Friday at the Clinic

Yesterday was such a busy but fun day at the clinic. Now we are mostly just getting ready for the workshop next week. We have one client that is 37+ weeks and could have her baby at any time. Thus starts our busy time!

In the mean time I am busy crocheting hats and working on moodle. Documenting my life in hand written journals and blogging. Dealing with workshop paperwork and questions from students. What fun!

If It Isn't One Thing, It's Another!

Well, at my father's behest, I upgraded my firefox version this morning to see if it remedied the issues I was having with my firefox yesterday. 'Lo and behold, my problems with firefox have ceased since the upgrade, but now I am having internet connection problems. It's a clear sky, so who knows why. Today and Friday are my last two days to work this week on moodle, so I'd really like to get a bunch done. Especially since next week I am super busy with the workshop, and I won't get to work on it much.

Tomorrow is a busy day with lots of clients. This weekend is suppose to be nice, so hopefully we'll get some outside time.

Updates to my blog!

So, MOODLE was driving me crazy today (or rather, my firefox on my netbook was) and so I decided to spend the day fussing with my blog. For a self-taught website designer, my blog looked pretty shabby, and shameful! LOL! So now, introducing my new and improved "look" with my very own custom made header even!! Yup, those three cuties up there *insert up arrow* are my kiddos, the littlest is Bobby, the middle is Tori and the oldest is Tommy. That picture was taken outside of St. Jude Catholic Church in Chattanooga on Tommy's First Communion day last year.

I will be back at MOODLE as soon as I can figure out what is wrong with my firefox. Might have to have my guy look at it.

Tomorrow Andrea is coming to the clinic, mostly because she misses us LOL! She had been sick so has been gone for a few weeks. But now she's feeling better!

Thursday we have a busy clinic day. Yay for busy clinic days!!

countdown till the next workshop? 10 days until the next workshop!

29 more clients needed for Andrea and I both to sit for the NARM! 18 more for me to sit!

(what an exciting post! LOL!)

Back at Moodle!

So, I am back at working on MOODLE now after taking a break during the winter holidays. I have felt so overwhelmed with everything, with life, that I really just needed a break from it all. Lily's beautiful birth was invigorating, and now I feel like I can start conquering my life again, one step at a time. I am already thinking of ways to improve the moodle environment, and I am not even done uploading the initial curriculum. It has ended up being something to keep me busy, entertained, distracted, and focused all at the same time, at times the work I need to do on moodle has been a Godsend.

We have a few new clients here at the clinic, and our count right now is 14 clients through August! I only need 18 more, Andrea needs 23 more, and we combined need 29 more by October in order to get our paperwork turned in on time to sit for the February 2011 NARM exam!

The twins mommy went to the accupuncturist on Saturday, and the good news is she *thinks* they have both turned back to head down!! This is great news, and we will confirm it by palpatation and finding FHT's by doppler in a few days. Ultimately we will have confirmation by ultrasound in another 3 weeks (she goes for monthly ultrasounds) and at that time, she will be able to have the babies at any time!!

We have a busy clinic day this Thursday, we are up to five clients coming now on that day. I love busy clinic days!

The workshop is next week! I can't believe it is already time for the next workshop. I have a surprise in store for these students, and am giddy with anticipation over it! I love doing these workshops, but they wear out Andrea and Linda and I. I will be glad to start it, but glad for it to be over too, so that we can focus on planning the next one!!!

And the Snow Just Keeps On Falling......

Falling falling falling.....

Sigh.

So, I love the snow. I really do. I am not as much a lover of the cold. I know you must have cold to have snow. I hated the fact that in Florida, it never snowed. Despite it getting below freezing. I grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. So we got lots of snow. I have such fond memories of building snow forts and igloos and snow ball fights and snow men. I love the snow. However, why did it have to snow today? Why not Sunday instead? Sigh. I was suppose to see my guy tomorrow, and on through Saturday. The longest amount of time we would have spent together probably since June, when we took a trip to Florida. Here me whine. Here in Alabama (and very southern central Tennessee) they are not prepared to handle snow. Which makes for lots of black ice on roads. Which makes for cancelled dates :( *whine* I am watching it snow outside. We have about a half inch accumulated right now. I am sure it is less in Alabama. I would still *probably* be able to drive into Huntsville tomorrow even if it sticks up here, as long as it is more clear down there. I don't cross any bridges until I am well into Hazel Green Alabama. However, if it is snowing this much up where my guy is staying (with his parents atm, in New Market, on a rural road up a mountain) then he will not be able to drive into Huntsville. *whine*. ah well. Such is life.

That said, the snow has also caused the schools around here to shut down for the day. There was no school today in Lincoln county, and Fayetteville city. I also heard that Madison county schools closed (which probably means Hazel Green and meridianville are also closed, since they are near there, and north of it). I have to giggle at how people react to the idea of a little snow fall here in the deep south. But I understand that black ice is dangerous, and that they do not salt the roads here, which leads to more instances of black ice than we usually had in Ohio. All of our clients declined to come today, and rescheduled for next week. It makes next week a full week, but that's ok, I *LOVE* busy clinic days, it was one of my favorite things about working with Christina back in the day!

