happy BSN! &more...

I've been doing the BYU-Idaho online nursing program for my Bachelor's degree and I just finished! I did it part-time so I could continue working and mama-hood and everything else. :) It was definitely a nightmare at times but it was a great program and I learned a lot. It was amazing how I formed relationships with my peers and teachers without ever meeting anyone! I did clinicals everywhere from the NICU to home health (in the back woods of Alabama) to the health department to a low-income doctor's office. Thank you Mom &Dad Mulder for the most amazing new lens for my camera. And thank you Mom & Dad for my to be determined gift! (Any ideas anyone? I do not know. It has to be something for me...) So, I know have my Bachelor of Science in Nursing.... next is my IBCLC (International Board Certified Lactation Consultant), which I am soo excited for!

PS- While we have been down in Las Vegas for Christmas, I did a week of "travel nursing" in December and I just finished another two weeks. I worked all 12-hour night shifts at Sunrise in the ER, different Med-Surg floors, Adult Oncology Unit, and the Maternal Infant Unit (I was ecstatic about that one!) It was an absolute nightmare most the time, but we were able to put some money in savings and I definitely had some valuable learning experiences. I worked 14 out of 17 nights! I have promised myself I will never do it again (or I'm just telling myself that now for the sake of my sanity and emotional health). I know we will always need a little more money but I am not going to put off my IBCLC any longer. I know it is better to sacrifice now and reap the rewards later... not to mention love my job! Once I get my IBCLC, I could work per diem and get some experience until one day I can really live the dream and have a private practice. Woot woot!