Back to life, Back to reality.

Good Morning!

Well I’m back to it, back to the 5.15am wake ups and the 9pm returns home. It’s not been easy getting back into the routine and after two 12 hour shifts, I am exhausted!! It’s hardly surprising after having two weeks of rest, and even a little relaxation.

Our little corner of heaven in Mid-Wales, we can’t do anything but relax here!

The Husband and I are really lucky to own a timeshare in beautiful Mid-Wales, I’ve been going to the same spot every year since I was born for the week before Christmas and to me, Christmas doesn’t start until we’ve been there. We always have a good time but in comparison to last year where Little Man couldn’t walk yet and also had Chicken Pox, this year was extra special. We were able to make use of the swimming pool almost every day and with the use of his newly acquired pink armbands, he was able to let go of us and ‘swim’. He also shared our love of the onsite pub during the week, mostly due to the fact that we let him eat Bombay Mix (minus the nuts) which he has developed quite a taste for! We made a special trip to see Santa on the train and I even managed to squeeze in a massage in the Spa (heaven!). The Husband was my hero as he took Little Man downstairs some mornings and let me catch an extra hour of sleep and BOY did I need it!! We also managed some walks on the beach which may sound a little nuts in December, but I still feel like Winter is the very best time to visit. It’s so quiet and because it’s out of season, our family dog, Archie can join us too. We came home on Christmas Eve and the following days were spent eating delicious food and spending time with a lot of our favourite family and friends.

If you follow me on Instagram you may have seen my post about how Little Man and I had our plans between Christmas and New Year thwarted after my poor in-laws were hit with a horrible virus which knocked them out of action. I was pretty upset, mostly as it meant no evenings with the husband but I tried to see the positive…3 full days of just me and Little Man! Okay, I wasn’t THAT positive, I was actually a little terrified. I know there are people out there who parent on their own 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and they are truly, superheroes. But I’m just so used to sharing some of the responsibility of parenting with The Husband or my parents, that 3 days with Little Man seemed like a mammoth task. Now, I’m not going to claim that we didn’t have a single cross word or that I didn’t spend a good half an hour trying to wrestle him into his winter coat every day when he was desperate to go for a walk, BUT, we did it. I was pleased to see the Husband when he arrived on the Friday evening but I actually really enjoyed Little Man’s company. He is growing into such a beautiful little soul, headstrong and self assured and it made me proud to know that I contribute to that. Not sure the rest of the family are so keen on him inheriting my ‘Headstrong Gene’ but I know it will put him in good stead as an adult as long as we teach him that in some circumstances, his strong will does need to be reined in a little!

He thought we were just taking Baby for a walk, it was all a ploy for some peace and quiet on one of my solo parenting days!

So everything was really lovely and then, it happened. On Monday night as I packed my bags ready to go back to placement, that pesky beast that is ‘Mum Guilt’ smacked me right between the eyes. I felt truly awful that I was going off to ‘work’ for 2 days, meaning I’d miss his first nursery drop off of the year, countless opportunities to read one of his 50 (yes, 50!) Thomas the Tank Engine books and my favourite time of the day, our pre-bed cwtch. I have to keep reminding myself why I am doing this and I have to keep steering my mind clear of the thoughts that I am being selfish for wanting to have a career. I then get cross to think that as mothers we should even have to consider this desire to have a career as selfish. It’s the damn ‘Mum Guilt’ that is so engrained in us, rearing it’s ugly, fat, face again. It’s not fair. I am lucky to be a Godmother to 3 beautiful little girls and if they chose to have children of their own, I hope I can give them the support and confidence in their abilities to follow a career and be wonderful mothers too, without this stupid guilt hanging over their heads.

One of the lovely ladies in the super Girl Gang that I am a part of (aka The 6am Club) shared this post from Hurrah for Gin, that sums up this stupid Mum Guilt perfectly, so if you fancy a giggle, go have a read of THIS.

Anyways, I must love and leave you all as TECHNICALLY, I am supposed to be doing Uni work, but my excuse is that this has warmed up the writing part of my brain that was in hibernation for a little while! I hope everyone else had a super Christmas and New Year and if you have any tips for keeping the Mum Guilt at bay, do get in touch, I’d love to hear from you!