So, clinic news? I haven't started working on moodle again yet. I have had issues getting motivated, but need to get on the ball for it. I did open my own website ( a free one) for midwifery, hoping to bring in a few new clients. I have also been visiting the local book stores and slipping business cards into the pregnancy and baby books. Neither has worked yet. LOL! I also have been doing some billing work, trying to get Linda paid (and at least 50% successful thus far) from the insurance companies. It really is pathetic how hard it is to get them to pay. It is like squeezing water from rocks. I kid you not.

We just had one student cancel for the January workshop, which is a bummer. I am hoping to fill the spot, but not sure that I will be able to with such short notice. I did not have a waiting list this workshop, which was sort of surprising, but I did not advertise as heavily as I did the last time, so maybe that is why.

I do have *four* pregnant mommies coming for the workshop and I know the students will have a great time with that. I also think that Lily's mom may bring her for the newborn exam demonstration. Yay! The workshop is coming together nicely! Andrea is coming Monday so we can go over everything that we will cover, and just to visit (we have missed her, since she has been sick!)

I have also started a count down for Andrea and I for sitting for our NARM exam to get our CPM certification. Because of the rules that NARM has set forth, we have to have all of our paperwork turned in 6 months before our planned date to sit for the exam. We were hoping to sit in October this year (the last exam of the year) but that is not going to be feasible. Therefore, we are hoping now to sit by February of next year. In order to do that, we have to have all of our paperwork turned in by October of this year. In order to turn in all of our paperwork, we have to have all of our births documented (and post partum exams, and newborn exams, and initial exams, etc, but those come much easier). Right now we sit at 13 clients currently here and due by August. I need an additional 19 before October in order for *me* to sit. Andrea needs another 24. Combined (so both of us can sit in February next year) we need another 30 *total*. This is because some of the births we can share, and others we cannot. Hence the total amount that we need is less than the combined number we each individually need. Here is hoping that a bunch of pregnant ladies come raining down on us over the next few months!!!

A New Year Full of Promise

Today starts the year 2010 and my new year holds a lot of hope and promise both for my midwifery studies and for my personal life. I am busily preparing for the Basic Midwifery Skills workshop which is in a mere 21 days! It has really snuck up on us. We will have six students at this workshop: three from Texas, one from North Carolina, one from Memphis area, and one from Orlando! Our student from Orlando may stay the month of February on a short term apprenticeship as well.

Right now, at the clinic, we are waiting on one baby, who decided she wanted to be born in 2010. Perhaps so doing the math might be easier for her age later on?? Lol! She is now post dates, and we are hoping she decides to make her appearance this weekend!

We also met with a new client due in March, which officially makes our March most likely as busy as our February. Hoping that our two April moms deliver in March or very early April as the three of us are making the trek to the Midwifery Today conference in the middle of April. The count down has started! We have 12 clients thus far, and I need 21 more to sit for my NARM! Hopefully they really start pouring in by the half dozens, since I only have until October to turn in my paperwork in order to sit in Feb of 2011!
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A Bustling Season at the Clinic!

This has surely been a bustling season at the clinic! We have had a few false alarms with our Christmas baby, but she has not arrived yet. We are being happily patient for her perfect birthday to arrive, as always leaving it in God's hands! I will, of course, update you when our Christmas baby arrives.

In the mean time, my children are in Florida with their father, and I am spending my Christmas season alone, but not. If I could have chosen company for a Christmas without my children I could not have made a better choice! I am away from *any* and all of my blood borne family this holiday season, but am celebrating with Linda and her family, who have welcomed me as if I was born into the family during this season. I also have my Church parish family, and will probably see my guy at some point during this week as well. I have secretly been dreading Christmas day for months now, and have had a bit of hidden depression over it. I have never been away from family during Christmas, and much of my family is very close knit. I was not looking forward to it. But, between all the excitement with the impending birth, and Linda and her family, Andrea, and my guy, it's not as bad as I thought it would be. My Christmas has been blessed.

I have taken a break from setting up the MTB moodle program, as it was beginning to consume my every waking moment. I was stressing about it and decided I needed a break from it. I wll get back on it after the first of the year.

I have also been busy organizing the next Basic Midwifery Skills workshop here at the clinic. We will once again welcome students from all over the USA to learn basic skills in a two day workshop at the end of January. I am excited about this, as I love the sense of sisterhood that we foster, as well as loving passing on the knowledge I have thus far attained.

Merry Christmas Eve everyone, and have a blessed Christmas Day!

I know it's been a while

and I apologize to anyone who is reading along with my blog. I am not usually such a slacker when it comes to journaling (as can be seen by my dozens of journals that hold the last twenty years of my life in them stacked in my closet.....) but this last month has been so busy. We have had several new clients come to the clinic, plus the holidays are in full swing. I have been busy setting up the Midwife-To-Be moodle community for all of the students, and have been frustrated as well as joyous at the work involved to get it set up.

We are expecting a baby soon, she is 37 weeks now and in the count down, can go anytime! I am officially sleeping with my cell phone again, to make sure I don't miss a call! We have been busy turning babies who were stubbornly staying transverse lie as well as doing the cookie exchange party.

I am hoping to finish the moodle project before the end of the year, and I should at my current rate of progress!

We have also been very busy organizing another basic skills workshop for January, I am so excited to be offering this service to students across the country once again. My preceptor is awesome!

Tomorrow we have another Ultrasound for the twins' mommy, and I will post and update on how her babies are doing after that.

Until then!