Christmas 2008!

This Christmas was a lot of fun! Most of Devry's brothers were here to celebrate this year. Unfortunately Joe and Lisa weren't able to come, but the way the weather has been across the country, it was a relief to know they were safe at home and wouldn't be stuck in an airport somewhere.

Everyone got together on Christmas Eve at our house. I volunteered to make Christmas Eve dinner. I decided to make Chinese food, which is a bit of a tradition in my familiy. I completely forgot to take pictures of the meal, but it turned out pretty good! I made fried rice, battered sweet and sour chicken, boneless honey garlic spare ribs, stir fry, and egg rolls. Thanks Dad for the recipes!!

We decided for dessert we would decorate sugar cookies. After playing a few fun christmas games that Rachelle had put together (and Ted winning the prize Dan had picked out.....a whoopie cushion), we began to decorate cookies.

Shayla helping Kaden, and Devry supposed to be helping Trey ..instead he is blowing up the woopie cushion to try to suprise/scare Trey.....how mature my husband is!

Tim Decorating his cookies, and a few finished products....

and of course Carter..... who had no interest in decorating, and just wanted to eat the cookies! :)

After a fun night everyone went home to get ready for Christmas Day.

Devry and I opened one present on Christmas Eve, which is tradition for both of our families. The part of the tradition that we are making our own is that the Christmas Eve gift is always new PJ's. This way, when we have kids, they will look extra cute on Christmas morning when they wake up with their new PJ's on. So Devry and I bought each other new PJ's to open Christmas Eve.

We went to bed, and I expected a sleepless night. I am still like a little kid on Christmas. I can't sleep, and will be up ready to open presents at 4am. I was suprised that I was out, and didn't wake up once until 6am. We got up about 6:30 to open presents. Our stockings were first, and then our other presents.

I wrapped Devry's TV....mostly as a joke since it has been up for the last month. He was still very excited to open it.

Devry suprised me completely with his gift. I had told him the things I wanted, and really thought he had gotten those, but instead he bought me a camera. I hadn't said I wanted one for Christmas, but had talked about getting one for our anniversary or something. I was completely suprised when I opened the camera! It is a very very nice Nikon P80 cool pix. I am so lucky to have such a wonderful husband who enjoys suprising and spoiling me!

After opening our presents at home, we got ready and went to Devry's parents to spend the rest of the day with family.

Kaden helping Devry open more Christmas Presents.

Bubba doing his part too

Devry and Ted playing the minature pool set.

We had a wonderful day! Louise cooked a delicious Turkey dinner, and we all got to enjoy the day together. Unfortunately Devry and I weren't able to make it to Nova Scotia on the 26th, but we have enjoyed having a few days off to spend together at home. Family is such a blessing, and we are so lucky to have Devry's family so close.

What a Day!

Partly because I am beyond frusturated right now, and partly because I am about to collapse from exhaustion, I am going to blog about today, and leave Christmas stories for another time. After a wonderful Christmas Eve and Day (like I said, more details to come later), Devry and I came home to pack and get ready for our early morning departure to Halifax. We caught the shuttle from Rexburg to salt lake city at 3:30 AM, arrived in Salt lake in plenty of time. Checked in, went through security and wandered around waiting for our flight to board. Everything was looking great! 5 minutes after the listed boarding time, we hear the announcement. "Chicago airport is delayed because of weather, flight #### (don't know the number, but our flight) is delayed to leave at 2pm instead of 11am. Connecting flights have been arranged for all passengers, please talk to a representative with any questions." Ok I can deal with delays, as long as its reasonable. I went to talk to the lady, and when I tell her we are connecting to a flight to halifax, her response was "oh, yeah, you guys" How comforting. She told us our flight had been cancelled completely and there was no way we could get there until the same flight the next day. She found a red eye flight which would have had us in 4 different cities with potential delays and/or cancellations. After talking to my parents and Devry's parents, we regretfully decided the smartest thing to do would be to try to get a refund. We figured the chances of getting stranded somewhere in the middle of here and there were too high and we didn't have any days to work with. I was really upset, and probably looked like an idiot walking through the entire airport crying. As much as it made sense to get a refund, It was still a total disapointment to not get to go home and see my family. So after getting a refund (which was actually really nice, because airlines typically give credit to their company), and our luggage back, we called the shuttle company and got on the next shuttle Back to rexburg. Another long 51/2 hour drive (it should be 4 or less but weather was bad and we had stops). 16 hours after leaving rexburg, we were returning, exhausted, cranky, and upset. Oh what a wonderful day.

Christmas Time!

I made it through finals...and have had the last several days off of work...my task, to FINALLY decorate. My last final was on Friday, so I planned to decorate and clean on Saturday. I had a few errands I wanted to run first, but when I woke up Saturday morning the ground was snow covered, and the wind was blowing so hard I could barely see my car out the window. I debated still going, but decided I could spend my entire day getting the house ready and worry about errands another time.

