Golf: the College Years!

Sounds like a bad "Saved by the Bell" pun, my apologies =) Before I catch ya'll up on what you missed out on during my unexpected blogging hiatus, I'll keep you up to speed on what's going on now!
Parker is playing golf for his college team, the Clarke Crusaders. (He had been planning on attending UWP, and then VERY last minute, this opportunity presented itself) Momma is still following him hole by hole, camera in hand, whenever possible. It's a little strange to see him in yellow and navy when its always been maroon and white!
Anyhow, he had a 2 day tournament this past weekend, and here's a few highlights...

Box Tops for Education

The boys schools, like so many others across the country, collect box tops for education to earn items for their school. I'm sure you've seen them on products you buy!
Beckett's school is collecting them for about a week in October---the winning classroom wins a pizza party =) We cut them off of boxes and toss them into a jar until it's collection time. Tonight I trimmed, Beckett glue-sticked and Paxton plastered them onto the sheets he brought home from school. Grandma made a couple of copies for us to use, but we're going to need a few more!

Our little Poet...

Well, maybe not quite yet. On Fridays Beckett brings home his poetry folder that has 2 new pieces in it each week. They work on them at school and he is pretty much able to read them to us by the weekend. He got Arielle on Saturday night (when she pointed out that they are really more like nursery rhymes than actual poems) and Daddy heard them tonight.
He's pretty proud of his reading ability---as are we =)

Back to School!!

Or as Kurt calls it: The most wonderful time of the year! HA! Everyone is in school all day every day this year (except for Momma, SHE graduated in the Spring!). Beckett is in kindergarten, Paxton begins 3rd grade and Parker is a SENIOR!! Everyone was pretty cooperative for the traditional first day of school photos--which is not always the case!

Kindergarten Meet and Greet

A couple of years ago, the elementary schools in our district started having a before school open house--a chance to come to school a couple of days early and bring in supplies, find your classroom, locate your cubby, etc without the rushiness (made that word up) that the first real day usually entails.
Tonight was Beckett's school's planned meet and greet and Beckett got to do all of the above as well as practice putting his apple into the right bin (to tell the teacher if he brought a home lunch or if he's having a hot lunch), putting all of his supplies into the community tubs (while I got to write his name on every. single. twistable. crayon.
He says he's excited for Thursday to come. There WILL be an update--HA!

Time for a Change....

Because I'm no longer a "Great RN to be". Because I am now: a REGISTERED NURSE!! Yep, in-your-face, onling "screaming", all CAPS registered nurse. I took the NCLEX boards, waited not-so-patiently and finally caved and paid the $8 fee to get an early look.
Totally worth it.
And now, I must brainstorm for new lisence plates...

It alll comes down to this...

After 5 years of nursing school, 2 graduations (not that I attended either, LOL!), HOURS of studying and stress beyond comprehension, tomorrow afternoon I sit for my NCLEX boards, my final step to getting a nursing license and the right to call myself a REGISTERED NURSE!
Wish me luck...

Pin Me!

Here's a little bit of tangible proof that I have indeed completed nursing school. Saturday was pinning and graduation (no pics of me walking through the ceremony--Parker had a golf meet in Sheboygan and I headed that direction after pinning)
Kurt and my parents came to witness the event (Kurt shot photos too) and MIL sat with the boys at home while we were gone.
I thought I was done with whites forever after my last day of clinical, but NO, we had to wear them for pinning as well. GAH.

No more pencils, no more books....

That's right. For all intents and purposes, I have completed nursing school. FIVE years, peeps. I did it part-time, nights and weekends, summers included. While working full time, mothering 4 children, wifing one husband. It wasn't easy and I had loads of help and now it's over. Well, except for pinning. And graduation. And sitting for the boards. But compared to the 5 years behind me, those upcoming things seem small.
Believe it or not, my classmates and I did not leave the hospital skipping, screaming and throwing books and papers into the air. It almost had a surreal feeling to it. Very hard to describe, HA!
I. am. a. nurse =)

Parker's Prom!

It's that time of year again, and I've got a Junior this time around---so it's a big deal: PROM!! MUCH simpler when its a boy instead of a girl, but still just as fun. He went in a large group just like Arielle did--much nicer than a dozen cars on the road, they all share the cost of a "party bus". He's taking a girl from his class, I don't really know her, but she seems sweet! She did a good job setting him up with the duds anyway! (The girls went with the boys so that the tie and such would match their dresses.) Here's a few pictures from before the night really got started

No more math tests!!!

In each of my 6 clinical rotations, we are required to take 3 math tests. You have to get an average of 80% of the three tests. If you don't, you fail the clinical. People fail the entire clinical because they don't do well on the math tests. Talk about pressure!!! Each math test (until this clinical) had 10 problems on them. Ten problems X 5 clinicals X 3 math tests in each + this clinical X 8 math questions X 3 means I had to answer 174 math questions in nursing school. And trust me, the equations were way more complicated than the above problem, HA!!
I'm also tooting my own horn because in this clinical rotation, I got 100% on all 3 tests--a first for me =)

Truthful Thursday

Because you're dying to know!
School is actually crawling to an end!! My final clinical has started, 4 out of 10 are behind me, as well as 2 out of 3 math tests (batting 100% on those!). On Friday though, instead of going to the hospital we went to school and did case studies---not nearly as fun as it sounds, HA!
Since I have a camera in my purse at all times (like it or not family and friends!), we took a group shot of us part-timers. Four years ago when we started, there were 22 of us in that first Saturday morning skills group. Between transfers, failing classes, sliding into the FT group, stopping at the halfway point, etc, there are only FOUR of us from that original group left. We picked up a few girls at the halfway point that were already LPN's and decided to return to school to finish out their RN degree, so that's why you see more than 4 people in the picture =)
The group of us have been through lots together and can't believe it's almost over!!!

Trying to make lunchtime FUN!!

Beckett takes a lunch to school on the days he goes (he's never been subjected to the yuck the school calls "lunch"), but Paxton got a taste of it by mistake a while back and now he likes to do a school lunch instead of a home lunch, which I am not thrilled about. (Let me explain the mistake: one day they were lining up for lunch and he got in the school lunch line b/c he wasn't paying attention and had that instead of his home lunch and that's what he likes to do now).
I think school lunch is over-priced and disgusting. They rotate about 6 different items around disguised as something different--chicken tenders, chicken patties, chicken nuggets: all pieces of something supposedly resembling a chicken product. You get the idea. I try to make Beckett's lunches at least a little interesting--he likes to blog-hop with me as we peek at some VERY creative bento blogs. I've incorporated some of the things we've seen, but by NO MEANS have not accquired the accessories that are out there! There are a TON, trust me!
He liked the idea of the Goodbyn, and likes to help me pack it, but it won't fit into his Cars lunchbox, so sometimes he prefers the zip-loc divided containers that I have. The egg molds I think are so cool!!! You boil the eggs and before they cool you peel them and pop them in the molds. Drop them into icy water and they take on the shape of the car or fish. Hopefully he'll find hard-boiled eggs something to love =)
With any luck, Paxton will get excited by the lunches as well and swing back the other way for mid-day school nutrition!