My Schedule Runneth Over

**Before I begin this post - please forgive me for using only stock photos. It's been crazy busy around here & the nasty weather has not allowed for many photo-ops.**

Today will be my last exam of the semester. Hallelujah!! I managed to pull a B out of my Anatomy class, even after my disaster of last week. That's a HUGE weight lifted off my shoulders... and another one has replaced it. Now I really need to decide if Sonography really is the way I want to go. I like the idea of it, but it's a crazy-competitive program. I spoke to three of my instructors yesterday to determine if I should switch my program to Radiology. It's a shorter program initially, though I could add other specialties (making myself more marketable), and it's a lot less competitive to get into. Hmmm... And I need to decide by Friday.

This, of course, is our next task. Matt asked me to write up a "To-Do" list so he could help me out (awwww!!). As much as I love the idea of this, I just don't know if I can really sit down & get out (legibly & rationally) all of the *need to do* thoughts sprinting through my head!

My incredible friends at our local FCC have been more than helpful! If I had enough time to stop & think about all of their generosity, I'm sure I'd break down in tears. We got 2 huge (I'm talking those massively large leaf bags) full of boys' clothing. These bags were so stuffed-full, we couldn't even close them! And HEAVY!! We also got an incredible baby carrier (all the bells & whistles on this thing!), space bags, money belts, and a airline child seatbelt. Wow! These families are so generous!!

One of Matt's friends also gave us a huge box full of boy's clothing! Our friends are so amazing!! I can't even put into words how grateful we are. It's amazing how many people are supporting us through this journey!

Of course, we're not content to do one thing at a time. That's so not our style! Nope- in the middle of this mad packing, we're having a birthday party for Xandra! She'll be celebrating her real birthday while we're in China (how exciting!), but we wanted to make sure she got her special time before we left. So, she will get to have her first "friend" party this weekend. She's so excited! We're going bowling. I have to admit, I'm excited too :)

Awful, Horrible, No Good, Rotten Day

Let me start by saying: I'M EXHAUSTED!!! We had some major rain storms here last night. We live on a hill, so although there were all kinds of flood warnings & watches in our area, we don't really worry about that, even though it had been raining from about 9:30 pm until 6:00 am straight. I found out this morning that there were also some tornado warnings & watches issued @ 1:30 am as well. Since we do live on a hill, we almost constantly have some type of breeze, but usually a full-out wind. Last night went way beyond that. I honestly thought the house was going to blow down. It was insane. Add onto the the insane wind gusts, all of the crazy loud thunder claps, and you end up with a very scared & unable to sleep 4-year-old. She woke up a couple times with the thunder, and finally at 4:00 am, I just brought Xandra to bed with me. This child has not slept in our bed since she was 8 weeks old (I've been insistent that she stays in her bed no matter what because she beat the heck out of me when she was an infant!). It did work- she finally got back to sleep & stayed asleep until 6:30. Unfortunately, I had already been tossing & turning (both with the storm & the screaming child) for the entire night until she finally settled down, so I really only got maybe 3 or 4 hours of sleep. 


So, a not-so-great start to a Monday. I've gone on with my day with less sleep though... I'm a mom! I can do lots of things on little to no sleep! Then I went to take my Physics exam. . . . . I think my professor may have written the test in some new, as-of-yet undiscovered language. Or maybe I was transported out of my body on the 4,5,6 days that he went over the information he was testing on (I know I was physically in the class, but maybe I took the wrong notes???). Or maybe my teacher is just kind of mean (I'm thinking this is it... ). I was absolutely exhausted after the exam was over. And I'd worked myself up so much over it, that I had a stomach ache. 


A couple of my friends decided they'd like to study for our upcoming Anatomy test after school, so I asked my poor sick (wonderful!) husband to please pick up Xandra so I could do some extra studying. With his agreement, I set out to meet my friends at a local restaurant. I got to my car, opened the trunk to throw my book bag in, & closed it... with my keys inside. Now, supposedly, this should not be a problem because I have this handy dandy smart key that should never let me be able to do that. The trunk isn't supposed to be able to latch if the keys are in there.... WRONG!!! What a way to end the day!!!! I was so mad at myself- I felt so stupid. Thankfully, one of my friends had parked near me & offered to take me back to my house, grab the spare, & bring me back to school. Thank goodness for wonderful friends!! 


All I want to do right now is just go to bed. I still need to study for that darn A&P exam. But I think I'll just hold off on that until tomorrow. The exam isn't until Wednesday, so I have a little time to try to "catch up" on some sleep. With any luck at all, tomorrow will be a better day. *crossing my fingers!*

Overwhelmed Much?

This is how I usually feel at school:

And this is how I usually feel at home:

Are we noticing a pattern here? If I haven't mentioned it before, this is my unofficial mid-term week. I say "unofficial" because the majority of my courses don't actually have midterm exams (actually only one of my classes has a scheduled midterm & final exam). It just so happens that this week, I have an exam of some type in every single course. I've managed the first 2 I took today pretty well. I got an A on one & a B on the other. But, the worst is yet to come. I have another on Wednesday that I'm not too worried about. It's the one on Thursday (an Anatomy Practical) and the one on Friday (a Physics exam) that have me scared out of my mind.