 

 

Happy New Year’s Eve!

I started to write a post where I reflected on 2016, the highs, the lows and everything in between. But what happened to me and my little family in the past 12 months has been pretty well documented on here already and I’d hate to bore you all over again! So I’m going to keep this short and (sickly) sweet.

So at the turn of the year I only really have two things to say…

Firstly, thank-you! And I mean, you! I started this blog with the goal of inspiring other people. What I didn’t count on was how much support and encouragement I would receive from you lot. So, for everyone who has left me comments, liked one of my photos/posts or even just read them, thank-you! Truly, thank-you! You are all bloody brilliant!

And secondly, you can do it. I hate to sound like a broken record but I really truly believe that we are capable of more than we give ourselves credit for. Sometimes it’s not easy, (see previous posts where I sound like I’m about to give up). But, doing something you love, whatever it may be, is what life is about. The journey to get there may seem like an arduous one, impossible even, but if you want it, you will find a way! Even if it does mean living with your parents at 29. Yeah, sorry Mum and Dad!

Thirdly, (yes, I know I said two but I’m on a roll), please spread the above message. If someone you know mentions an idea they’ve got about something they want to do with their lives, encourage them. Give them your support and help them work out the finer details later. No dream is achieved without an army of cheerleaders surrounding you.

Now go and have a super New Year’s Eve, enjoy it, survive the hangover tomorrow and THEN, go and grab 2017 with both hands and make it your year.

Happy New Year, you lovely lot!

The Uni Mummy, over&out x

I Survived!

I survived my first week of Placement, hoorah! And not only did I survive but I actually enjoyed myself!!

I think that I may have mentioned that I was a little bit nervous about this week but as always, the unknown is terrifying and rarely lives up to the scary situation we build up in our heads! As someone with very little exposure to a ward environment and no experience working with those who are acutely mentally ill, the only preconceptions I had were really based on fictional environments from Television and Film which are so far removed from reality (thank goodness!)

Not only have I learnt what life on the ward is really like but I have learnt a major lesson about myself. During my 6 years employed in Sales, I was often stressed and I always put it down to the hectic and pressured environment I was working in. This week I have learnt that in the right context, I absolutely thrive on pressure. Although it has, at times, been a bit of a baptism by fire, I have not felt stressed and instead I have bounced along on the ups and downs and enjoyed the butterflies that fill my stomach when I think of the unknown what awaits me when I start my shift. How great that at 29, I am still learning what makes me tick?!

It will be of no surprise to you that I am exhausted. Before Monday, it was 796 days since I had been employed full-time and by Friday, I could feel it!! Unlike my previous employment, aside from my lunch break, I was on my feet all day! Thankfully for my slabs of meat, I have invested in some brilliant work shoes and I haven’t got a single blister. Win! Not only is my body tired but my poor brain has been flooded with new information and could now do with a holiday, (Florida’s nice this time of the year, right?!) I have been so tired that I have been completely antisocial after shift and it took until Wednesday evening for me to actually feel like I could relax, (a small glass of wine and The Missing definitely helped!) The University do what they can to prepare us all for Placement, but in truth, it’s only when you see things being put into practice that they start falling in to place. Learning ‘Hospital Corners’ is vital, drug names now have a context on how, why and when they are used and the importance of checking blood pressure as a Mental Health Nurse is now apparent…although I have to say, I am yet to make good use of all that A&P revision!

£3.50 Brunch, thank-you Morrisons!

 

And how has Little Man coped without me for two evenings this week I hear you cry?! Well of course he has been an absolute angel for his Grandparents!! Gone to bed with little fuss and has even slept until the sun has come up on his GroClock…and what did he do when we were back to sharing? Woke me up at 5.30 didn’t he?! Oh Little Man!! I am crossing everything that he doesn’t do the same this week when I start my 12 hour shifts (yes, I am crying a little at the thought!) One blessing about this week is that I’ve been so busy during the day and so tired when I get home that I hit the hay pretty promptly, leaving little time to think about Little Man. I did, however, have an almighty pang of Mum Guilt that brought some tears to my eyes in Morrisons Cafe of all places. I was sat enjoying (okay, destroying) my cooked breakfast when I saw a Mum and her son (about Little Man’s age) enjoying a little lunch date. I could hear them having similar discussions about why it wasn’t okay to have a second chocolate bar instead of the dinner she had bought him and it really got to me. I felt awful that I was sat annihilating my brunch when I could/should have been hanging out with my son and arguing with him about why in Winter, coats are non-negotiable! Damnit Mum Guilt, you got me again!

