So long peds...

This picture pretty much reflects how I'm feeling right now......SOOOOO HAPPY!!!!! I got an 88% on my peds final!! Take that Wofford!!! I am cleaning house, packing up and heading home. Sighhhhhhh. What a semester it has been. Can anyone actually believe I'll be a nurse in 5 months.....WHAT???!!!!

A stands for awesome

Well, I took my community health final yesterday and I got a 96%!!! I was so excited and could hardly believe it when I saw my grade! Two more finals to go and then the semester is OVER. YAY!! I am so happy to be heading home to Seattle in one week! Please pray for my peds final on Monday! See you all soon :)

Now that's what I call a belly

Anything in that pic remind you of Madonna in the 80's???

This baby is heavy and it's shaped like a brick....interesting. That might hurt a little.

So, Liz and I had to go to a childbirth class as part of our OB class. We looked slightly odd among all the couples, but they didn't seem to mind. Considering OB is practically over for us we didn't really learn much, but hey we got to put on the pregnancy belly! Was that worth hours of talk of dilation, mucous plugs, vernix, and vaginal tears....probably not, but we had to go so whatever. Plus, the pictures are priceless.

Excellent....you know it.

Me, Amanda, Jessica & Kaitlyn

Amanda and I decorated our community poster with our handprints....we had fun :)

We presented several projects on Tuesday, which was Nursing Excellence night at Belmont. Kaitlyn and I presented our amazing peds teaching project poster, and the four of us (Kait, Amanda, Jessica, and myself) presented our Community Health poster. The evening was fun, but we were all just happy to have the projects done. Four weeks and counting till the end of the semester.....will I make it....????

Teacher vs. Nurse

Beginning our teaching project in an eager class of second graders!

Amanda and Jessica

These are a few pictures from my teaching projects last week. The first was a teaching session for refugee elders (the bottom pics) where we (Jessica, Amanda, Kaitlyn and myself) taught about joints and muscles. Second was my peds teaching project which was so much fun! Kaitlyn and I went to an elementary school and taught about helmet safety to second graders. Wednesday was elderly refugees and Thursday was second graders! Big difference! So, the question is- do I still feel called to nursing or is teaching an option? I am 100% positive teaching is NOT for me and nursing is my passion. Danielle & Todd and the many other teachers out there....I don't know how you do it! You are AMAZING.

Can I borrow the baby and pelvis?

1. The baby sits happily inside the amniotic sac

2. Baby begins to make its way down the birth canal, holding the placenta nicely between its legs.

3. The baby slides out with much ease with its hands together as if to say, "God, please let me fit!"

4. Happy mom, happy baby!!!

Yup, that's pretty much it, right? Oh the joys of nursing school and being able to borrow a baby and pelvis from my professor to study with.

Unconditional love

Rylee- this is the picture I took of Sam when I was talking to you on the phone!

I know I am only reinforcing bad behavior by taking pictures instead of taking him off my curtains, but it is just TOO funny to watch!

Here are some of my favorite pictures of the babies! They are growing so fast and are already way bigger than they are in these pics! I cannot imagine not having them. They bring me so much joy, entertainment, and above all, unconditional love.

The b-hole of nursing school (censored for younger viewers)

The peds exam did not go well AT ALL. I was incredibly discouraged after all the effort I had put forth. The worst part was when I spoke with my prof she was completely cold and had not a shred of compassion. The only bright spot in my day was meeting with another professor, whom I adore. I had called her in tears and she told me to come to school so we could talk. She spent nearly 45 minutes with me. She reminded me that I will be an amazing nurse and this is no reason to give up. She has easily become my favorite professor for many reasons. Her encouragement and advice was exactly what I needed. She said I did not have to like my peds professor at all, I just had to get thru the class. We both agree that this professor is the b-hole of my experience in nursing school....her idea, which I find hilarious!! I am moving on from this bump in the road knowing that I have people who truly believe in me.

