I submitted applications for 5 different hospice positions last night. Mostly just office type stuff, but at least it's getting my foot in the door. Hopefully hubbys company will get our tax forms to us quickly so I can get my financial aid done and ready for spring. Hurry up and wait.... ugh.

Right now I don't know what I'm going to be doing in Jan, and it's really got me down. I went in last week and talked to the nursing director of Pierce college. We planned out my prereqs and projected when I would be applying for nursing school. Even signed up for classes for winter quarter... but push comes to shove and the finances just aren't there until I get my financial aid going.

Because of how things are between hubby and I right now I'm not comfortable doing the phlebotomy class in Jan. Maybe I'll take the second winter quarter class... we'll see how this plans out.

So for now I'm stalled again. This will happen if I try hard enough.....

Last week Mike and I managed to wrangle a babysitter for the kids and grandma so we could attend Pierce Colleges Nursing information session. Learned a bit about their process for selecting the next round of nursing students. They claim not be actively recruiting males and minorities though that is certainly the impression the web site gives. Definately worth apply for anyway. I'm still putting Highline down as my first choice.

Mike also went in to Pierce to take his compass placement exam. He placed well also. Looks like we both should be able to get all of our prereqs done within 4 semesters. it wold be less but so many of the science really need to be taken one at a time.

I'm continuing to watch the online A & P lectures and study guides. I think I will realy enjoy this class a lot.

On Thursday hubby and I headed into North Seattle so I could take the COMPASS placement exam. Placing into Eng 101 is a requirement for the phlebotomy program. All went really well, I received a 100% on the english and reading portion of the test, placing me at the highest possible entry point. I also placed well in math, but not quite as high as I had hoped. I think I'll continue to work on refreshing my memory on the math and retake the math portion before starting my pre-reqs.

After finishing my test and being handed my printed results I dashed over to the medical building to be placed on the waiting list. Unfortunately I was #7 on the waiting list for a class of 24. Not this time I guess. The instructor said he would look forward to seeing me next class. Mike and I talked and I think I'm going to shoot to start my re-reqs for nursing fall quarter of '08. That may be pushed back to winter '09 depending on financial aid and work stuff.

In other news, Mike has narrowed the schools he is interested in down to two. Pierce and Highline. Both are said to have really great programs, Pierce is closer to home but Highline is more upfront about their point system for accepting students to the nursing program. I've already ruled Pierce out for me. Pierce is looking to fill their nursing program with males and minorities, if there are slots left over they will consider your classic white female student. The upside of Highline for me is that I have a letter of recommendation from a graduate of the highline nursing program.

Registration for the next phlebotomy class is Nov 12th. I can't wait!

One thing I have learned since starting to manage the care for my grandma is that networking is a good thing. And to take advantage of your connections where you have them. Really, most people not only don't mind, they often really like to be of help. So with that in mind I decided to put Amy, grandmas social worker, to work for me. I figured she had to have some connections somewhere. I now have the name and phone number for the clinical manager of hospice and after Amy talked with her about my plan she was all too willing to help. Now I have the name of her top 3 preferred colleges for phlebotomy as well as an invite to call her once I complete my classes to do my clinicals. I'm going to call her tomorrow to see if she is intending the clinical part to be a paid position or not. I also came across a college offering a 5 week class instead of the 10 weeks of the others. The next class starts Nov 3rd, and as luck would have it Mike already doesn't work on the days the class is scheduled for. In addition to being much shorter, this class is also much much cheaper than the other options I was looking into. The downside is that the class is full at this time. I'm working to get on the waiting list and crossing my fingers.

Tonight I'm going a little review of english and math in hopes of placing on the entrance exam well. I have to place into english 101 to be eligable for the phlebotomy course. Hopefully I will get to take the COMPASS placement test tomorrow and keep moving forward!

With more twists and turns than any one person can reasonably expect, I have landed here. Where is here? Good question, and one I'm not sure of myself yet. Right now it looks like life has pushed me into a new direction that I hadn't considered even a month ago. But, right now.... this path feels right. So I guess it's time to dust myself off, have a look around and start learning to embrace where I am.

This is me... Crystal, wife to Mike and mom to 3. K has made it to 3rd grade and at 8 years of age is quite sassy. T is 6 and certainly can be considered the biggest drama queen of the 1st grade. C, well, he's the most challenging of the group. I also am the primary caregiver for my grandma, 79. A year ago she suffered a major stroke and has been declining since. I care for her in the evening and 24 hours on weekends. Blessedly we have caregivers that come care for her on weekdays. We also have a host of family pets. We are all really busy. That's not what this blog is about. Here I plan to talk about changing from a stay at home mom to a part time worker getting ready to take pre-reqs for nursing school.

Right now my goal is to obtain my phlebotomy liscence and start working part time. Allowing my husband to switch jobs and also work part time while he complets his nursing pre-reqs. I know the next 3 to 4 years are going to be rough and crazy busy. But I'm excited.

So far I have completed and turned in the FAFSA for my husband. He has been approved for financial aid and accepted to all 4 of the local colleges I applied to for him. Yay! Now the rush is on to get me into a phlebotomy course that will complete before Jan 2nd, or to get me hired on at one of the local hospitals that may be interested in training me in phlebotomy. We also need to meet with each of the 4 schools that have accepted Mike and see who is offering the most money, get in contact with Mike's grandparents who have always claimed they would pay for college and see if they are still up for helping out. Any little bit will help to pay bills and keep food on the table while we complete this journey.

Those of you that think it's silly that Mike is taking the nursing class a year ahead of me... I'm looking at it a little different. I plan to take advantage of studying with him and reviewing his tests and papers in hopes of being able to acheive the best grades possible when I take the classes myself.

I've already found one invaluable tool, allnurses.com. The more I look around that forum the more hooked I become. Everything from general nursing chatter to kifferent discussiong threads on nursing classes, NCLEX testing, HESI prep, PDA's in nursing... even pre-req class help. I found a link to an online math prereq program that is allowing me to listen to the lectures and do the quizes. Hopefully next year when I go in to take my assesment and placement tests I will test out high enough to not need to take this class officially!

Who knows where this path will lead, or where this blog will end up. I'm having fun being along for the ride.