Daisy and Dash loved the Snow. Dash had never seen snow before, so he thought it was pretty neat.
Daisy seemed to remember it from last year, and went crazy when I first let her outside. I spent the morning decorating the tree, piano and shelves. I'm not one to spend much on decorations that are only going to stay up 3 weeks of the year, so I tend to use things I already have and make them work somehow. We had another real tree again this year, thanks to Weston! I love the smell of a real tree. I used our red and gold decorations that I had from last year. It turned out really nice!

I happened to have a red and green vase around the house. I filled them with some extra Christmas bulbs and beads, and then put ribbon around them. Took me about 5 minutes each, and I think they look ok! I also had some plain candles already around, so I put some ribon around them, and some beads around the bottom to make them look Christmasy

On top of the piano, I put some garland on top of a $3 red table cloth that I bought from Kmart last year. Then I put my wonderful willowtree nativity scene that my mom bought us last year.


It feels so nice to be ready for Christmas. I still have a few little things to buy and do, but for the most part, I feel prepared.

It turns out that Devry and I will be traveling home to Nova Scotia after all! Not for Christmas, but we are leaving here the day after Christmas. It will be a pretty quick trip, from the 26th till the 30th, but I am excited to see family! Why we changed our minds? Tickets went on a major seat sale and were about half price. We could have gone before Christmas, but we really wanted to be here to celebrate with his family since most of them will be here. We will be there for Devry's birthday, so I have to come up with a fun way to celebrate. He keeps saying his TV is enough. He is loving life being able to watch his new TV. Here is a picture of it. (We havn't gotten a new stand for it, so you can see our old TV still)

Feeling a bit behind.

As tradition growing up, my mom always decorated for Christmas on December 1. It was also the first day we played Christmas music. Last year I did really good at keeping this tradition, but this year has been a little different. I have been working a ton, and also trying to finish my classes. I have two finals I need to take and a bunch of final projects. I have put off decorating for Christmas until my finals are done...so it may still be another week before we get to it. We are also getting a real tree from a family friend...and the soonest it will be here is today. It may stand naked in our living room for a few days.
Christmas shopping is getting close to done. Devry was easy this year because I got him his big TV, so the only other things I need to buy are stocking stuffers and maybe a few little things. I still have to worry about his birthday though, which is 3 days after Christmas. I promised I would never "combine" his birthday and christmas presents, although it would be kind of easy. I want them to be two separate celebrations.
Hopefully I will be able to get everything done in time.

Turkey Time

Thanksgiving was alot of fun yesterday. It was the year Devry's brothers all went to their inlaws for thanksgiving, so it was just Devry's parents and us. We kept it pretty simple with turkey, gravy, rolls, potato stuffing and pie. Very yummy!! Then we spent the day watching football. It is suprising to me how much it has grown on me. I actually enjoy watching the games now. I have to ask about a million questions to understand what is going on, but I'm getting better.

I feel like Im getting some good experiences at work. Each time I work I feel more prepared to be off of orientation in January. I had one experience last week that I know I needed, but wish it didn't have to happen. A lady had lost her baby and she was far enough along that we had to induce labor so she could deliver the baby. It was really hard to watch this woman go through the pain and discomfort of labor, knowing that she wouldn't be able to take her baby home with her. Delivering the baby was hard, the other nurse and I just cried with the family. We were able to take the baby and get footprints and handprints. We put together a little memory box for the parents to take home, which they were so thankful for. This is definately the part of my job that is the hardest.

Daisy is not having puppies...at least not anymore. Devry came home one day and there was a 3rd dog in their pen.....yes it jumped the 5 foot fence..and was stuck in there. Knowing that Daisy was at her most fertile time, I called the vet to see what we could do. We decided to take his advise and take her in for a shot that would prevent her from getting pregnant. The downside to it was that if she was already pregnant with dash's puppies then she would lose them too.

stuff

First off...Congratulations to Tim and Danizza Hymas, who got married yesterday! It was a beautiful wedding and reception.

- I have been picking up some extra shifts at work so we can afford christmas. I had picked up enough to afford Devry's present, so I started looking. I priced probably 300 tv's, and was somewhat discouraged, thinking I would have to work more just to afford it. Finally I went to Sears and found the PERFECT Tv for the PERFECT price. It is a 50 inch panasonic plasma TV. So I had Devry look at it to make sure it is what he wanted. He loved it and we bought it right there. I was planning on not letting him set it up until Christmas, but he insisted that it was pointless to let it sit in a box for a month and a half. He won. It is a great TV. I feel a little spoiled having such a nice TV...but I guess I worked hard for it right?

