Derek's First Day

Derek took off for his first day of medical school today! We are both a little nervous--Derek for obvious reasons, and me because I know he's going to be gone most of the time. But I know he's going to do great. Derek has determination like nothing I've ever been able to muster up. It's taken him this far, and it will take him all the way to being a full-blown doctor. I'm so proud of him! Here's some pictures of his first day.


Yay Derek! He has to wear a shirt and tie to school every day. He's not thrilled about it, but I definitely had fun picking out a whole new wardrobe for him!

New Job

As promised, here are the details on my new job. I got hired in Labor and Delivery, full time, at a big hospital here in Erie. I start training August 24, because it takes a while to do clearances (background check, physical, etc). I interviewed a week ago and got to shadow a nurse for a while. I told them that I really liked the unit, and they told me they needed to check my references. They checked them, and called me yesterday to offer me the job!

I would like to take this opportunity to stick it to anyone who told me one of the following:
1. You have to do at least a year of med/surg nursing to get anywhere
2. New grads never get hired straight into specialties like L&D
3. You have to do a capstone in L&D to get a job there (I did capstone in ICU)
4. The market is really tight for new grads right now so don't be disappointed if you can't find a job right away (this is the only one I interviewed for, and one of two I applied for)

I have had all these things said to me at some point (although likely not by anyone who reads my blog, so this is really just me venting). It feels good to prove them wrong! I'm glad I didn't listen, or I'd be stuck in med/surg right now. I know some people love med/surg, but I really don't. It would have been a hard year for me if I'd had to do that. In addition, I'm grateful that the market here in Erie is good for nurses. I know some of my friends have had a really hard time finding jobs.

I'll be on a day/night rotation, which basically means as the new employee I'll get all the shifts that no one wants (nights, weekends, holidays). But this is actually great for me. First, those shifts pay more. Second, most of the time, I won't have to worry about childcare. Derek is home on nights, weekends and holidays so he can take care of Jack. My initial plan was to be a stay at home mom during medical school, but when the reality of the gigantic loans we would need for that hit, I decided to look for a job. After all, nursing is probably one of the most flexible jobs out there--3 days a week equals full time and shifts are available on whatever days you need them.

I'm still in the excited phase. I'm sure the overwhelmed, terrified phase will hit soon. Wish me luck!

Critters

Derek and I were watching a thunderstorm through our sliding glass door tonight.

We've seen lots of critters here. Chipmunks are everywhere and we've seen a couple bunnies.

But tonight we saw one that actually scared us and made us forget all about the storm.

A skunk--yes, a skunk--took a leisurely stroll across our porch while we watched.

I had never seen a skunk that wasn't dead or a cartoon. Until now.

I would have been happy to never see one in real life. Thank you, Pennsylvania.

Lake Erie

Life has been a blur since we got to Erie! It's been wonderful to have no responsibilities and just enjoy life. Too bad that can never last long. Derek starts school on Monday, and I just got a job (which is another post). But in the meantime we've just been organizing our townhouse, and exploring Northwestern Pennsylvania (not that there's much to explore).

The best thing about Erie is of course the lake. If you've ever been to any of the great lakes you know that you might as well be at the ocean--they are huge! You can't see the other side, and the waves are bigger than you'd think (maybe a little smaller than the Gulf of Mexico). Lake Erie is beautiful. Here's a picture of us on the beach.
We stuck our feet in the water, expecting it to be freezing cold. But it wasn't--it was pleasantly warm! You could easily swim in it. We haven't found time to do that yet but hopefully we will before Summer is over.

Just yesterday we went rollerblading on a trail along an alcove of the lake. It was pretty hot and humid but fun nonetheless. Jack loved riding in his stroller with Derek pushing it on rollerblades, probably because it was faster than the usual walking.
So it turns out there IS some fun stuff to do in Erie! You should definitely come visit :)

Let's see...what else have we been up to? I can't find a food co-op for produce only here, I can only find ones where you get beef, eggs, etc, which would be great, but they're pretty expensive. Maybe someday. We did, however, find a really great farmer's market that has lots of really good locally grown produce. We've made some excellent salsa with it and will be doing more soon.

Now for a developmental update on Jack! He finally started rolling over a couple days ago. He started sitting up several weeks ago, and that's not really supposed to happen until after rolling over, but he's finally all caught up. He loves to be up with mommy and daddy, doing whatever we are doing. We used to be able to just put him on the floor with some toys and he'd entertain himself but that doesn't work anymore! He always wants to be held or at least up on our level. That's why we got him this high chair.
He's not eating solid food yet, but he still loves to be up at the table with us when we're eating.

Maybe sometime soon I'll feel inclined to post something informative or interesting, but for now I'm just feeling like being journal-y.

Sick

So of course the week that we are moving in to our new place I come down with the first cold I've had in, like, a year. And of course I gave it to Derek. It's not anything too bad, but enough to be really annoying. I'm sure that the diet of fast food we've lived on as we've been getting our kitchen into working order hasn't helped.

Jack, thankfully, has not shown any signs of having a cold. But he does hate it that I have one. For some reason, sneezing and nose-blowing scare him to death. If I sneeze or blow my nose while nursing, he let's go, looks at me with wide terrified eyes, and screams until I latch him back on. Maybe it makes the milk shoot really hard into his mouth--I don't know. All I know is that I'll be glad when this cold is gone.

But other than the cold, things are going swimmingly! We love our new place. It is huge compared to our last apartment. It has a basement with a washer and dryer and lots of storage space, a main floor with a living room, kitchen and bathroom, and an upstairs with two bedrooms and a bathroom. For once we actually have a place to put everything! The main floor is about the size of our entire old apartment. And here's the kicker--the rent is about the same. Once we get it all organized I'll post some pictures.

Derek starts school a week from Monday. And we want to make a trip to Pittsburgh this week (it's the closest big city, and it has Ikea and Costco! Yes!) Life is good!

Sorry about this rather boring update--if you're still reading you must really love me :)

RN, BS

I just want to share that I am now Heidi Goodyear, RN, BS. Yep! Passed the NCLEX--75 questions, 45 minutes. My education is officially complete! (For now...)

In other news, Derek has now left for Erie and is somewhere in Illinois I think. I fly out with Jack in two days. Crazy!