allured

A newfound love…

Caitlin — Wed, 27 May 2009 03:20:09 +0000

…for an online magazine, Scrubs, the nurse’s guide to good living. Being a nursing student, it’s very beneficial. And not just for me, but for anybody interested in a nursing career, or anyone in the medical field. The site itself offers original tips, suggestions, inspiring and uplifting thoughts, and various other things to keep the nursing community inspired.

It’s also a great way for nurses to stay connected. Scrubs offers different topics, including health, beauty, news and entertainment, work, love, money and style. It’s an awesome way for nurses to share their experiences both in and out of their career.

Amongst their site, are many different articles. One of the articles that particularly grabbed my attention was this article, Dry Hands Makeover. Dry hands is something I suffer with (well, dry skin in general), and I dread the start of clinical knowing how chapped and uncomfortable my hands are going to be from all the hand washing. Thanks to the article, I now know of ways to keep my hands from becoming horribly dry and chapped.

It’s articles like that, articles that are related to nursing but can still be used for anyone that make the site great. And, in keeping with the nursing theme and entertainment, there’s even “The Scrubbies” which pokes a little fun, and adds humor for all of us nurses, and future nurses.

It’s a great site, and definitely should be checked out and enjoyed but anyone in or interested in the nursing field.

Oh you.

Caitlin — Mon, 25 May 2009 20:31:19 +0000

I feel like I’ve completely neglected my blog for the past few weeks. I guess life just kind of took over, and things went in to overdrive. We’ve had a ton going on, and I’ve just failed to get myself to blogging. I’ve wanted to, but I’ve been spending too much (or maybe not enough) on tumblr, plurk, and twitter.

I promise I’m still alive, and I haven’t forgotten about you guys. I’ll be back to reading/commenting soon.

I can’t believe it!

Caitlin — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 19:56:17 +0000

Why is it so hot?! It’s been in the 90’s for the past three days, and it’s April! It’sbarely 1030am, and it’s already 80°, do you realize how insane this is?! It’s been nice being able to have the kids outside so much, but man…I wasn’t expecting to have to turn the AC on for a while. I keep telling myself that it’s only April, and June or July.

So I’m finally starting to feel better, or at least somewhat better. I was starting to feel better last week, but I quickly realized that taking a road trip up to Hartford on Friday to see Bruce Springsteen, was not a wise idea. Needless to say that after hours of driving and a concert, I wasn’t feeling my best (more like worst). Oh well, lesson learned. I paid for it over the weekend, but what are you going to do? You only live once, right?

Anyway, I’m off to dig out something cool enough to wear to work. This weather is nuts! Enjoy the day!

Let me tell you….

Caitlin — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 19:57:45 +0000

…how I ended up spending Tuesday in the hospital. So Monday went on as normal, just me and kiddies like always. I was feeling fine, and then late that night I started to have chest pains, and what seemed like an allergic reaction to something. No big deal, I popped some Atarax and went to bed. Until around 3am when I woke up, and couldn’t get comfortable because of the pain and shortness of breath. Stupid me just dealt with it, and tried to sleep, but by 10am I was extremely uncomfortable, and could barely make it halfway up the stairs without losing my breath.

I put a call in to my doctor, whose assistant brushed me off because my doc was out of the office all week, and the other doc in her practice was booked all day - don’t even get me started on the crap that this is. What doctor’s office do you know of that just casually brushes you off and says we’ll give you a call back when you call with chest pain and trouble breathing?! Anyway, so while waiting for them to call, I got worse….so we decided to head over to the ER.

When we got there, the took my vitals and my heart rate was in the mid140’s, almost 150. They rushed and did an EKG, along with a battery of other tests including blood work and chest x-rays. All while they monitored me all day long. The whole time I was there, my heart rate wasn’t going down past 115, and it took hours and a few different medications to bring it down to that even. After hours of trying to figure out what was going on, they found just about nothing. They finally let me go home, but only if I was comfortable with it. The cardiologist was willing to admit me if I wasn’t comfortable going home because my HR was still around110. But I chose to go home, knowing that the kids wouldn’t be there and I’d be able to get some good rest in my own bed. So they diagnosed me with Tachycardia and Bronchitis. And basically said that the most likely cause was a combination of the infection, anxiety (cause we all know how nervous a person I am), and possibly asthma. So they sent me home with an antibiotic, and an inhaler that I’ve been using religiously. My breathing is 100% better, along with my chest pains.

Ryan was with me the whole day, and my dad came up to see me during the day while he was in the office, and then after work both he and my mom were there until I was discharged. The three of them were wonderful, because I was a nervous wreck, being the nervous person that I am anyway. When my parents were there, he was telling stories to make me laugh and relax a bit. They were a big help, and I even learned something interesting while I was there - apparently I was born with Horseshoe kidneys, and the only reason they knew was because of an accident I had when I was a kid.

Anyway….I’m rambling.The good news is, I went for a follow-up today and got a clean bill. All my vitals were good, and it seems to be just a small bout with bronchitis, nothing more. I got the all clear to go up to Hartford tomorrow to see Bruce, and I got the all clear to drink coffee again (they worry about the caffeine increasing your HR). All in all, I’m feeling a lot better and can’t believe the difference 48hrs can make in how I feel

Happy Friday!

Caitlin — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 19:58:44 +0000

It’s finally the weekend, and it’s going to be an absolutely beautiful one. I’m so glad it’s here. It’s been a long week, fun…but long week. I’m really happy for it to be coming to an end. Between all the paper work and drug tests for school, the endless homework, cleaning, and laundry…I’m whipped. I think I need to invest in some sort of time management course or something. It’s like as soon as I get caught up somewhere, I’m behind again somewhere else. It’s frustrating!