-I watched Twilight on Thursday night....well technically Friday morning. I went to the midnight premiere of the movie with Danizza and some of her friends for her bachelorette party. It was ok...but I was a little dissapointed. I think its hard to not be dissapointed in a movie that is from a book, especially when the book is so detailed, and the movie is crammed in 90 minutes. Some things about it were good, but other things weren't what I had imagined from the book. Hopefully they will have a bigger budget to make the next movie.

-Work is great! I start a night position on January 2. I get benefits from taking this position. I'm excited to have health insurance that might actually cover something!

- Devry is enjoying his new job. He is anxious to be able to be in the service department, but his boss in the lube bay thinks he is great. Its suprising how far showing up on time and actually doing your job with get you!

- I have struggled with my diet this past week. Ive still worked out regularily...but I didnt do so good on eating right. I didn't plan the week well and a lot of foods were missing from my house. I kept skipping my small meals...and then the next meal would come around and I would be so hungry I would eat things I shouldn't. What I have learned : I need to plan better and make sure I eat when I am supposed to otherwise I have a harder time sticking to the diet. I will do better next week.

Possibly Pregnant?

No I am not talking about me.......but I am talking about the other female in our house...Daisy. Devry texted me at work to let me know that Daisy was in heat. I texted him back to ask if he separated Daisy and Dash. His response... "No Dash is way to young to get her pregnant so there's nothing to worry about." I wasn't so sure and called the vet. Apparantly golden retrievers are usually fertile by 3-4 months. Well Dash is 5! I let Devry know, but neither one of us could go home to put them in separate pens till the evening. We do eventually want to breed them, but we were planning on it being next spring or summer. So we really don't know if she is pregnant....but I guess the possibility is there. Oh dear.

Its been a while since I posted anything! We have been so busy at work, it seems like I am called in every day. I finally have a weekend to get some things done.

Haloween came and went......since it really isn't a favorite holiday of mine I could have cared less really. Maybe I will like it more when I have kids to dress up or something. I worked that day, which was fun because everyone at work dressed up. I threw on my old lifeguard shirt and stuck some sunglasses on my head...same costume i've used the last 3 years.....very original. I was shocked at some of my co workers.....we had cat in the hat, thing 1 and thing 2, malifacent, witches, hippies, sincronized swimmers and many more. I loved seeing the pictures of our neice and nephews who dressed up as a robot, a cat, a boxer and superman. I am very proud to say that I made it through halloween and only had 2 cookies, one mini snickers bar and a handful of m&m's. I've been working at loosing some of the weight I gained from birth control (and being married to a twig who can eat whatever he wants, whenever he wants), and was very happy with myself at the end of the day because i didnt give into the temptation of eating tons of the candy and cookies and cakes people brought to work.

I finally talked Devry into helping me loose weight. It is a huge sacrifice for him because it means absolutely no junkfood in our house, and he cant eat in front of me after 6pm. I even have him eating vegetables! I did find out the other day that he buys junk food and puts it in his car to eat at work. I laughed at him for it...but I am just fine with that because I dont have to see it that way. He has been a great support and I am well on my way to reaching my goal. He even made me splurge and buy an eliptical. I have been running outside all summer, but the cold weather makes it hard for me to run. I was planning on waiting to get an eliptical for christmas, but when a local sports store had an unbelieveable sale, he pushed me to get one now. It has been great! I get home from work, and instead of being a lazy bum and sitting on the couch to watch TV, I make myself run on the eliptical. I do at least 30 minutes a day.. and then do situps and push ups. I can't believe how great I feel after I am done. I guess I forgot how much more energy exercising gives me. At first it was really hard to push myself, but once I got into the habit I feel like I am missing out if i dont run.

Besides working out more, I have been following a "diet" that my sister in law Rachelle introduced me to. Its called Michael Thurmond's six week body makeover. Its more of a lifestyle change than a "diet." Basically the program is designed around your individual body type, and chooses the foods that will help speed metabolizm. The best part about it...I don't get hungry. I Eat 5 times a day, with the right balance of carbs, protein and fruit and veggies so that my body gets what it needs. After I loose the weight I want, I can switch and do the "maintenance" diet, designed to keep you at the weight you want. Its been a lot easier then I expected, as long as I plan ahead. I find if i ever skip one of the meals, the next time I need to eat I am starving and have a harder time sticking to what I'm supposed to eat. If i plan right and have everything I need to follow the plan, I make it through the day without feeling hungry at all. I rarely crave junk or heavy carbs anymore. Im onto week number two, and although I have no idea if I have actually lost lbs, I am feeling so much better, so I know it is working. Check out the website to learn more about it! http://www.mybodymakeover.com/

Devry started his new job. They started him in the lube bay, where they change oil and stuff. It is where they usually start everyone. It has been going well for him. He didn't have to learn much, since he knew how to do everything already. His boss loves him because he actually shows up to work ontime and not hung over, and does his job. Apparantly people like him are hard to come by because he one of the only ones there like that.