I’ve managed to put the Mum-guilt at bay by making sure we make the most of the weekend together by filling the house with Christmas fun. We’ve made Christmas presents for the family, decorated chocolate biscuits and watched The Polar Express (much more successful than ‘Happy Feet’, I realise now that the Seal chase scene is terrifying, oops!) And as for getting over the tiredness, well an afternoon nap was an easy option! Now, all I need to do is get through the next two weeks! It’s only 6, 12 hour shifts, how hard can that be?!

Thank-you to Leibniz for providing shelter for the Jelly Baby Family!

I’ll leave you with this photo of the beautiful Christmas Houses we’ve made for the Jelly Baby family and hope you’re enjoying the build up to Christmas as much as us!

Happy Monday!

3 more sleeps…

Apologies you lovely lot, life has been a tad hectic since my last post but on a plus side, I am feeling happier, full of cold, but happier!!

Little Man actually letting me do some studying in Skills Week!

I had a fantastic Simulation Week at Uni, which is basically a week of learning practical skills which we are likely to come across in practice. I learnt SO much and for any fellow Student Nurses/Nurses, I am proud to say I can now do a pretty good ‘hospital corner’! The week culminated in a practical test to check I could administer medication (in this case, tic tacs and skittles!) safely, which anyone who has been following the page will know, I passed! Huge relief after a bad night’s sleep with Little Man and my brain feeling like mush. Along with the learning there were a lot of giggles and the chance to spend time with some of the Adult student nurses from our cohort too. They were a great bunch and as we share some lectures with them, I am looking forward to hearing how they have all got on with their first placement when we’re back in University in March…yes, March! Crazy eh?!

So since my last blog I have been to visit my first placement and although I am restricted on what I can tell you, I can say that everyone seems really friendly! What was really great is that they acknowledged what skills I am able to bring to the team. As someone with very little/no previous care experience, it is sometimes hard to see how I am going to be able to contribute on a daily basis and I have previously worried that I will just be in the way. But, when I told the manager of the unit that my previous experience is working in Sales, he was really enthusiastic. He talked about the fact that I must have great communication skills and be good at handling unhappy customers. I didn’t mention the time a customer yelled at me so much that they made me cry because that was a long time ago and being mother to a toddler means being shouted at by an unhappy customer is basically a daily thing, now I’m a pro!! I’ve said it before but, if you’re considering a career change whether it involves studying or not, you DO have valuable experience, sometimes we just have to think a little harder to recognise it! So, it’s only 3 sleeps until I start placement and I am still a little nervous but have concluded that this isn’t a bad thing, it shows that I care and that I am not going to go in there all guns blazing thinking I can save the world. (I can’t!)

Alongside my nerves about starting placement, I am also a little anxious about being away from Little Man. Since he was born I have only spent 2 whole nights away from him and even though he has been going to nursery since September, 99% of the time it is me who does the drop off/pick up and that is all about to change. My parents are wonderful with Little Man, he adores them and I have no doubt that they will have everything under control but I am definitely feeling sad that I won’t be around to have bedtime cuddles every night. I am aware that this is a reality for many parents who choose to or are forced to work hours that don’t always fit in with the bedtime routine so I am not after a pity party, it’s just going to take some adjustment in this house.

I am also a little sad that I won’t get to see any of my Uni friends until March! We may have only known eachother for a matter of months, but I feel like we have all needed to lean on one another at some point so far and even more than that, I am going to miss the giggles. So ladies, if you’re reading this…thank-you for all of the support so far, I cannot wait to be reunited with you all and share our stories from placement!

