I sincerely apologize to all my fellow streamers that I have not been keeping in touch with of late. It has been a very hard and long ride here on the coaster. I have had a very winding track to go on and I am very glad that it has gone down to the slow end for a while, I hope.
Here is what has been going on. Hubby was in the hospotal for about a month on this last stint. He has had some serious problems with panic attacks and anxiety due to his spinal stenosis and the hole in his esophogus. He was in the psych ward at a very good hospital about an hour away and i was home with the kids alone and trying to hold down the fort.
He is home now and we are trying to adjust back.

I was in school the whole time he was gone and had just started the part of my LNA training where it the testing at the end of the in class book part and the start of the in the facility part. Just when he went in I started the part of my classss where i was in the Extended Care Facility with 8 other students doing the hands on care. We went into the hospital and shadowed the LNA's. After a week we then did all the care for many different residents three days out of a week.
I thought that having a class on saturday was going to be bad, but then i had to drive and hour on the highway at close to dawn for a few weeks to go and work my tail off mentally and physically. And we don't get paid ! I have never worked so hard bodily in my life. I felt just like jello when i came home at night! It was worth it though. I learned more in that month then i did in the 2 months of classwork put together. I have also never felt so needed and appriciated as i did when i walked into that hallway and went to work.
I am positive i am in the right line of work finally. I have found my calling.

I was surprized that I have an affinilty for the Alzeimers patients and hospice care. I think that I am changing my specialty focus.

I have also decided not to pursue my RN yet. I saw all the RNs just telling all the others what to do and doing all the paper work, they had little to none of the direct patient care. I really enjoy that part.So I will wait until I am unable to do the labor part and then do my RN an have whomever I am working for pay for it.

My teacher said that when we were done we would want to take some of the residents home and we would fall in love with them. I didn't think so, but true to her word there were a few of those old ladies i just wanted to smuggle out to my car and take them home with me to care for. They were so wonderful and i just loved them so much.

My LNA class had officially ended as of November 21st whem i took muy final exam and I passed! I now have my certificate and I have to take my state license exam on the 30th and then I should have my license by January!

I am so happy!

I want to go out and work right now! LOL

I am still gonna stay in college and finish my pre requisites part time anfd then take the bridge course for my LPN(Licsenced Practical Nurse) which is a National Licsence that i can use if we move back to Florida.

The kids are doing well considering.

They had a good halloween and we got some good pics for school picture day. They are looking forward to Christmas.So am I! All that time off of school to be with my family is so appealing after the last few months.Here is a slide show of some recent pics of my darlins.



Thanksgiving was quiet and we had a nice day.The day after Turkey day we went to my very best friends house for another dinner together and had a wonderful time.

I did manage in all the hectic mess of the last weeks to get out and have some time with my buds.
I so needed it!
My best bud Rhi has a sister who moved down south about a year ago and we all grew up together. She was able to come up for a weekend and we got together with some girls that I haven't seen since High School and we went to this dive bar and had a mini HS reunion. Some of us haven't seen hide nor hair of each other in almost 12 years. We drank, ate, talked, drank,danced, drank, caught up, drank, laughed, drank, played pool, drank... see a pattern here? LOL
I felt so bad cause my kids were all over having sleepovers at some of the members of my churches houses while i was out drinking! And to top it off i had to go to church and pick them up at 8 am! I crawled in my bed at close to 3 or 4 sometime.. I am not sure!LOL
I made it to church but unfortunaly for me I am theonly one of the group out that doesn't smoke and we were in this tiny bar..I was in the middle of the table of people..You get the picture? I had no voice and couldn't talk the next day! I was so sick for days with laryngitis. I deserved it I guess for my partying....LOL. What a blast though. I had so much fun. I needed it too. Here we are..But not me cause i was behind the camera....



As for christmas coming up, I managed to dupe my kids this year into thinking that Santa only lets you put 5 things on your list and that he is broke cause he has so many kids to buy for and I got the kids to make up this little list of the 5 things that are not clothes that they HAVE to have for gifts for under the tree.

My mom and I went to Target today and I knocked out the whole list in one trip! Woohoo I rock! And while they are at school next week when I have no classes I will be a wrappin freak.

I am typing this so late it is another day already. I am having one of those nights where my brain won't shut off. Oh well, i have been meaning to do this but haven't had the time.

I am glad I could catch you guys up on the coasters ride so you don't think I have forgetten ya'll!

I promise i will try harder to keep up with the coaster in the future.
RED