I realized even more the other day how much I love my job. It was my 4th 12 hour shift in a row, and I had a patient that was induced at the beginning of my shift. I helped her through her labor all day, and she was finaly dilated to a 10 and pushing at 6pm, right when shift change is. The night nurse came in to take over for me, but there was no way I was leaving until she had her baby. It was so important to me that I see her through her delivery, that I didn't mind at all staying an extra hour to help her deliver and then get her comfortable afterwards. It wasn't even about the money anymore. I wanted to stay because I cared about my patient, and loved what I was doing. What a blessing it is to be in a career that I love, and even more that I was able to get into the position I want right away. How do people go to work everyday when they hate their job? I don't understand it, and dont feel like I ever will have to understand it because I love what I do.

Home.

Fall is here. Out of no where, the weather started getting cold, and summer dissapeared. I have always enjoyed the fall, at least I thought I did. I have begun to discover that I enjoy Nova Scotia's fall. Not Rexburg's. Rexburg just gets cold and turns brown. This fall is making me somewhat homesick. I have never really been homesick before. Of course I have missed my family, and home, but never homesick. It started when I saw a Nova Scotian musician, Natalie MacMaster perform at the school here. She plays celtic music, and just hearing the music reminded me of home. It was a very good concert, Devry even loved it! Then the weather started really changing, and I missed the vibrant fall colors from home. I jumped online to search for some pictures, finding the ones I've posted below.

Besides the beautiful colors. I miss the water. Nova Scotia is almost completely surrounded by the ocean, with lakes almost everywhere you go. It really is a beautiful place. Hopefully it wont be too much longer before I make it home again. I was sad to miss Canadian Thanksgiving. Although Thanksgiving isn't near as big of a deal in Canada as it is in the states, it is still a time my family gets together to celebrate. Hopefully I can make it home next year for thanksgiving.

Feast or Famine

Thats how it is on Labor and Delivery. Last week I was running mad because we had too many patients and couldn't keep up. I go to work this morning, and helped deliver one lady, then moved her to the post partum unit, and got put on cal because we had NO patients. Oh well, I needed a day to get caught up in my classes.

My little puppy isn't so little anymore. It hit me the other day that he is losing his "puppy" look and is now looking more like a "dog." Daisy and dash are best buds. They play all day together, and have to be right next to each other while they sleep. They also cause a lot of trouble together. Daisy knows very well that she is not allowed on the furniture. For some reason she thinks the rule only applies when we are watching. I find her on our front room couch quite often and she jumps down as soon as she sees me..before I say a word. I was doing some laundry and walked in the front room, to find her there yet again. I scolded her and went back to what I was doing. Next time I walked into the room both daisy and dash were up on the couch. Now he things its a pretty comfy place to sleep and will climb up there on his own. Why can't she teach him the good things she knows, like shake, roll over, and stay?

Other News..

I guess its pretty close to official so I can share. Since Devry has been able to line up a job for after graduation here in rexburg, and because I love my job so much, we have decided to stay around.. for a while at least. We are currently in the process of buying Devry's parents house. It is the one we live in now, and have been renting from them, so it wont mean any big changes like moving or anything. I will be doing some remodeling to the house to make it "mine." I am trying to pick out carpet and paint colors that I like, and we will start on it as soon as the paperwork goes through. I am wanting to get it done before christmas. Devry's cousin Scott lives down the street and builds houses for a living, so we are very lucky that he is willing to help us out some. I will be posting before and after pictures as I get things done. I am really excited about it!

Work, Work, Work.

I finally have a day off! I have been working the past 7 days in a row, 12 hour shifts each day, and I am enjoying being able to sit and relax for the first time in a week. I started in labor and delivery last thursday. I absolutely love it...but I am VERY overwhelmed right now. There are so many things to learn, and since it has been very busy, I haven't had any real structure in learning. One day I will have one type of patient, then later that day 5 women will walk in in labor and I will switch patients 3 times before ever getting a grasp on what I was trying to do. Luckily I am always paired with another nurse who will follow up with me on everything I do, but time for teaching is limited. Hopefully it will slow down in a few weeks so I can have time to breath and take in the things I'm learning. The one thing I have learned for sure....I have absolutely NO desire to EVER try to have a baby without an epidural! I have heard way to many women screaming and crying in the last week to ever want to go through that. I admire those women who are tough enough to have natural labor...but I am definately not one of them.

Devry is into potato harvest now, so he has been working very long hours as well. He found an internship with a local car dealership and will start at the beginning of November. We really lucked out with it because Internships typically dont pay very much at all, but this dealership wants Devry to work for them through the rest of school and then after he graduates, so they will pay him pretty decent. Of course his wages will go up when he graduates, but it is a whole lot better then a $3 an hour internship that ends in 3 months. This month will be his last working on the farm. He has worked there for almost 8 years. I am sure he will still help them out some, but hopefully from this internship he can start his career.

