Tomorrow begins...

Today is my last day before nursing school starts... I'm excited about all of the things I will learn in the next two and a half years... and very nervous about it at the same time! I've tried my hardest to get my house cleaned up before school starts, but I guess there will ALWAYS be laundry waiting, dishes in the sink, and food on the floor (sounds gross, i know, but Sawyer is very messy). So, now I should be in bed because it's 11pm and I have to wake up at 545... It's going to come very quickly. So, see ya soon!

Christmas Eve

Here I am, waiting for Sawyer to fall asleep. Blake and I have to put together a whole kitchen tonight! I'm already looking forward to an all-nighter. Sawyer used to be the best sleeper. We could tell him it was bedtime and he was asleep in minutes. But now he is the worst! I don't think he's been to bed before midnight in the past 2 weeks! On top of that, I don't think he's slept in his bed all night in the past month!!! Don't get me wrong, I love cuddling with Sawyer and don't mind him sleeping in our bed at all... but it seriously is taking a toll on the quality of my sleep, not to mention the sanity of my husband (lol).

But now it's Christmas eve and there is a huge lie that parents worldwide are ethically permitted to tell their children in order to get them to go to sleep... so far it's not working but we'll see...

I guess I just wanted to write a few words and post a couple of the fun Christmas pics we've been taking... so that's it! I hope you all have a great Christmas!

Merry Christmas from the Shealy Family!!!

We have our very own elf!!! And the cutest Christmas smile of all!!!

Addicted to crack...berry that is!

Well, the semester is over (almost- 1 more online final) and I realized I haven't blogged in quite awhile. I've been SO BUSY! But I'm pretty sure I pulled out of all my classes with an A. Which is quite an accomplishment since I went into this semester hoping to just pass everything. So now I know all I need to know about Chemistry, it was by far the hardest class for me. But I studied it twice as much as I did all the others and still ended up with an A! Microbiology was actually very interesting and I enjoyed studying it- which made it a lot easier to study as much as I needed to. Nutrition, my online class, is the most annoying. It's all about things that I probably know already and hate to study.. luckily the tests aren't very hard. Nursing ethics, we won't even discuss... (I didn't study at all) But now that this semester is over and I have passed everything for sure I will be starting Nursing School in january. So, only 2 1/2 more years... (why does it sound so long?!) So this week I had to get a tetanus shot, a hepatitis shot (the first of 3) and TB skin test. I generally don't mind needles and have a pretty high pain tolerance but let me tell you about the tetanus shot... IT HURT! I wasn't able to sleep on my left side for like 3 days! But it's all better now. On Tuesday I have to go to CPR certification and then I will be done with my requirements for nursing school.

The kids are doing great. Sawyer has started becoming really imaginative lately. He's always got some sort of baby animal that needs our help and we have to run to its rescue. It's really funny. Sophie is about a week away from walking really well. She has gotten really brave and will take up to about 10 steps or so. I can't believe how grown they're getting!

As far as running goes... I have been SUPER lazy for the past 3 weeks, and haven't run at all. In my defense, It was Thanksgiving week followed by two weeks of sickness (both me and Sawyer) and then finals. But yesterday, for some unGodly reason, I told Erin I would run the 10k course at McClellan with her today. Now, 10k's are long runs for me. I really like 5k's because they're enough to make me tired but I can do them pretty comfortably... 10k's on the other hand are usually pretty tough. Following 3 weeks of sheer laziness I definitely shouldn't have been so ambitious. But, I ran at least 4 miles of it and walked (at a brisk pace) intermittently between the running. So, needless to say, I'm TIRED! And my ankles for some reason are covered in these giant blisters! I've NEVER had a problem with blisters while running. Hopefully I'll be okay to run the rest of this week, because I really need to get back in the swing of things. Now, here are some pics of my ankles because I'm sitting here with my new crackberry and want to play with the camera and the bluetooth connection to my computer... lol

Don't think i'm a pansy because they definitely are much worse than they look in these pictures... this is my left foot...

...and this is my right.They hurt. (but so far not as bad as that darn tetanus shot!)

Well, I guess that's all that I really have to update now. I hope you all have a Merry Christmas (or a Happy Holidays or whatever generic greeting you prefer to receive this time of year) and a Happy New Year!