The Anatomy one is over the circulation system. I have to name various arteries and veins throughout the body on any number of models and/or charts, as well as on a cadaver. I also need to know the physiology of the heart inside & out (literally). And I need to be able to trace the blood flow from any given point in the body, through the heart & lungs, to another point in the body. I should feel a bit better about this because I've actually had an additional week and a half to study for it because it was pushed back due to the ice/snow storms we had a couple weeks back. Did I take advantage of that extra studying time? Not really. I haven't fully neglected my time - I did look over things a few times, but I'm still not feeling all that confident. And I *really* need to do well on this to pull my overall grade up.

They Physics exam is another story. There really isn't an easy way to study for that. Thankfully, my teacher allows us to use one 8.5x11 piece of paper filled with any type of notes, formulas, & example problems that we can fit onto it. But what to put on that paper?? Hmmmm... You just never know what will come in handy. I managed to pull an A on my last exam, so now it kind of feels like a standard has been set. I'd love to keep my A average in Physics, cause it makes me feel smart. :) It's something I feel really good about- especially when I find out that my wonderful husband has been bragging about me to my family behind my back. Love that man! I'm secretly scared that first exam was just a fluke & I'll never be able to pull it off again. I guess we'll see...

On top of all of the pressure this week, my baby girl is still sick. She's not sick enough to stay home from school (i.e. she doesn't have a fever any more), but she's still miserable. Her teacher started texting me while I was in my Physics lecture today, telling me that Xandra was asking to go home. Knife through my heart. What I wouldn't have given to be able to leave to go get her right then. But I couldn't. Not this week. I forwarded the message on to Matt, but he couldn't get her either (he had some appointments scheduled today). Instead, Xandra's incredible teacher apparently cuddled her most of the day. Xandra appears to be one of the favorites among the teachers at her school. I love that she's so loved. Thank God for that place! I'm never worried about her when she's there (& that's saying a lot cause I constantly worry about her).

And it now appears that Matt may be coming down with something as well. I don't have time for this! It already breaks my heart when I come home & Xandra desperately wants me to play with her, and I have to tell her no. Especially when she's sick. All I want to do is make her happy & feel better. But, I have to get that homework & studying done. I try really hard to get her to play with daddy (though mommy is still the 1st choice), and now he doesn't feel up to playing. Grrr! Not enough hours in the day!!!

The one shining light is that I only have 2 weeks left until spring break! WOOO!! Of course, my spring break is quickly being packed in with various appointments & catching up with "little things" that have been pushed back until I have time. I suppose this is the new life that I lead. God help me when we have 2 kids! I really need to get on top of my organizational skills!! Let me know if any of you out there have any tips or ideas!! I'm all ears!

Trying to find my positive

I've been slacking on my blogging... I'm so ashamed. :) My life has just been so crazy. I know everyone's life is crazy, but this past week was a low point for me. I had my first big exam in Anatomy last Wednesday. I walked in feeling very confident in my studying - I knew the teacher's lecture materials inside & out. The problem was, he tested over things we'd done in our lab class as well. I hadn't looked at any of that material because I thought that would be pertinent to the Lab Practical (which will be this week). Needless to say, the first 1/3 of the test was like Greek to me. I was so upset & disappointed (I ended up with a C). I came home crying over it. Matt (who is not the best at handling crying) didn't exactly cheer me up. For all the wonderful things he does, he will never be a motivational speaker.

To make matters worse, I was so shaken over the exam, that I ended up bombing a quiz we had the next day. The quiz material I really did know - I was just shaken up from the previous day. When I realized how poorly I'd done on the quiz, the tears came again -- in the middle of class! I was so embarrassed! I hate being a girl sometimes! I hate losing control of my emotions. Luckily it didn't last long & I don't think many people caught it.

Now I'm getting ready for that BIG Lab Practical coming up Thursday (over the blood vessels & circulation system). I also have a Physics exam on Wednesday. Not a great week.

And, poor Matt has been having severe pain in both of his arms. He was tested today for Rheumatoid Arthritis today. We're awaiting the results. He's also going to get some tests done to see if it may be carpel tunnel. Neither diagnosis is great.

Let me get away from all this complaining! I'm trying to start a new daily habit (well, almost daily)- I'm trying to state out loud, or write down, at least one thing that I am grateful for. Since starting it, I realize just how wonderful my life is. I mean, I've always known I had it pretty good, but being grateful for even small things every day is just empowering. My outlook has somewhat improved- I've got a little ways to go though (obviously, from my ranting earlier).

My girl looking so serious. She was very busy playing with her B*arbies.

Her animals & B*arbies are always very affectionate. She's quite the hugger, my girl. I've rubbed off on her. I can't help but love on her all the time- she's so darn cute!!