I bought tickets to go see Natalie MacMaster this saturday. She is performing on campus! She is a Nova Scotian musician who plays celtic music. I saw that she was coming and had to get tickets. Her music reminds me so much of home, and I wanted Devry to hear it too.

L&D

My boss approached me on monday at work and told me she is going to change my schedule around a bit. I was scheduled to continue to orient on the Mother baby unit for another 2 weeks doing night shifts. Then the plan was for me to start working, filling in the extra shifts until the end of the year. I was then going to begin orienting to Labor and Delivery. She told me she needed me in L&D sooner then she thought, so she is going to skip putting me on nights, and begin orientation in L&D this week. My first day is tomorrow. I am very excited, but kind of nervous at the same time. L&D can be a very high stress area, and I have a ton to learn.

Hooked

Well, its official...I am completely hooked on the "Twighlight" series by Stephenie Meyer. I Had put off reading them because I had heard they were addictive and I simply did not want to put off school work and other important things to read. Being sick for 4 days has had one plus side... I finally could start reading this series without feeling guilty, cause really, what else would I do?

When I first heard about these books, I really wasn't sure what the hype was all about. I would ask what they were about, and people always would say something along the lines of "Its a love story about vampires." Not quite my type of reading. I really wondered if I would find them good. After starting the first one, I couldnt put it down, and once I finished it (in less than a day I might add), I couldn't wait to start the second. I am now starting the third. Although the first one remains my absolute favorite, I am enjoying the progression of the story. I do have to admit that because I was out of the loop, I didn't realize the author was LDS, which really suprised me when I found out. Not that the books are crude or explicit, but sometimes the context of the book suprises me with the lack of morality. (which seems to worsen with each book). I understand that being an LDS author doesn't mean she has to portray Our Church's standpoint on every subject, but I would like to think that being in such an influencial role on young girls minds would encourage Stephenie Meyer to send signals of morality.

The movie for the first one comes out November 21st. I am so excited to see it, although the actor they chose to play the heroic Edward is not near as perfect as I had played him up to be in my mind. I am sure it will still be good though. It actually comes out the day Devry's brother is getting married. His fiance Danizza is also very into the twighlight series, and wants to go to a midnight showing the night before. If there is one, I will definately be there, and if not, I may have to skip out early on their reception. Just kidding.

Sick of being sick

I got into the Doctor this morning, and he first looked at my throat and said "so you are on antibiotics already?" When I said yes he told me he was worried I have a viral infection......most likely Mono. So he ran some blood tests and it came back that it was actually bacterial.....just a type of bacteria that the antibiotics I was already taking didn't fight. Convenient. So the solution? Another series of a different antibiotic. Of course this antibiotic is a lot more expensive, and since they dont carry it at the hospital I dont get my employee discount, so I have to pay the whole amount. So I am absolutely thrilled that I am taking 32 pills a day for infections and pain. Hopefully this doesnt last long. So after waiting in the Dr.s office for a while because I was so lightheaded from being sick and then blood being drawn, I got my pills and headed home. Well of course I stopped for some movies and jello.

So while I was sitting in the waiting room at the Doctors office, I realized I had brought the book Twilight with me. I have been carrying it around with me for the last couple weeks, but havn't started it. I have wanted to, but everyone tells me once you start it you cant put it down....and there are 4 in the series. I knew school and work were more important so I put off reading it, until today. I am already 60 pages in...and hooked. The movies I rented may not make it into the DVD player until i finish my book. Oh well...isnt reading so much better anyway? So i will be lazy the rest of today...then the Dr. said i should be feeling better and not contagious by tomorrow so hopefully we will get to visit with family.

Stuck in a "Rut"

Well my simple dentist appointment to get my two fillings did not quite go as planned. On my left side, everything went fine, but he got to the right and within a few minutes says to me "Chelsey, I hate to tell you this but I either have to do a root canal or pull this tooth out." (Except because we are in Idaho, he pronounced it "rut canal" like everyone else around here). Well of course since my insurance doesnt cover dental my first thought was how much it was going to cost me. An extra $900!!! And that is if I dont need to get a crown, which would add another $700. Wow.....so since i really didnt want to loose my tooth, I went ahead with the "rut canal" :). He didnt put me on antibiotics because he didnt think it would get infected....I wish I had remembered my horrible infection experience with my wisdom teeth and requested I be put on it. He told me the numbness would wear off and the pain should be mild and only for a day or two, nothing that a couple Ibuprophen wouldn't cover. So I took a couple pills before the numbness wore off to prevent it from hurting. Well...the couple Ibuprophen didnt do too much. Within 6 hours of having it done, I had so much pain and pressure in my mouth It hurt to talk, swallow, and breath. Chewing was not even an option. I upped my dose of Ibuprophen to 600mg, which didnt even touch the pain. After a day, with the pain getting worse and worse, I started taking 800mg of ibuprophen every 8 hours, and 2 extrastrength tylenol every 4 hours. I had never taken that much pain medication for anything, and I still had a lot of pain and pressure, which was spreading up to my sinuses and giving me a bad headache. I worked my 12 hour shifts, and finally after 2 days of trying, my wonderful co workers convinced me this wasnt normal and I needed to call the dentist. I did and told the secretary what I was experiencing, and after talking to the Dentist for 10 seconds, she comes on the phone and says "he wants you to come in right away." Well, since i was at work i said i couldnt, and i work every business day until tuesday, which was when my follow up appointment was scheduled for anyways. She called a prescription for antibiotics into the pharmacy and told me to start them right away and call The dentist at home if it gets worse.