Solid A

So, most of you know that I was VERY happy with my community health grade last week, which was a 94% (A-). However, I am even more happy to report that we got an extra point added and I have officially earned my first solid A on an exam this semester!! For some of you it may not seem like that big of a deal. If so, take a senior level nursing exam and then we'll talk!! I have my big peds exam tomorrow morning and I am very anxious. I have studied and studied and studied some more. I know that I know the material, but I just need to get my anxiety under control. Again, PLEASE PRAY. Hopefully I'll be sharing good news with you tomorrow. Love to you all.

Study buddy

So, I have been studying so hard for my peds exam tomorrow. I did the same for the last exam and didn't do that well.....very discouraging. I was trying to make studying a little more enjoyable so I took pictures from the the skin disorders chapter and made myself a matching game. Brilliant!! We got some macules, pustules, crusts, and vesicles!! Who knows if it will help, but it was fun! Sam and Chloe don't love my studying and usually find toys to bring to me and just sit and wait for me to play with them! It's pretty cute. I take the exam tomorrow morning so please say a prayer for me :)

The Four Things List

4 things I was doing 10 years ago:
1-desperately trying to pass my driving test without much luck
2-not enjoying the life of a teenage girl in high school!
3-borrowing Danielle’s clothes without asking
4-working my first official job

4 things on my to-do list for today:
1-clean house
2-study for my peds exam
3-empty the litter box
4-put clean sheets on my bed. I love the feeling of clean sheets!!

4 random things I love about my husband:
1-I’ll let you all know when I find one :)

4 jobs that I have had:
1-barista at Market St. Perk in Kirkland. Putting up with Rich was always a challenge, but I loved this job and loved my customers!
2-sales associate at Paint on Pottery in Phoenix. One of my favorite jobs!
3-nanny for the O’Connor family. I was honored to care for their precious children, Quinn and Donovan!
4-worked the front desk at several different fitness clubs

4 movies I have watched more than once:
1-Billy Madison- super stupid, but I love it!
2-Anchorman
3-Titanic- I know, I know
4-The Sound of Music- same as Karissa!

4 places I have lived:
1-in a few different places in Phoenix (family knows about those special places!)
2-off and on with my sweet parents since high school. They just don’t have the heart to tell me to stop coming back!
3-in West Seattle with Colin and Shiho. It was a very fun place to live and somewhere I would consider moving back to when I am done with school.
4-a dorm at Belmont University in Nashville. I had never lived on campus before so it was an interesting experience.

4 places I have been (I can’t keep it at just four, and I'm sure I am forgetting some!)
1-many states from Washington D.C. to Seattle. I took a roadtrip with mom and gma Larson. It was such a special trip and one that I never forget
2-Hawaii
3-New Zealand for a family reunion. By far the most beautiful place I have ever been. I still can’t believe we all went! Thanks gma and gpa!!
4-New York for New Years 2007 with Todd & Danielle! It was a quick trip, but we can say we did New Years in NYC.
5-Many family reunions in Colorado
6-Dominican Republic- seriously, the best spring break!
7-Guatemala- an amazing mission trip.
8-Argentina- I traveled all over the country during my outreach phase of my DTS.
9-Alaska- Mom and Dad won a trip to Alaska at an Auction and Danielle and I tagged along. The scenery was breathtaking!
10-Mexico- my very first mission trip, which was very challenging and fun!
11-Various little trips with mom & dad…Victoria B.C., Leavenworth, Snowater.
12-Birch Bay- it wasn’t too far from home, but some of my sweetest childhood memories are from summers spent there with Grandma and Grandpa Sween.
13-Lakeside, MT- lecture phase of my DTS.

4 places I want to visit:
1-Europe- I want to travel ALL OVER Europe!
2-U.S. British Virgin Islands- perhaps a honeymoon!!??
3-Figi
4-New Zealand- I would love to travel to New Zealand again

4 TV shows I watch:
1-Dirty Sexy Money
2-Private Practice
3-Ugly Betty
4-The Hills- guilty pleasure!

4 things you may not know about me:
1-I’ve climbed Mt. St. Helens three times
2-I have had over 30 jobs! I’m not proud of it, but you may not know it!
3-I’ve taken belly-dancing lessons
4-I pluck my eyebrows everyday!

