Rain, rain go away! It's been raining everyyyy day! We need a break from it! The dogs would really like to start going on walks!! They have cabin fever!

Our couch is finally going to be delivered on Wednesday!! We ordered it a loooong time ago and it was originally supposed to be in April 1st. In hindsight we prolly should have saved our $$ since I ended up quitting Community North but we can't go back in the past. I'm excited about it!! Salvation Army is coming to take our old couch and chair. :)

Austin had a great first Easter! He got spoiled & loved on by all the family!! :) See facebook for pics! :)

The end of the semester is coming up fast! I have one more quiz to take on Thursday for Patho and then I'll be studying for my final which is May 6th and working on my final big case study due that same day. I also have to finish up our Scholarly Project group paper which is due May 4th. I'm sooo happy this is the last paper I will have to write/co-write for my masters! Less than 13 months til I graduate...who's counting?! :)

No new news on the job front but it is only Monday so stay tuned.

Hopefully I'll hear back this week from the judge on when my unemployment hearing will be.

That's all for now. Looking forward to Abbey, Gracie, & Gregory Jr visiting tomorrow afternoon! :)

Austin had a great pediatrician appt this morning. :) He weighs 14lbs 5oz (50th percentile), 23 1/4in long (5th percentile), and his head measured 16.5in (40th percentile).

She wasn't worried that he no longer wants to roll from belly to back. She said sometimes babies just choose not to anymore..haha! She was happy with his supported sitting, his weight bearing on his legs when held in the standing position, and the fact that he controls his head when she helps pull him from laying to sitting to standing. :) He's a good boy! I'm glad we work on all this stuff at home!

She said we could start on cereal if we wanted but it wasn't necessary yet since he's breastfed. Might try it and see how he does. :) He tolerated his 2 shots well. :)

Got my "Determination of Eligibility" letter in the mail today and my unemployment claim was not approved. Dang it. So now I have to file for an appeal and have a hearing with the administrative law judge. Hopefully he/she rules in my favor and the process doesn't take weeks (it could take 8-10 weeks).

What would be really great is if Dupont would just approve that position so I can start working there!! I've been applying for jobs while waiting since we need money! God is in control but it's hard to be patient.

Hmm...the unemployment homepage is not showing anything new...guess I will have to call them in the morning to see what's up.

Austin had a good 4 month birthday yesterday. :) His grandma (my mom) & I took him to get his pictures taken with a real bunny. He did really well!! No smiles for the camera though..stinker!

This semester is almost over!! 3 more weeks! Crazy!!

My unemployment was approved!!! ....I think..

It's not showing anything under "Issues delaying payment" where before it was saying "Voluntary Quit". Not getting my hopes up yet since in the payment column it is only showing one week of payments left which is all I had left before I started at Community North. I'm thinking/hoping that after I file my work search on Saturday/Sunday that it will reset the system and show me how many weeks I am eligible for.

I've been applying to jobs since that is a requirement for umeployment collection (minimum 3 jobs per week that you have to list) while I am waiting for the Dupont job to be finalized which seems to be taking forever. What the heck?!

Stressed out. Too many things to list. Ranges from lack of money to school issues. Lots of things in between. Also feeling guilty that I quit my job before the dupont job was completely "signed & sealed".

Andy's grandpa passed away this morning. His sister said he was peaceful so that's good. Prayers for comfort for the family...especially his grandma. Andy's grandparents had been together since they were 13 and had always done everything together.

Hospice nurse said Andys gpa has a few more days possibly. After a somewhat mean/demanding phone call from Andy's dad we are going over there soon.

Hoping to somewhat keep the peace. His family is ridiculous with the guilting. You should have seen some of texts Kerry sent to him & then was cranky with me yesterday evening when I tried to stick up for my own husband.

Who promoted her to the visitor police?! I've been calling her that for awhile...she likes to keep track of who visits the grandparents! Makes me embarassed to claim them as family after the way his sister, mom & dad have been acting this week.

Andy's grandpa is hanging on & doing ok. He is on morphine and oxygen around the clock now. He can talk somewhat. Andy's sister is keeping us updated.

and...she is also driving me crazy! Andy too. She has been trying to guilt trip him into visiting. She said that their grandpa won't know that he cares if he doesn't visit. How rude of her! Andy is really struggling with this since he does not want his last memory of his grandpa to be of him in pain and looking/feeling so sickly.


Then his mother  called and left him a voicemail telling him that he had no choice but to go see his grandpa. It's a requirement in her mind. Her & Andy's dad were supposed to arrive home in the middle of the night last night...they were in Florida on vacation.