So shouldn't my adventure be over by now? I thought so to. Well...on my way home from work last night I felt my throat start to hurt. By the time I got home, it was bright red and pretty swollen, and kept getting worse throughout the evening. I had a fever and just felt absolutely rotten. Finally it got bad enough that I called work to let them know I wouldnt be in today. So, after not eating anything that I had to chew because of my tooth, I now am having a hard time swallowing anything at all. I really dont know if the tooth and sore throat are related, but I didnt want to risk having something contagious and being at work with all the newborns. And of course my dentist is out of town today..now that I can go to his office. So i have an appointment this morning at the student health center with my regular doctor. We will see how that goes.

I hope it is nothing contagious and I start feeling better because Devry's brother Ted and his wife Shayla are coming up for the weekend and I was really excited to see their little boy Kaden. Devry and I were gone to Vegas the last time they came, so we havn't seen him in 5 or 6 months. He was very premature and had to be in Primary Childrens NICU for quite a while. We were all worried about him, but he made it through and is now 2 years old and doing great! He didn't talk alot the last time we saw him, but everyone is telling us how much he has started talking and how big he has gotten. Hopefully I can still spend the weekend with everyone.

Officially an Adult

Although I turned 21 in February, I officially got the "i'm an adult feeling" when I got my first real paycheck, and almost a third was taken out in taxes. I knew because I would be making more, more would come out, but I didn't realize exactly how MUCH more. Its somewhat depressing really. 20 hours of work all gone before I ever saw the paycheck. The really new thing for me is health insurance. Because I'm from Canada, health insurance isn't something we ever had to go buy. It was just there. Of course I never saw the huge tax deductions from paychecks that my parents have, but it seems so silly to me to pay an insurance company tons of money when they hardly cover anything. I finally had to bite the bullet and go to the dentist today. My teeth have been hurting for a couple months, but since dental isn't covered at all on our health insurance, I put off going until I was making enough money to afford it. I went to the dentist every 6 months of my life until I got married, with only one cavity ever. Its been a long year and a half with no dental care. The outcome wasnt the rotting decaying teeth I had anticipated, only 2 cavities. One is very small and the other is a little bigger. But still....it will cost me almost $400 to get them fixed. Can I just go back to being 16,care free, having no taxes taken from my paychecks, and having my parents insurance cover anything I ever needed? This "adult" thing isn't all its cracked up to be.



On the other hand....

I love having a "real" job. I am really enjoying the mother baby unit. My boss asked me the other day if I will orient to do labor and delivery. I had to hold myself back from jumping up and screaming "YES!!" I have always wanted to do labor and delivery. It is the main reason I went into nursing. I thought I wouldnt have the opportunity to orient to L&D for several years, but my boss needed someone sooner, and so I get to do both! I calmly told her that I would absolutely love to. She walked off and I called Devry right away to tell him the great news! I start orientation in January for L&D. I can't wait!



Other exciting events....

Well, other then work and the few classes I am taking, not much is new. I was very excited to find out that I won an IPOD at work. I had entered a drawing for attending a meeting, and was one of the 3 that won! I was going to get one for Christmas from Devry, but now he can find something else to get me. :)



I am officially an Aunt of six now. Devry's Brother Joe and his wife Lisa had baby #3 today. A little boy they named Nolan. Devry's other brother Dan and his wife Rachelle are going to have their 3rd in February, which will be grandchild #7. Here is a picture that was taken in May. With new baby's coming all the time, family pictures will never be up to date.

Loving my Job!

I made it through my first week of work, and absolutely LOVE my job! I was a little nervous about it, but I was put with a preceptor to show me around and mentor me for the first 2 months of work. She is a great nurse who has taught me a ton already! I am catching on really quick, and can ask all the questions I need to. I love taking care of the new moms and their babies. I have to confess that holding those sweet babies all day makes me a little baby hungry...but I will have to get my baby fix at work for now:)

I got my license in the mail, and maybe because Im just a little to excited, I took a picture of it, along with my name tag.