Can thoroughly recommend the Lion King, snuggles and particularly this delicious popcorn!!

Outside of anything University related, life has been pretty good. Little Man has definitely been having more and more ‘Terrible Two’ moments which have been challenging to say the least! He’s at that age where he wants to do things by himself but hasn’t quite got the knack (i.e. putting on shoes) and as much as I am all for encouraging independence, being limited with time doesn’t mix too well with this! Aside from this, our weekends together with The Husband have been brilliant. One benefit to having a limited time together as a three, means that we really make the most of every minute on the weekend. And that doesn’t necessarily mean tearing around here, there and everywhere but it does mean we tend to plan out what we’re going to do over the weekend. We knew the weather was going to be rubbish a couple of weeks back so we planned an afternoon with popcorn and ‘The Lion King’, bliss! And that’s something I would say to anyone who is doing this/considering this journey, be realistic and make the most of your spare time. For our little family, time is so precious. Which is why we are all counting down the days until Christmas, something that I can honestly say I haven’t done since I was a little girl and still believed in flying reindeers and a jolly man with a red coat and white beard!

And on that note, the parents are away and the builders are coming this morning to remove the living room wall (oh joy) so I best get myself up and dressed…wish me luck!

 

No pretty pictures, just honesty.

​Bit of an impromptu one but tonight I have the feeling of dread. I am already exhausted and tonight I have a cold-filled two year old who will scream at the top of his lungs because he wants to wear his socks so much that he won’t let me put them on. And the dread comes from knowing that tonight is going to be one of THOSE nights…

I know there are people who single-parent all of the time and to you, you have my whole-hearted admiration because having to keep calm, all.by.yourself. It’s like trying to stop a pan of boiling water overflowing with a potato peeler! All I want is half an hour of quiet so that I can prep for my practical exam tomorrow and the knowledge that tonight will be the first decent night’s sleep of the week!!!

Must resist wine!

Sorry for the random ramblings but this is how it really is sometimes, sometimes I wonder what the hell possessed me to do this!!!

The rollercoaster continues!

Another rollercoaster of a ride in the life of The Uni Mummy this week!

To begin, Little Man is doing a great job at demonstrating the Art & Science of being a 2 year old. Lots of shouting, lots of not listening and mostly lots of getting cross. As I’ve been feeling stressed I have really struggled with my ability to be patient this week. Impatient parent, cross toddler…not a winning combination!! And the reason for my stress, placement!

Little Man loved ‘helping’ with my essay in the library!

As part of my training to become a nurse, I have to undertake 2300 hours of practice over the 3 years of study (yes, that does seem a lot!) The majority of this is achieved through ‘Practice Placements’. Which basically means working in the areas that I may work in when I qualify. Over the 6 Placements I need to experience different types of nursing environments to ensure I get a broad understanding of the role and also so that when I come to graduating (which by the way seems like a million miles away), I will hopefully know what sort of job I’d like to do.

As a family, we’ve all been mentally preparing for my first placement since I got accepted onto the course. It’s essentially 3 months of me working full-time, starting at the end of November. So, we have made zero plans for the 3 months and have basically put our lives on hold just in case I get the worst case scenario.

So, what did the worst case scenario look like?

Working Shifts – this would mean not being able to do nursery drop off or pick up. It would mean trying to catch up on sleep after a night shift in a houseful of people. It would mean the precious weekends we spend as a family wouldn’t necessarily be possible every week.

An Acute Setting – I have absolutely zero, non-Little Man, caring experience. And the idea of an Acute inpatient ward absolutely terrified me.

So you can imagine my reaction when our First Placement details were released this week and low and behold, I have been placed in an Acute Setting that involves shifts. My stomach filled with butterflies (not the good kind) and my eyes filled with tears. Almost everyone else around me seemed SO excited but I just felt disappointed. It was everything I didn’t want on my first Placement. And resulted in me questioning whether I was even doing the right thing by doing the course!