It's bedtime

I went to see Wicked on Tuesday at the Fox in Atlanta. It was pretty much awesome. I would probably give any number of my limbs to be able to sing like the girl playing Elphaba... who, by the way was the standby. If she wasn't cast in the role then I think the only reason the "real" Elphaba wasn't there was because she was SO good she would have made everyone pass out and not see the whole show. So, needless to say, it's totally worth the money and we had a blast.

The kids have been crazy sick and it seems like one thing right after another. Sophie got hand, foot and mouth disease somehow and gave it to Sawyer who in turn gave it to just about every other kid we see on a regular basis (which is actually more than you would think.) And now, Sophie has another fever! I don't know... we're treating the fever now and if it's still really high on Monday we'll head to the doc.

Our chemistry teacher gave us the makeup test for the first exam and I made a 90%. I'm so excited that I'm not failing anymore. It's very nice. I can't believe it's midterm time already! In just a few months I'll actually be in nursing school. Crazy.

We went to the Homecoming Parade. It was a little disappointing. I haven't been to a Jacksonville parade since I was a kid but I thought they were bigger than that. Sawyer doesn't really do "loud" very well but he liked the candy. And Sophie had a fever so she wasn't happy anyway. But I guess it was okay.

This was after naptime after the parade. Sawyer was still sleeping but Sophie felt a little better.

Our flash goofed up a bit but I thought it was a cute picture. Notice our matching red... I wanted to show our JSU spirit... lol.

I've decided that I'm going to audition for Sweeney Todd. I'm a little nervous about it. It's been a long time since I've done anything other than worship music or opera. I think watching Wicked helped me to remember how much I love Musical theatre. So, I'm really excited too! Wish me luck...

I guess that's all that's new... Talk to ya soon!

I'm running.

Hello! Here's an update about a little-known fact about me. I like to run. Well, I wouldn't so much say that I like it... but I do it for enjoyment. And not that I enjoy it while I do it but I enjoy the feeling after. Some friends and I started running last June and so far we were doing anywhere from 1-3 miles at a time. We probably ran 3 times a week on average and I was feeling great! Well, school started and Sawyer had surgery and lots of other things happened that kept me from running a lot so I cut back to like 1 time a week... I started feeling terrible! So I decided that there would be no more lolly-gagging! I was serious about it... and yesterday I ran 5 miles! I know that God is helping me with this because otherwise I would have stopped after 2 steps... I'm not a very determined person on my own. So, I just wanted to let you all know about something I'm pretty proud of this week! See ya later!

Say Whaaaat?!?!?

I DID IT! I made an A on my first Micro test... do not ask me how... all I did was read the book and take the practice test... over and over and over. I am so flabbergasted (yes, I said flabbergasted) by the fact that I made an A. Yay Me!!!

And now for chemistry.... well, I didn't quite make an A... actually, I didn't make a B, C, or D either... yes, you are hearing from the terribly humilified owner of an F... how long, you may ask, has it been since I made an F??? Try... freshman year... of HIGHSCHOOL! I was livid... I made a 57! And after he explains how over half the class made below a 50... I felt a little better (not much). Then he reviews the test and tries to make us see that he really doesn't suck as a teacher (even though over half the class doesn't understand the information)... and he tells us that instead of counting 30 questions on the test, it was only going to be 25... then add another 5 points on top of that... so, on the gradebook I have a 73%. Enough to get into nursing school... not happy but bearable. And I have a few more tests to bring it up. PLUS, he's going to give us a makeup... (he must really feel like a bad teacher... lol)

So, a 96% on the test I barely studied for and a 57%(73%) on the test I've been busting my butt for since the first day of classes... who knows where the justice in that. I guess that's all for now. See you all soon!

Do the Hustle!

I am so overwhelmed with everything. This semester is so hard! I don't remember the last time I took such a tough semester. Even when I was in Music History... it was close but at least I was familiar with the subject matter. I feel like I don't get a break. I guess such is life, right?

The family is great. Sophie is crawling around and pulling up on everything. I forgot how un-baby proofed your house can be. lol. Sawyer is doing great too. He got attacked by a bee! But he was okay.

We got a kitty and named her Smudge. She's a cute little girl. Sawyer loves her... especially carrying her around and pulling her and pushing her and throwing her and grabbing her tail... please don't call PETA... we are guarding her from him and she has some safe places where he can't get her. Plus, she loves him and always comes back for more.

Well, that's really all that's going on around here. Lot's of science, kids and cat. If anybody has any ideas about how to study micro please let me know... I'm struggling (ahem... emily. lol)

Talk to you all soon!