So now Devry and I are both working out butts off..trying to make some money to survive while he finishes school. I am doing school this fall parttime, to continue working on getting my bachelors. Life is fun right now. I am trying to get lots of things done and organized around the house, so I feel a little more in order. Our dogs are growing everyday. They are a ton of fun, but make more mess then any kid! They drag all of their toys out of the basket and leave them everywhere. Dash always steals socks. He never chews them up which is good, but he will just grab them and walk around the house with them. They are cuddle bugs, especially dash.

I was cleaning my bedroom this morning, and when I came out to the living room, I found Daisy and Dash laying on top of the pillows from our guest room. I had just made the bed a little while earlier, and I guess they decided they wanted the pillows, cuz they had dragged them out. I had also cleaned this room, but as you can see in the picture, they dragged pillows, toys, and blankets all over the place. At least with kids you can eventually teach them to clean up after themselves! Not with dogs though.

I survived!

We are back from Las Vegas and had a very fun, exciting, yet stressful trip. We drove to Utah the first day, and stopped in Salt Lake City, where I got to have lunch with a good friend who graduated from the nursing program a semester before me. It was great to see her, and a comfort to know she made it through boards and is now a confident and competant nurse. Maybe I have a chance! We then went on to spend a night with the Brooksby's. It is so great to visit them and see how much they have all grown. The next day we took off and drove to Vegas. We stayed in the Brooksby's condo, which was nice except that there was no power, so no Air conditioning. The power was off because they are selling it next week. We bought a battery powered fan and enjoyed the luxurious spa and pool that all the condo residents get to use. We did a lot of shopping! I found some great deals on clothes at out let malls. They even had an outlet scrub store, where I bought 6 new sets of scrubs! Very cute ones too! We relaxed, and tanned. I also studied every day for boards. We stayed in a hotel the last two nights, at the stratosphere. We had booked the hotel for monday and tuesday, when the price was less than half of what it was on the weekend. We enjoyed the air conditioned room! We went and saw the show "American Superstars" which was an impersonation show. It was really good! After a relaxing and fun time in vegas we drove back to Utah on Wednesday and stayed with the Brooksbys one more night. I began to get very stressed, knowing I had to take my test the next morning. I eventually got to sleep and had nightmares all night about my test. At 11:30 wednesday morning I got to the testing center and the worst 4 hours of my life began! I could have gotten anywhere from 75 to 265 questions, and I got 240. As I read through each question, I felt less and less confident with what I knew. I tried to stay calm and concentrate on the questions, but it was so hard! By the end, I left with absolute asurity that I had failed. I began planning out my next steps to retake it and try to find another job. Devry kept saying "you passed, I know you passed!" I tried to believe him. I was told I could go online and pay a fee to get my test results after two business days, or wait 3 weeks to get it in the mail. Who in their right mind would torture themselves for 3 weeks waiting for those results??!? I woke up at 1202 saturday morning and went online to check if my results were there. They werent so I thought I would have to wait another 2 long days until monday. Luckily I checked later that afternoon and saw that my results were available. I called Devry to come into the kitchen and demanded he give me his credit card. He probably thought I was nuts! I was shaking so much I couldnt even tell him why i needed it. Finally he came over and saw and immediately handed me his card. I spent the next few minutes trying to type in the credit card number with shaking hands. That was hard! Finally I got there...I clicked to open my results and all it said was - "status: Pass". I read it 4 or 5 times to make sure that it really said pass. Then I made devry read it to make sure. When I was absolutely sure it said pass, I started crying! Devry was like "Chelsey, you passed, why in the world are you crying?!?!" I was just so overwhelmed and relieved I didnt know what else to do! He was so sweet, he came over to me and gave me a hug then said..."guess what...you are an RN." Then of course he threw in "I told you so". Anyways.... Finally...the 2 hardest years of my life paid off. I went to the hospital today to set up my schedule and I start my three 12 hour shifts a week on wednesday! I am so relieved to be done with school and big tests like that, yet so excited and nervous to be entering practice. I am so glad I am in the post partum unit. I wouldnt want to start my career anywhere else.

A Few Favorites

Now that I am out of school, I have a little more time on my hands. I have many projects completed, and many more on my to do list. I have been trying to make an organized menu so Devry and I avoid having the "what do you want to eat? I don't know, what do you want to eat" converstation every day. I have found a few items that we love and thought I would share them.

Devry isn't much of a breakfast eater, unless it's muffins. I found these great Betty Crocker muffin mix's that are quick and easy, and just as good as if made from scratch. His favorite is the blueberry mix, which has a can of real blueberries inside the box. They are simple to mix up and throw in the oven.