The shock has since worn off, the tears have most definitely stopped and I am now considering what a great opportunity this is going to be for me. Yes it’s going to be tough, yes it may seem a bit scary but I am going to learn SO much. It still feels like I am being thrown into the deep-end but I am reminding myself that you never learn anything without stepping out of your comfort zone. And most of all, this isn’t forever. It’s 3 months and if the past 7 weeks have taught me anything, this course is FLYING by!

Apparently I do remember some Anatomy & Physiology!

And despite the lost tempers, the tears and the doubting myself, this week has ended on a high! I had my first assessment and the first glimpse into where I am at with the course so far. We had an in-class test based on the Anatomy and Physiology lectures we’ve been having since we began the course. The test didn’t count towards anything, the mark won’t be recorded anywhere but to me, someone who’s been out of education for a long time, it mattered. And I am so proud to say that I passed it! I had a bit of a headstart as I studied Biology at A-Level, but I have also spent a lot of time on this module. I’ve been writing up all of my lecture notes before the lessons and I’ve spent this week revising the body systems, including teaching Little Man about the Endocrine System (with amusing results if you’ve seen my Facebook!). So today has proved to me that it is worth the effort and that you really do get out of something, what you put in. And I will remind myself of this in May when it does count!!

Next week is my first week of Annual Leave which is great but basically means instead of spending the week in Uni, you’ll mostly find me in the library… joy!

Hope everyone else is well and those with children have made it through Half-Term with their sanity in tact!

Over&Out!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The only way is UP!

Well folks I’m happy to report that I have had a fantastic week this week. It really felt like everything came together, my only grumble is that I didn’t get my usual Wednesday off with Little Man but even that didn’t dampen my spirits.

It’s a good job that I didn’t take my judgement of the week from first thing Monday morning, Little Man woke me up at 4.20am and needless to say by the time I arrived at University I was ready for bed and not a day of lectures. Thankfully it was my arrival at Uni that sparked my change in fortunes. The lecture that I had been dreading due to my lack of knowledge turned out to be really informative and thanks to my amazing new friends, I giggled until I was in tears…there was even talks of Tena Lady at one point! The power of laughter is absolutely amazing! Proof that you can’t judge a day by it’s 4.20am cover/wake up!

Tuesday was Little Man’s 2nd Birthday and although he was in Nursery as normal, The Husband was working from home which meant some proper family time in the evening as we didn’t have to wait for him to drive back from Swindon! We let Little Man choose himself a present from the Toy Shop with his birthday money, he had over £30 to spend…he chose a £3.25 Van!! On the plus side, this may be an indication that he has not inherited my expensive taste in things, phew! In the evening we took Little Man to the pub for his birthday dinner which may seem like a Mummy-friendly plan and I may have had a pint of Cider but I promise, he was more excited by his alphabet spaghetti and Ice-cream boat for pudding than I was about the pint!

Lovely morning walk with this pair!

I was a little sad not to be hanging out with the boys on Wednesday but we did manage a lovely long walk in the morning with Archie the dog and then I had by far, the best day at Uni since I started.

I talked about my interest in Dementia before I started Uni so it was no surprise that I was very excited about the prospect of a whole day of conferences on the subject. And I was not dissapointed! The morning was spent listening to an incredible woman called June Hennell who’s husband lived with Dementia until he passed away as a result of cancer. To say she was engaging would be an understatement, I couldn’t take my eyes or ears off her and could quite happily have spent the whole day listening to her story. What a woman! We then had a talk on the impact of surroundings on those with Dementia, which was very eye-opening and made me think of how much of the world I take for granted. But I think one of the things that struck me most is about money. We were told that Dementia costs the U.K. (not just NHS but costs to families) more than cancer, cardiovascular disease and stroke COMBINED! Despite this, less than 1% of research funding is filtered down to Dementia research with Cancer receiving 13%! Now I’m not arguing that Cancer is not a worthy recipient of this money but the disparity between what it costs and how much is funded really shocked me! It definitely made me glad that we included Alzheimer’s Society in our donations for our wedding (which we did instead of favours) but much like the fire in my belly for studying, something has been lit inside me and I hope that 2017 will allow me to do some fundraising!