So now Andy has been completely stressed out since Wednesday night when we got the first call from Kerry about his rapidly declining health.

Prayers for Andy & his family. His grandfather has been on hospice care for ALS and had a very rough night. The hospice nurse says he does not have long. Pray for a peaceful passing and comfort for his family.

Feeling fairly overwhelmed lately. I'm doing the bare minimum each week for school lately and that sucks! My grades aren't suffering since I am able to look up answers to quiz questions that I don't know but thats never a good idea!! Afraid when the time comes that I won't know anything. I keep saying that I'm going to wake up before Austin and work on my reading more but he's still somewhat unpredictable on when he wakes up and I've been sick this week so that doesn't help. Excuses, excuses I know. Blah.

Hopefully this summer when Austins schedule is more predictable I can really focus. Lets hope. Like today...its 3:30ish and Austin has barely napped. Tried the car ride trick and it worked but then he woke up about 10 minutes after we got home. I really try to make every day consistent so that he will be in a routine but he only naps well 2-3 days out of the week. :(

Refiled for unemployment today since the Dupont nurse manager still has no idea on when the position will be posted and she claims she doesn't know if she continue the interviewing process before the job is posted. Hopefully my claim gets approved so that a little bit more money can be coming in while we are waiting. This process with Dupont has been going on for 6 weeks...thought it would take 2-3 maximum. Yeah I thought wrong!! So did the nurse manager I guess. We are not drowning money wise but I don't want to get to that point obviously. Theres only so much in our savings!!

Theres my rant and whining for the week. Sorry for the negativism but this week so far has been a struggle for some reason.

Happy April! ...feels like yesterday that I was saying Happy March!

Class got cancelled today because my professors doggie isn't doing well. Luckily she remembered that I live out of town so I knew about it before I even started getting ready. Hopefully her dog pulls through!

Talked to the nurse manager at Dupont today...we talk about once a week. She's frustrated that the approved prn spot is still not posted. Finally just asked if she could continue the interviewing/hiring process before its posted. Shes going to ask her manager (who is on spring break) and call me back Monday or Tuesday. Prayers that her manager doesn't care! My mom thinks it might have something to do with the "equal opportunity employment" rule and that's why they have to post it online first.

Austin is being his usual charming self. :) ...and drooooling up a storm! Might be time to break out all the cute bibs we got at the baby showers!

Go Cubs!! Andy stayed home for opening day today ..but they are currently losing. :(  They were winning for quite a while though.

Our couch which was supposed to arrive at the store tomorrow has been backordered til April 23rd. :( Major sad face! :(

We've already been waiting for what feels like forever! I am not a patient person as most of you know! Maybe it'll come in earlier than what they estimate.

Registered for my 2 summer classes and my one fall class this morning. Clinicals (2 days a week) start in the fall & only one class is required for it (6 credit hours though)! Then I'll have one 6 credit hour class plus 3 days of clinical in the spring....leading to graduation May 13 (I think), 2012!!

Austin had a bad stretch of waking up several times a night this past week or so but slept from 10:15pm til 7:45am last night! Yay! :) I actually got up and showered before he woke up ...need to try to do that more often. Makes the morning go a bit easier. :)

It's getting more and more difficult to focus on and finish school work when Austin is awake and active!! He only took a hour & 15 minute afternoon nap today...and I held him for part of it (my fault). I hate doing school stuff while hes awake ...don't want him to get lonely..yes that's silly to think. Oh well! Just a quick vent about time management and my lack of it lately! At least he likes his playmat so I can sit here next to him for about 25-30 minutes and do case studies/study for quizzes/work on my research paper.

All About Me -- A to Z    ...this survey was on a blog that I read so I thought I'd fill it out for fun. :)

A. Age: 25
B. Bed Size: Queen --- which sometimes is not quite big enough with 2 dogs!
C. Chore you dislike: Cleaning the shower

D. Dogs: Two! Lacy (almost 3) & Larry (3)
E. Essential start to your day: breakfast :)
F. Favorite color: Blue or pink

G. Gold or silver: Sliver

H. Height: 5'2"
I. Instruments you play(ed): Piano, clarinet, flute (not sure if I remember much anymore though!)
J. Jelly bean flavor: any fruity ones

K. Kids: Have 1 -- Austin Jacob & hope to have one or two more!
L. Lucky number(s): hmm... 3 I guess

M. Month: June :) or December

N. Nicknames: Ash, Squirt, Babe, ....theres lots more!

O. Overnight hospital stays: One...when I had Austin -- was in the hospital from Wednesday (2:14pm) til Saturday noonish :) Very memorable stay!!
P. Pet peeves: Negative people, those who litter

Q. Quote from a movie: ...too many to name although most are from Gilmore Girls

R. Righty or lefty: Righty

S. Siblings: One younger brother, Alan

T. Time you wake up: Largely depends on Austin!
U. Underwear: Yes!

V. Vegetables you don't like: hmm..
W. What makes you run late: thinking I can get ready faster than what is reality!

X. X-rays you've had: teeth, lungs, right wrist
Y. Yummy food you make: cookies, cupcakes :) My baking is far better than my cooking!!
Z. Zoo animal favorites: ostrich!, penguin, polar bear
 
Your turn! :)

Feeling in limbo right now....

