Busy, Busy, Busy

I haven't blogged in a LONG time. I have been too busy.

The long and short of it, is that I decided to take a PRN Nursing Job at Virginia Hospital Center (PRN is nurse-speak for "as needed"). I will work 2 days a month (not a week, 2 days a month) . It's very convenient and it's self-scheduled. It will give me an opportunity to keep up my nursing skills and to be familiar with our preferred area hospital. I haven't worked in 2 1/2 years and in the 2 years before that, I was a Manager so, I didn't do much patient care. Labor and Delivery is a Specialty Service that is always changing so I didn't want to be away too long, for fear that I would not be proficient anymore.

Don't get me wrong. I prefer to be at home with the kids and I intend to be, but, I have always said that if something happened to David or some other unforeseen circumstances arose, that I would want to still be able to enter the work force in a speedy fashion. For me personally, it's a form of stewardship. I am very thankful for my blessings and the opportunities that I have been given, both in the education/work environment and in the ability to be at home with my kids as a stay-home-mom. Working 2 days a month gives me the opportunity to stay current, maintain connections, and to truly have the best of both worlds. I am thrilled that nursing provides opportunities like this; many professions do not provide this option to moms that choose to be at home.

There is only one catch, and it was a huge and unexpected one. In order to be a PRN nurse and work 2 days a month, I had to attend 10 days of orientation/classes and then another 7 days of preceptorship to get oriented to Labor & Delivery. Seventeen days....wow, that's a lot when you are used to being at home and you still want to be at home. But, I decided it wouldn't kill me.

Also, to make matters slightly more complicated, we are moving next week. (packing and boxes blog later) The boys started school on Sep 2nd at the new school, which is a 15 minute drive from our current house and obviously would not involve school transportation from Vienna. So, I needed to hire a temporary nanny and it needed to be one who could transport my kids to and from school when need be. My, do I love Craig's List?! Yes I do! We found a another stay-home-mom who wanted to make some extra money. She comes to our house (with her 14-month-old daughter) to take care of the kids and she is able to pick the boys up from school for us. Fortunately, David's schedule is flexible, so he has adjusted his hours to accommodate being with the kids more. Of course, that means he works later in the evening but wait, he usually does that anyway :) He is a great Mr. Mom. (only a few more days left David!)

I am taking next week off to pack and move, and then I only have a few more days of preceptorship left. God is faithful and the whole family has survived a 3-week explosion of chaos.

Did I mention that we are still a one-car family? Thanks Mom for loaning your car many times over the last month!