My lovely parents have jetted off once again and I survived my night of solo-parenting without too much drama so that’s another big thumbs up from me! Plus it also means I get the use of their bedroom which means a break from sharing with Mr Bashy which in turn means I am actually getting full night’s sleep and functioning like a normal human being (whatever one of those is!)

Ooh and before I go, in case anyone was wondering how my craft project turned out, here is the very handsome Mr Archie doing a great job of modelling it!

Archie going for the jaunty angle…and pulling it off!

I hope everyone has had an equally successful week, more of these please!

Over&Out xx

 

Shoulda, woulda, coulda.

You’d think that having a degree would make this essay writing malarkey a doddle…but 7 years after I graduated first time round I think it’s safe to say that I am a little lost.

Thursday is my ‘Study Day’ and by the time it was time to collect Little Man from nursery, I felt like I’d spent the previous two hours like a cat chasing it’s tail…I’ve done SO much reading but I still don’t feel like I’m getting anywhere fast! I sat and reflected on my Study day and my total inability to actually do some writing and I think I may have worked out what my problem is…I cannot bear to cock this up. When I got my results for my Psychology degree, I locked myself in the bathroom and sobbed for over an hour. I knew I should have worked harder and although I had passed, I knew there and then that I should and could have done better.

I have so many things driving me on this course, I’ve already mentioned my Grandma’s words in a previous post but on the flipside to that I will never forget one delightful ‘family’ member saying to me “I didn’t have you down as the academic type”. Firstly, OUCH and secondly, I would really love to nail this degree and put two fingers up to them and shout “I told you so” from the rooftops because I am childish like that. Anyone that knows me well will tell you that if someone tells me I can’t do something/doesn’t believe in me, it makes me damned sure I do!! The only downside of this is that I am now putting myself under a whole heap of pressure to not just pass this degree but do a bloody great job of it too…No more Desmond (Tutu)’s here!!!

So aside from the writer’s block I am experiencing, I am in a pretty good place right now. We’re heading back to Cirencester this weekend for the first time since we moved which is going to be lovely, but a little odd. I know it wasn’t THAT long ago but I already feel like I’m a different person than the one that left. The reason for heading back is that Little Man is turning TWO so we’re off to celebrate with some family and friends. I thought that as I’d found Litte Man turning 1 so odd and a bit difficult, this year would be a doddle but I am beginning to accept that I am going to get this weird, proud/nostalgiac/terrifiedbecauseitsgoingtoofast, every one of his birthdays. He’s already given us a great preview of what we’ve got to come in terms of the ‘Terrible Two’s’ which has been nice of him…specifically his need to shout “MUMMAAAAAAAAAAAY” if I dare leave his field of view, is worth a mention. I remember when I was so excited that he could say Mama…oh how times change. SO yes, a very exciting weekend to look forward to, lots of reunions but I am sure I will manage to sneak in some Uni work too, no rest for the wicked and all that!

Far from finished but here’s the crown so far!

One of my fellow students asked me this week what my hobbies were outside of the course and my automatic response was “parenting”! And it got me thinking, my life has basically become parenting, studying, parenting, repeat (with a tiny bit of TV watching), and maybe I should try and do something creative again so I don’t go totally insane. SO in honour of Little Man’s birthday I am attempting to make him a felt Birthday Crown. So far I have made a removable 2…best get cracking as I only have until Tuesday! And after that I am going to bring my knitting bag home so I can dabble in that again, hopefully.

Next week sees part two of my attempts to be a temporary ‘single parent’ as my lucky parents are going off on holiday again. This is great as it means a temporary break from bunking with Little Man but it does also mean I have to be a responsible parent by myself, swings and roundabouts! So be sure to check back in next week to see if my sanity is still intact.

 

 

Sleep is all you need.

Can you believe that tomorrow it is a month since I started my first day as a Mature Student?! It feels like yesterday and also that I’ve been there forever, weird.

Anyways, I thought I should probably update this as the last thing I wrote was emotion fuelled, not particularly positive and although it gave you all an insight into what it’s really like to be juggling life this way, it’s not how it is most of the time.

