I was looking through the blogs of old, and thought a nursing school, college student, "how the heck did we do this" update would be fun.
So, here we are; Victoria is slated to graduate in May with her A.A. The last year has been harder for her, not because her classes were harder, but because she has found that her time management skills are severely lacking! (And just FYI, she got that from Vern!) Which makes the fact that she is finishing off her degree with a 15 credit semester. Vern is only 9 classes away from his Bachelor's degree, which is still 27 credits, which is still 3 semesters after this one if he continues to take 3 classes a semester...but, the end of the tunnel is in sight! Chantel will graduate with her RN, which is an Associates of Science degree, in May. At that time she will also be 2 classes or 6 credits shy of a dual degree (A.A.). While that kind of sucks, it also means a much lighter semester than the one previously undertaken, with only 11 credits instead of the insane 18 credits she just completed.
You might be able to tell by the pictures that mom and dad seem just a little bit more tired this year. There is good reason for that because we are still attempting to keep up our insane schedule.
Cody, Cyrus, and Jared are still homeschooled, although this year school is Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday mornings and Art and Science is Thursday morning.
Cyrus has band daily this year from Noon to 1:00pm. Dad takes him on mom's clinical days, and offers on days when there just seems to be too much to do.
Chantel took 6 classes last semester, which included a lab day and then clinical day once a week. That is nice about the RN year, because clinical days are only once a week instead of two. Of course, there is a lot more paperwork to be done.
Vern is still working enough to have built up 10 comp days this year above his vacation days, but he taught fewer WECC classes this past year, which left him a bit more time to do school work in his 3 classes. Yet, he still managed to get all A's.
But let's see what we added.
Victoria took classes at the campus 2 days a week, and with only a permit, that means mom went with her twice a week to Worthington, a 40 minute drive each way. Then, on Tuesdays she started institute this year, in Worthington. So, every other week mom picks up the young adults between here and there and drives them down to Institute. On the off week, she only has to drop Victoria off in Lakefield which is only 15 miles away.
Cyrus and Cody have youth in Worthington on Wednesdays, and Jared has Activity day every 2nd and 4th Wednesday. Since Vern is the Young Men's 1st counselor, he is often in charge of the activity for the boys.
Last semester, Chantel's clinicals were on Fridays in Worthington, and it was required that she go Thursday night to gather patient information.
And, then there is church on Sunday, in Worthington.
That means that in one month Chantel spent $180.00 on gas in the month of October!
How do you get anything done you ask?
Well, I take school books with me everywhere, and my laptop often comes along for the ride too. The good news is, because Victoria can drive, then I can do school almost the whole three hours we are gone for school and Institute.
If you heard me say the house is a mess before, I lied! Now, the house is a mess. The kids try hard to do their best at their chores, and it helps a lot. Of course, they still haven't quite gotten the hang of picking up after themselves. There is always, always, always a mess somewhere, and without a dishwasher, the mess is usually in the kitchen, especially on Jared's week to do dishes.
If you come to visit, you will hear the washing machine running late at night and early in the morning, and then see Mom folding laundry as the kids do school on Monday mornings.
So, what else is new????
Chantel got her second calling as Sunday School Teacher a couple of months ago. Victoria was called to teach 2 lessons a month in Relief Society. Cyrus was called as the Deacon's President, and Vern was called as the Young Men's 1st counselor on top of being the Branch Clerk.
And Sundays....
Because we live so far from church, we always ride together. With the prior presidency there were meetings on Sunday morning, but Vern didn't go. The new presidency has asked for him to be there on Sunday mornings at 8:30am. And yes, we are always about 10 minutes late....
So, the kids and I hang out until church starts at 10:00am, and then hang around some more after church while tithing and meetings are completed. All told, we usually leave at about 7:50 am and get back home between 2:30 and 4:00 pm. It is a long day, but we bring snacks, and books, and things to do. On warm days the kids can play next door at the school playground. In the cold however, we wait indoors.
Let me tell you a bit about creativity. Popcorn is a wonderful snack at church! We have all learned to lend a hand with the little people at church while their parents are in meetings (Jared is a wonderful playmate), and most of all, we are together as a family as much as possible, whenever possible.
Does this recount sound a little less optimistic than previous Nursing School posts???? I have to admit, while a lot of learning and growing has occurred, there has also been a lot of sacrifice and change.
And yet, we love what we are doing! Vern is happiest working on, in and around computers, and even though she didn't think it would happen, Chantel really enjoys nursing and is now working in an RN role during clinicals with complete patient care as the expectation. Need an IV or blood drawn? It might just be her. Although her favorite is still direct patient care, so you will find her taking every moment to teach, comfort, and tend to.