A weekend visit

Eating sushi and acting like a nerd!
Me and Bekah!

Bekah came and visited me a few weeks ago for the weekend! It was a quick trip but we had a great time. Hope everyone loves the new background and the added blog features!! I sure do :)

Too much wayfinding fun......

A Belmont ID looks way more official on a lanyard!! Still couldn't get inside the perimeter....oh well.

Amanda directing media personel
Official radio business only!! It made the volunteering a little cooler.

Hanging out in the quad during the filming of the Early Show.

Sneaking around campus the day before the debate and getting into areas I KNEW I wasn't supposed to be in....AWESOME.

The media tent- it was huge!

So, most of you know by now that the town hall presidential debate was held at Belmont. Who would have ever thought!!?? It was actually really fun and exciting. Campus was pretty crazy, but what a great honor to host a debate in this election. I worked on debate day as a volunteer and sadly I didn't meet McCain or Obama, or get anywhere close to them. I did however score a radio and a lanyard for my Belmont ID....who could wish for more than that? Amanda and I were official wayfinders. Ya, it's exactly how it sounds- we helped people find their way. It may seem like a small job to some, but we took pride in our work. During our post we met members of the secret service, metro police, many members of the media and had a nice chat with Dr. Fischer, Belmont's president. Life is now getting back to normal: tons of homework, exams and work. The semester is about to get insane with my OB and peds inpatient clinicals starting up in a few weeks. Pray that I would make it because I am a little doubtful that I'll survive it! Love to you all.

Update with pics coming soon!!

I know I am long overdue for a blog update!! I have some great pictures from the debate and will try and put them up today. Love and miss you all so, so much :)

Peds lab

I'm ready to catch the baby!! That's how you do it, right?

Amanda acting as "Noel's" labor coach. Yes, her name really is "Noel"
Just a little CPR....

An accurate portrayal of the birthing process. No, really.

Checking the fundus on my upper thigh and abdominal dummy.

Just another fun day in nursing school!! This was actually peds lab, but OB is in the same lab so were just messing around with everything. This is only the first lab posting of the semester and you regular blog viewers know that they will just get better from here :)

A reenactment of a typical day at Vandy....

Steph: "I need help in here!! He's not responding!! MICHAEL!!"
Debbie: "Let's check his blood sugar!"
Michael: "Call Rapid Response!!"

"Get the crash cart!!"

Brenda: "Throw water on him!!!"

Margo: Gives the most painful sternal rub ever!!
Debbie: Pumps up a bag of NS so much that it nearly explodes!!

Everyone crowds around 9217.......

We worked on him for awhile and he finally came to......well, kind of.

Okay, now he looks alive and pretty cute for all he's been thru :) hahaha.

The team!! Debbie, Steph, Brenda and Regina (minus Jenny, Michael, Margo, and Michelle)

Steph, Margo and Jenny!!

Sharon....you're not looking too gangsta!!!????

Whoah.....no words for this one. Working hard though :)

Debbie, Regina, Jenny and Steph

A Michael sandwhich!!!










Oh, the joys of working on 9South at Vanderbilt, especially on Sundays. As you can see we weren't working too hard! We had an exciting day yesterday, and I'm just gonna say I was part of saving a life!! It was amazing. I went to take my patient's blood pressure (per Brenda's request) and he was non-responsive when I went in the room and I couldn't find a radial pulse. I yelled for help, grabbed a doctor from the hall and threw him in the room. I ran down the hall and yelled for Michael and before I knew it the room was packed with all kinds of people. The next hour was exciting with administering Narcan (narcotic antidote), vitals q5min., bolus fluids, rough sternal rubs from Margo, trying to keep the poor guy covered up (he prefered nudity), restraints, acuchecks, labs, etc. The whole experience made me realize how much I want to work in critical care and also how AMAZING all the people I work with are. They are the most incredible people and the best nurses.