Since I last wrote, things have definitely settled down. I am slowly but surely getting used to bunking in with Little Man, his constant wriggling, random noises and bumps into his cot are much less likely to wake me up in the night. As a result of that, I am not so tired and I am feeling much more human so this adventure doesn’t seem like Mount Everest, more like a stroll up the Malverns. Sleep, it’s an amazing thing isn’t it?!

I like to think we’re all settling into a routine at our new home too. (Correct me if I’m wrong, parents!) Morning’s are a little bit hectic when everyone has to be out the house but like a well oiled machine, Mum keeps the family topped up and moving with hot cups of tea in all of the madness!! And the evenings have been great, I am left to enjoy some quality time with Little Man and when he’s in bed, I am left to get on with studying…apart from Wednesdays, GBBO is most definitely a family activity!

I am still missing the Husband during the week and don’t expect that will ever change whilst we’re doing this but we’re certainly doing our best. We tend to have a catch up over the phone on our way into work/Uni and the past weekend we celebrated our 5th Wedding Anniversary with a surprise night away which was amazing. Not to go too cliche but time really is precious so we just have to make sure the time we spend together is quality time, which for us was a lie in and getting to watch the F1 in bed!

 

Becoming a Pro at drawing the heart!

Studying is still going well, I am thoroughly enjoying almost all of the course, especially my Mental Health module. I have a fantastic lecturer who encourages discussion rather than death by powerpoint, winner! Anatomy & Physiology definitely gets the grey matter going and I am enjoying drawing diagrams of body parts, who doesn’t love an excuse to use felt tips?! Not sure how I’ll feel about A&P come May when I am tested on my knowledge, but that’s a long way off yet!

One thing that I would say to anyone who is thinking about taking on this journey, you cannot do it alone. I know I harp on about it but I really am so lucky to have such a great support network. I feel like I am surrounded by a whole troop of cheerleaders who are willing me on, especially when things get tough. I can’t explain to you how much it helped after my last blog post when so many people reached out to offer some kind words, a hug and one very special cheerleader sent me chocolate in the post…knowing you are all behind me is the best feeling the world! And in addition to that, the ladies I have made friends with at Uni, thank-you. It was pure chance that I ended up sitting by you on that first day, but my goodness I’m glad I did. Those giggles yesterday afternoon were absolutely priceless and I look forward to more over the next 3 years!!

So what have I learnt in my first month of Uni…sleep is the key to happiness/not falling apart, I actually kind of enjoy A&P and an electric, handheld fan causes quite a stir when it goes off in your bag!!! (A ground swallow you up kind of moment!)

I hope everyone else has been keeping well and out of trouble!

Over&Out x

 

The bad & the ugly.

A bit of an impromptu post but I promised to keep you all updated and I also promised that I’d be honest about my journey, the good, the bad & the ugly. Tonight was somewhere between the middle and the latter.

Let me start with last night, Little Man came home from nursery, exhausted and some of the worst nappy rash we’ve had to deal with. Unsurprisingly he was in a sorry state. He’s not the snuggliest of little boys but last night when I asked him if he wanted a bath, his response was “No Mummy, snuggle!”.

It didn’t then come as a surprise to me, that last night wasn’t a great night’s sleep for either of us.

So it’ll be no surprise to you, reader, that I wasn’t in the greatest mood starting the day. Add to my bad mood, a tired whingey toddler and the fact that I managed to burn my toast and set off the fire alarm all before 8am and you’ll understand why the last thing I wanted to do was sit in a lecture theatre all day.

But I did, I went, I learnt and I conquered…I conquered my caffeine intake, but I conquered none the less. In fact, I’m being a bit harsh on myself, I did actually go and do a bit of work on my lunch break which is handy because I may have replaced my hour of work tonight, with wine. Don’t judge.

Little Man’s nappy rash hasn’t improved, bathtime/bedtime was once again, a battle. And when I sat and read him his pre-bed story, I actually sat and cried. I’m so tired. My head is mush. And I keep thinking, what if I have another night like last night? How awful am I going to feel? And can I really do this, for 3.whole.years?!

I know that next week this will (hopefully) be a distant memory and I also know this won’t be the last time I feel like this but I hope that I can keep the fire in my belly for this course and this career, alive even when things get tough.