Another great find was gossner's milk products. This great company processes their milk at higher temperatures, which makes it have a shelf life. The problem Devry and I have run into is that we are sporadic milk users. Neither one of us drink alot of milk, but we will have it on cereal and in baking. If I happen to bake more one week then another, we run out very quickly, and I have to run to town to get more. If I don't bake at all, we often have 1/2 gallon or more expire. Gossner's milk is pretty much the same cost as regular milk, but you can leave it on your shelf for up to 2 years without it spoiling. Once it is opened, it is like any other milk, and will expire quickly, but it comes in smaller containers so you do not have to use a gallon at a time. It also comes in small "juice box" sizes, and has many different flavors. A few favorites are Hershy's chocolate, cookies and cream, banana, and root beer. And yes...it does taste like regular milk!Great for food storage!

Another easy and delicious meal! Green Giant frozen stir fry. Basically, you pick a meat, cook it, add the bag of veggies and package of sauce (included in the bag), cook a few more minutes and eat! I am all for easy meals, and this is definately one of them. It tastes great and saves time. Devry doesn't eat many vegetables, and he will eat this, and likes it! You can make some rice to go with it, or I have been using Rice noodles.

Las Vegas

So Devry and I are finally going to take a break and go on a mini trip. We were supposed to go stay in Vegas for our honeymoon, but Devry's boss decided to start planting early so he had to stay here for work. We have been trying to go ever since, but between school and work we have never had the chance. I decided that since I have to go to Utah to take my boards for my RN license, we might as well go a few hours more and have some fun. We will be driving to Utah on the 7th, staying with the Brooksby's (the family I nannied for), then heading to Vegas on the 8th. We will be staying with some friends for a few nights, then in a hotel for a few nights. On the 14th we will head back to utah, and I will take my boards on the 15th in Ogden. Devry has never been to vegas, and I am excited to show him where I lived for a year. I just recently loaded a bunch of pictures from the year I spen in vegas, so I am going to post some of them. It was a great year, and I learned a ton!

A Girls best friends!

So once we moved into our house, we decided we would get a dog. Devry wanted a bulldog, and I wanted a golden retriever. We talked it through and since Devry's parents have a bulldog that he can see anytime, we decided to get a golden retriever. We got her in January of this year when she was 12 weeks old. We got a great deal on her, but I was sad that we missed the little puppy stage. We named her daisy. At first she was so great, then she became a little defiant and pushed the limits alot. She is so smart, almost too smart. She would run off and wouldn't listen to us. Alot of the problem seemed to be that she was locked up by herself all day while we were at school. I think she got bored...so what was our solution?

Daisy and Devry taking a Nap Together

Another puppy. Yes...we went out and bought another Golden retriever puppy, a male this time who we named Dash. He was only 5 weeks when we got him, and just a little fur ball.

Since we got him, Daisy has completely changed. With the help of a shock collar for only one day, she listens to us all the time now. She is turning into such a great dog. Dash is an adorable and smart little puppy. He was potty trained after 1 week, and can do tricks already.

He follows us around everywhere, and will sleep on my feet while I cook. Daisy and Dash have become best buds and play together all the time. I am home most of the time now and they are so great to have.

Graduation!!!

I have finally graduated from the nursing program! I am so happy to be done and ready to work. I have a job at Madison Memorial Hospital (Picture on the left), which is in rexburg, about 15 minutes from my house. I will be working on the mom/baby unit, taking care of the postpartum moms and their babies. It is the part of nursing that I have a great passion for, and exactly where I want to be. I have been doing orientation this week, and then I have a few weeks to prepare and take my boards, then I will start work on the 18 of August.

Graduation was not something I really cared much about, because my family was not planning on coming. I had decided not to walk, and only attend pinning. Pinning is the special nurse's ceremony where we recieve pins. It is more personal then graduation and we get to walk there. I could invite as many people as I wanted, so it seemed logical to just attend that. Well, the day before pinning Lindsey, Candice and I went and got massages, and had a sleep over. When i came home the next day my dad and his girlfriend Elizabeth were standing in my living room! I was in shock! I think the first thing that came out of my mouth was "what the heck are you doing here?" They had decided to drive 3000 miles and suprise me for graduation! Devry knew all about it....actually everyone did, except me! We went to pinning that night, and it was so wonderful to have my dad there. I thought about walking the next day, but decided I would rather just spend the time with my dad. We went to Yellowstone National Park and stayed in Devry's boss's cabin. It was a lot of fun, and much better then sitting through a graduation ceremony. They only stayed a few days, but it was so nice to see them and have my family here to support me as I graduate.

Dad, Elizabeth and Me at pinning.

Devry and Me

Yellow Stone was a lot of fun! I had never been ,so it was a new experience for everyone except Devry. It was absolutely beautiful!

Well, maybe now that I am out of school I can actually blog more then every 6 months! Devry and I will be taking a mini vacation to Vegas in about a week, and I will take boards in Ogden on the way back. It will be nice to get away and have some fun before starting work. Devry has been working non stop on a farm. He is such a hard worker and I appreciate him so much for that. He is off school until January, so he will be working alot.