Nutshell of 4 years

Wow life has really changed in 4 years in many ways but, has stayed the same in others. 

• So in December 2015, I went back to work as per diem Recreation Assistant/Personal Care Assistant at CDR, I worked there in July 2017.  In June 2017, I graduated with a certification as Nursing Assistant (i.e. CNA), began working full time for a LTC in July 2017 and stayed there for a year when I took a job as a PCT (patient care technician) at a hospital closer to home, I also just recently graduated from Nursing School (Practical Nursing), and now licensed as a LPN by NYS BON.  I just started running 3 days a week hoping to work back up to 5-6 days a weeks but, only time will tell on that.
• My husband and I celebrated 16 years of marriage in July, and 17 years of being together.
• My husband took a position as a substitute bus driver for our kids' school district last November, which works well for us because he is off when the kids and was able to be home with them while I was in PN school.  He now works full time for the school district.
• Our oldest son is now in 8th grade, which is so hard to believe because he has made a lot of stride this year as well as some major challenges, i.e. he's a TEENAGER!!!  He still is obsessed with trains and very knowledgeable about all things with locomotives.  He is still in a 6:1:1 classroom but no longer needs to have an aide/assistant assign to him, which we never thought we would see the day where there might be the possibly of him being mainstream into regular classroom (maybe in the next couple of years).
• Our daughter is now in 7th grade, she is developing into amazingly strong, intelligent, kind young woman who is going to participating in field band (as part of the color guard) as well as cross country team.  She has started wearing contacts that has definitely been a challenge for her to use to wearing them but, after almost month she is finally getting the hang of it.  She has been back in public school going on her 3rd year and has maintain being high honor roll.
• Our youngest son is now in 3rd grade, he has definitely met with a lot of challenges academically because he was diagnosed with severe ADHD with a strong possibly of learning disability.  He does enjoy going to school and is also in 6:1:1 program, it definitely is a good fit for his academic needs right now.  He continues to a very lovable boy that absolutely loves his dinosaurs and learning everything he can possibly learn about them.  In 2016, he had a T&A removal surgery (tonsils and adenoids), which helped his hearing abilities but, decreased his issues with snoring. 
• About 4 years ago we added a pit bull/lab mix (she was a rescue dog), she definitely fit right into our crazy crew because she is a spunky dog that loves the kids a lot.

We are still trying to the live life as natural as possible, which I know may sound odd considering I'm  a LPN and my husband a bus driver.

Receiving my license as a Practical Nurse

On September 5th, 2019 New York State Board of Nursing issued my license as a Practical Nurse.  While I already have a bachelor's degree in Therapeutic Recreation with minor of Psychology and had a certification as CTRS as well as CNA, receiving my license was most proudest moments professionally in my life because I felt like I finally arrived.  I feel like I have always been drawn to healthcare and I choose to go into recreation therapy because I felt that I would NOT measure up to my grandmother (my nana) if I went into nursing.  While I enjoyed working in the recreation field and it helped me when we were faced with our oldest son being diagnosis with Autistic as well as a mood disorder, I never felt like it fulfill me because it didn't constantly challenged me.  Now, I have received my license and accepted as a position as a LPN, I feel like I be will challenged and I love that.