 in a row theory, but need to put in for the next schedule soon. i am trying to come to grips with how much my life will change and i think that up until now i've just pushed it aside. but now here it is staring me in the face....mocking me:)

my next dilemma is whether i will be able to play in sioux city summer band this season. i have to decide by tomorrow and i'm just not sure if i will be able to swing it so i am considering opting out this season until i get a better grasp of my schedule. right now i'm still at the mercy of my preceptor's schedule and have yet to find my place. i really hate to not play though since it's one of my few connections still to music and i love seeing everyone each week. maybe i can just sub this year. still i'm kind of bummed about the whole thing.

i still have days where i wonder if i will ever love nursing like i do music. the verdict is out still and only time will tell i guess. i have days where i feel good about things and days that i want to cry. i hate that i'm so emotional about being a nurse...its so unlike me! i hate that it makes me feel weak and incompetent some days, i'm a strong person thats always been able to take care of anything. now i just feel like.....a failure who's not good enough. i know this is not what you want to hear from your nurse but this is exactly why new nurses struggle so much that first year. its not that i'm not able to care for people, its that i don't know all the answers and get flustered when everything happens at once. who comes first when all 4-6 patients of yours have issues at the same time...and prioritizing is not that simple when they all need you NOW. as you can tell i'm a little emotional right now, as they say "this too will pass". Whatever....

This and that.

Well its been 2 months since i started working as a nurse and getting paid for it. its crazy some days to think this is really my career....if you would have asked me if i would have ever been a nurse when i was 18 i would have said never. who knew! i do like my job and like most some days are better than others. I think the most frustrating thing is the patient load and when everyone needs something at the same time and it is all equal in importance. its hard for me to prioritize who go help first. I will start working nights the week of May 10th, i've heard nights are a little more relaxed and i'm definitely hoping thats the case. at least i won't have to deal with timing insulin with meals (especially when all your patients need it...of course at the same time!) and deal with getting/helping people with meals, most baths are done during the day so i can eliminate that job too. some times all the little things during the day take the most time. another good thing is that there is a set call list for doctors at night instead of having to go to the chart and play guess which doctor i need to call or whos going to pawn me off on another doctor to call for that problem. All in all i like my job like i said some days i leave relax and others like a whirlwind.

other from work i don't do much else except the occassional outing. I subbed with the Sioux city symphony 2 weeks ago which was great! We did a choral piece called "Carmina Burana" which i loved. That kind of playing is my favorite, i love choral works and would love to play professionally for an opera all the time!

On saturday we took trenton to the IMAX to see Under the Sea 3D, it was great and the first time i have ever seen a movie there. My mom gave it as a birthday gift for trenton and we just finally had time to go. I definitely want to go again.

For easter i went to my mom's since my grandparents were coming and my sisters were there too. it was nice to see my grandparents since its been quite some time since i have seen them last. they live 5 hours from me so its difficult to find enough time to go up there and if i do go i like to stop and see my other side relatives in wagner, SD so i need time to do it all. i brought my camera to take pictures but of course when i got it out up there my battery was dead and i didn't have the charger with me....yes i was a little irritated.

other from that just waiting for my new niece to be born the end of may....can't wait to have another baby in the family!

New Car

Well since i finally was getting a paycheck that was more than 50 cents, i decided it was time for a new car. The ford escort has been fine but its time for a grown up car that i'm not embarrassed to drive. So a couple weeks ago we went to a dealer in council bluffs and bought a 2008 Hyundai Sonata. Its my first car not bought by my dad so i feel pretty grown up (although it was nice having the free cars too! thanks dad!).

This is my old car, i was huggin it goodbye.

This is the new car, all shiny!

I'm finally working.

Well i finally started my job at creighton hospital on monday february 16th. we had orientation all that week pluss the following monday. It all went well, typical orientation information some interesting alot boring. then on Wednesday i started working on my unit/floor for my first 12hr shift and i worked Thursday as well. The crappy part about it all was that i started getting sick on monday and by wed. felt like crap so both my days on my floor i had to were a mask to protect my patients and everyone else. breathing in your own hot air for 12hrs is not my idea of a good time. needless to say i have 3 days off in a row now (friday, sat, sun). I went to the dr. on tues to get a strep test done and it came back neg and they just sent me home to suck it up, then i ended up going back to the dr. on friday and finally got some drugs that i hope will get rid of whatever it is i got. i'm not even sure who i got it from since i haven't been around anyone that is sick. Now today (sat) my voice is gone but at least i feel some what better and can breath out of my nose again instead of just my mouth! So for a first couple weeks its not started out so good.

I go back to work on monday. creighton has a program for new graduate nurses that i am in. it is to help new nurses transition into actual working so its a combination of classes on monday and tuesday with then real working on two other days during the week. The goal is to help retain new nurses since the first year can be very stressful. I think it will be a really great program for me. instead of just learning out of a book like you do on school and then never really seeing it or doing it here we will be learning about things and actually doing them at the same time. so i think it will be more hands on....i will keep you all posted on how its going.

other from that i am just trying to get better. i got my first paycheck on friday, except i was to sick to pick it up so i'm going to try to go get it today. i did direct deposit but it takes a couple pay periods for it to kick in. so now i just have to figure out where to go get it at.

Together again

This past weekend i went to my high school friend, Dawn's, sons 5th Birthday party. We commemorated the occasion with a picture.

From L to R: Dawn, Me, Lisa, Kristi

We were all friends in high school and have had a lot of great times together over the years.

lately....

Well i start working at Creighton hospital in omaha on Feb 16th. i'm excited to finally get going with this whole thing. i went and got a massage this morning as a present to myself for passing my nursing exam. it was great, i wish i could get one every day.

i'm hope to get my music and nursing books that i don't want anymore sold on amazon sometime this week. i have them all out i just need to post them now. i just want to get rid of crap at this point that i keep hauling around but never look at. anyone need the norton scores or some minitature scores, plus lots of other music books let me know.

i have contemplated selling some of my cd's too but just can't decide if i really want to part with them or not. i need to sell some of my orchestral clarinet parts too if anyone wants to buy them. pretty much if you are in need of something clarinet call me and i will sell it to you.

i'm on facebook so if we haven't found each other look me up and add me as a friend. its always fun to keep in touch with people. otherwise i'm just working part-time at childrens billing until i start at creighton and then hope to just stay on as casual...real casual, in case they need me or i can help in any way. i have loved my time at childrens and hate to break ties with them.