But the weather is gorgeous (and warm), and I feel surprisingly energized. I think the kids and I are going to run some errands (I have some shopping that needs to be done), and go to the park. It’s so nice out, I feel like it would be a waste to not get out and enjoy it.

I hope you guys enjoy it!

Another birthday come…

Caitlin — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 20:02:06 +0000

…and (almost) gone. I can’t believe today is my twenty-sixth birthday. I feel old, and yet…like there’s no way I can possibly be 26 already. It’s amazing how fast this past year has flown by, too. I feel as though every year keeps going by faster and faster.

To celebrate, the hubby and I will be going to AC and the Melting Pot for an anniversary/my birthday dinner tomorrow night. It should be a nice night out, Lord knows I could use it after all the stress I’ve been under the past month or so.

I’d love to have a better post for you guys, but I’m just absolutely exhausted. I’ll post tomorrow about my interesting Easter weekend…

Happy (early) Easter!

Caitlin — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 20:02:52 +0000

Happy Easter everyone! I realize that today is only Good Friday, but the kids and I will be spending the weekend with my parents. Ryan is away at the Masters golf tournament in Georgia with his dad and grandmother, so I figured I would enjoy the family time. Last weekend we had our annual Easter egg hunt with the in-laws, due to the trip. It was fun, and we all had blast as usual. And now tomorrow is our town’s egg hunt, but it’s looking like it’s going to be cancelled due to rain. It kind of works out for me though, being as Liam can’t eat half of the candy and stuff anyway due to his allergies. Poor little guy

On another note, I got my letter of acceptance yesterday! I officially got into the RN program I wanted to! I couldn’t be happier! It’s a very selective process, and only about 100 students out of the 1000+ that apply get in. Needless to say, I feel very proud of myself because I worked really hard to get in, and it definitely paid off. Ahhhh, the excitement is like overflowing from me! I can’t stop thinking/talking about it. I think I’ve probably annoyed everyone already, and it’s barely been 24hrs since I opened the letter, ROFL!

Oh crap….look @ the time! I’ve got to get the kiddies together, and head to my grandparents for our weekly pizza night! I’m hoping to geton when I’m at my parent’s house, but I’m not sure what my lap top/connection setup will be like. At the very least, I’ll be mobile. Hope everyone enjoys the holiday, for those of you that celebrate it

Bittersweet

Caitlin — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 20:03:34 +0000

So last week we got the exciting, and yet bittersweet news that Liam is finally done with all of his physical therapy. It’s great news to be finally done after almost two years of treatment, however I’m a bit sad. We became so attached to him therapist, as we saw her every week, so it made our last day difficult. His torticollis has been a bit of a ride for us. We went from doing great, to possibly needing surgery, and back to doing great, back to maybe needing surgery, and finally DuPont hospital finally gave us the news we’ve been waiting for. He’s happy and as healthy as can be, so we’re thrilled. I won’t lie though, I’m going to miss his therapist and our weekly sessions dearly. Here’s the before and after.

Isn’t the difference unbelievable? It took a lot of work, and his face is till a little bit asymmetrical, but that will change as he gets bigger. BTW, pardon the runny nose in the second picture, his allergies were awful the other day and his nose was a faucet. But, I couldn’t be happier with how he looks, and can’t wait to see how handsome he’ll continue to get as his face fills out and he grows.

There I go again.

Caitlin — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 20:04:41 +0000

Once again, I’ve gone days upon days without an update. I’m so sorry. Three quarters of my house has been sick for over a week now. Remember that sinus infection I mentioned in my last post? It’s still around. I’m slowly getting better, but it’s still nagging me. On top of it, the little guy managed to come down with a double ear infection last Tuesday, along with a stomach virus that lasted until Saturday. And on top of it, the husband has the stomach flu. It’s terrible, we’re all dying over here. And with the husband being sick, I’ve been on my own to do everything since last week. I’m beyond worn out, and I am so utterly behind in everything. I have homework due in a couple of days, my cleaning and laundry are piling up. It’s killing me. I need a vacation, desperately!

Oh, there you are….

Caitlin — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 20:05:50 +0000

It’s been a few days since my last post, and honestly? I can’t really come up with a whole lot that’s interesting enough to post. Our internet wasn’t working properly because it was knocked around a bit while we were having work done to our basement. It’s fixed now though, and it feels good to be able to update, and read blogs without it going out every few minutes.

So, I’m extremely cranky today. Somehow Wednesday night I came down with a sinus infection, and I’ve been miserable ever since. I’m not getting sleep because I can’t breathe, and I feel like I’m in a whole different world. I hate this feeling, because it makes it hard to want to move off of the couch, let alone do anything. I’d give anything to just crawl into bed for the day, but unfortunately that’s not on the agenda.

On a cute note, Abigail is terrified of Mr. Softee. While spending some time at the hubby’s parent’s house last weekend, they went for a walk because of the gorgeous weather (where did you go by the way?!). Well, the ice cream truck came around and Abigail booked it. She was so scared, it didn’t even matter that there was ice cream in it. And now for the past week, that’s all she’s been telling me. “Mr. Softee scare me. I don’t like Mr. Softee.” Haha…it’s too cute.

Ooooh, it’s 5 o’clock. Time to get up the energy to go to my grandparent’s for pizza. At least the kids will get played with, and I’ll get a bit of a break for a little bit.

PS. TYRA AIRS MARCH 24th!