Dupont job is still not posted. Talked to that nurse manager today and she doesn't know when it'll be on the site and she can't move forward without it being a official position. Grr..

Nurse manager from Community called and wants to work something out with me. She has offered me a prn position where I would have to work 24 hours per 6 weeks plus one minor holiday. She doesn't want to lose me as an employee since I am experienced.

Don't want to go back to Community but I also don't know what's up with the delay in the posting of the position at Dupont.

Prayers would be greatly appreciated. :) I want to work at Dupont!!

I quit my job at Community Hospital. It was just too much. Too much driving, too much stress being away from Austin that long, not enough sleep, etc! Should have listened closer to those who told me that it would be too much!

I spoke with the nurse manager at Dupont on Thursday and she said that the prn position has been approved and should be posted online any day now. She said she doesn't want me to slip away & that I should call her as soon as I apply. :) Hopefully it happens really soon!

Andy could potentially be transfering to another branch for a open loan officer position (his branch just isn't getting enough business for them to have a loan officer). This is something that he wants to do and it's the "next step" career wise after being a teller then head teller. :) The position is also a few dollars an hour raise. :) I'll keep you updated!

Austin is such a great baby!! :) He wakes up cooing! ...even at 4am. :)

Happy St. Patricks Day! and.. Happy 3 month birthday to Austin (yesterday)! :)

Austin is changing so much all the time. Bittersweet! It's exciting to experience everything that he does but the time is just passing so quickly ...trying to enjoy every moment with him! :)

He will smile pretty much anytime now. :) Hard to get it on camera since its so fast though! He still is not wanting to roll over from belly to back but that's ok ...we'll keep doing tummy time. Cousin Camden is rolling...so of course I'm being a competitive mommy! I think its because Camden is super skinny and long so its easier! lol!!

He coos a lot! Likes to talk to mommy, daddy, grandma & poppy. :) Also likes to talk to himself in his mirror, certain toys, and the ceiling fan. Also coos during and after his bath! Loves to stand up when someone is holding him. Chews his hands a lot...and even sucks his thumb several times a day! Uh oh!! ;) Also will hold onto some toys if you place them in hand and he contines to bat at his toys on the playmat. :)

Not sure how much he weighs since we don't have a doctors appt this month but I would guess 11.5 lbs...should get on the scale with him to get a better idea. :)

Today has been great so far!!!

Talked to the nurse manager at Dupont & she said that the part time spot is going to be filled internally...but..as soon as she gets the prn position appoved she is going to hire me!!! Talked to my friend that works there & she said girls are always posting hours/call time that they want to give up so it should be easy to work 24 or so hours a week. Prn spots usually require just 8 hours a schedule. Plus...I can float to Lutheran & St. Joe's NICU. :) So hopefully she can post the position online soon.

No cavities at the dentist today. Woohoo!! The staff was in love with Austin! :)

Got a 95% on my reasearch class assignment! There's only 3 projects for that class so it was a lil nerve wracking! So I now have a 90% in that class and a 93% in advanced patho!! Yes I am being an attention seeker right now but I've been so stressed out so it's good to have a great day! :)

Austin Jacob is cute as always & such a great baby! :)

Austin & I had a ton of fun today at Danne's with her, Abbey & Jill plus...Wyatt, Jade, Gracie, Gregory Jr, & Noah. Love all the babies/toddlers!! :)

Back to work tomorrow. :( Really not sure how long the adjustment process is going to take! Calling Dupont either Wednesday afternoon or Thursday morning for an "update" like she requested. She should be completely done interviewing people by then and hopefully she'll want to schedule me for a peer interview....or just offer me the job! Let's hope & pray!!

Not feeling like doing schoolwork lately...that's no good! I was in such a good groove so hopefully that's just temporary. There's just so much to do around the house sometimes and it's incredibly easy to get distracted by my sweet little boy. :)

Time for bed! Gotta get up at 3:45am .... blah.