|{ What Its Like To Be Married To A Med Student }|

Hard.  That pretty much sums it up.

I do feel lucky that Jon is able to watch his lectures online, so if he isn't required to be there in person he has the choice to stay home.  Because of that, first year was not as bad as everyone told me.  I actually got to see him quite a bit and spend some time with him.  Second year is harder, maybe because Jon is recording the lectures so he has to be at every lecture every other week.  Also he has had some pretty tough sequences and has had to do a lot of studying.

It's also been harder since we moved because our 'office' is in our main living area which means that I have to be quiet, so I can't distract myself with TV while he is studying.

Some days are harder than other, for example yesterday (Saturday) Jon went to the school to study with some of his classmates.  He left at 10 a.m. and studied until about midnight and then wanted to get his test over with, so he didn't come home until 3 a.m.  I really missed him but he passed his test and I'm glad he got it done so we can spend some time together today.  He has Monday and Tuesday off of school but he is going to spend all day those days studying for his Step 1 exam.

As much as I miss him now, I've heard third year will be even worse! He will get to start doing rotations and seeing patients and will be gone a whole lot more.  I think how much he'll be gone will vary depending on the sequence he is on.  I guess we'll see.  All this missing him is just practice I guess!

The biggest thing that gets me through is that I know he is trying his hardest and that in the end...he'll be a doctor! And it will all pay off!  He'll be doing what he loves and we'll have a stable life!  We've really grown a lot as we've gone through this and I know we will continue to grow stronger as individuals and in our marriage!

So yes, it's a hard journey but I'm glad we're on it.

|{ Guest Post- Our Little Fam }|

Today I have my first guest post for you!!! Ashlee over at Our Little Fam is such a sweetheart and I'm excited for you to meet her!!

Hey there bloggers,

I am Ashlee, over at Our Little Fam. I am so happy to be guest posting for Shalay! She is so sweet and I adore her blog! She is super woman =)

Meet my family

Since this last family picture our sweet little boy has arrived. I am now a wife and mother to two sweet little boys.

My husband, call him J, is a busy man. He works full time and is currently in the military. (He is also a full time student, YAY school! Haha) He was deployed to Iraq during the summer of 2010 for a 12 month tour and returned in 2011. Can’t believe it’s now 2012. His time away from home seemed to last forever, and his time home with us always goes by so fast.  

He loves the outdoors, especially running. Is a computer nerd and loves bacon. =)

I am a full time mama and student. Although, this semester since our new little one arrived and I am adjusting to being a mother of two, I am going part time. Next semester is back to full time again. I am working on my pre nursing reqs. One day I will see the light at the end of the tunnel and I will be finished and happy with my career as an RN ;) Eventually my goal is to work in L&D.

I enjoy blogging, crafting, cooking (this is something new to me though haha), playing with my little boys, and time with my hubby.

This is “Little E”, our little stud and the older brother. He will be turning 3 in April. He sure keeps me on my toes. He is always teaching me something new. He is full of laughter, generosity, and of course attitude. Haha. I am so blessed to be a mama, absolutely love it!

Here is “Baby G”, he arrived on 12/30/2011. He was full term, but was born with fluid in his lungs and couldn’t seem to get the breathing part down. When he was born he was life flighted to a different hospital and spent 12 days in the NICU. He was sent home on oxygen. After his first month of life on oxygen we were able to ditch it (except for when he uses his car seat). He is our little fighter, he has already endured a lot within his first month and a half of life.

Come visit us and get to know us more over at Our Little Fam, I would love to get to know all of you and follow your blogs! I blog about life as a mom, wife, student, and whatever else I feel like writing about. Recently it has been crafts and food since I am a newbie when it comes to cooking. (P.s., if you have any fun crafts or recipes come share them with me!)

Thank you Shalay for hosting me on your blog! You are so awesome and your readers are so lucky to get to know you through your blog!!

Xoxo,

Ashlee

|{ Overwhelmed }|

I have been doing a lot of research and reading lately about pre-pregnancy, pregnancy, and babies and while I feel like I have learned some good and valuable information and I am also starting to feel really overwhelmed.  I need to start writing down what I need to remember in a readable way because I know I've forgotten at least half of what I've read!

The lovely Elena from The Art Of Making A Baby had her baby girl a few days ago and I decided today that I really need to stop reading all the comments from her readers... They make my head spin and there are a lot of judgmental people who are being much to negative and rude to her.  I feel bad for her but she's pretty awesome and is taking it all well!  They sure are making me feel even more overwhelmed though and often talk about things that I haven't even thought about.  Sometimes I don't even know what they are talking about!! Lol!

I feel like I have so much more research to do, I feel like I don't know anything about babies and I worry that I won't be a good mom because of it.  So for right now I think I just need to take a step back for a few days and get my mind re-wired so I can come at this in a new and better way! I know to some people it may seem like I am going overboard but I just want to be as informed as I can so that I can better know what to expect and how I can have the healthiest baby possible!

|{ Early Valentines Day }|

Valentines day is going to be pretty busy for us this year.  I have school and then work a long shift and Jon will be busy with school as well so we won't get to see each other much that day.

So I decided that we should celebrate Valentines Day early! So on Saturday I set up a surprise Valentines Day for Jon.  He spent most of the day at school studying with some classmates so while he was gone I got everything set up!

I made a fort in our living room, using the cushions from the couch, it was pretty comfy actually! I made fried rice for dinner and put it into some take out containers and put it into the fort.  When Jon got home he was so surprised! I had him climb inside and waiting for him was dinner, a dozen yellow roses, and his favorite black licorice! We had dinner and watched the Big Bang Theory on my computer.  It was very relaxing and so much fun! We spent all night in there! We even played Killer Bunnies! It was a wonderful way to celebrate Valentines Day!!

Pardon the bad photos, it was dark and I suck at taking dark indoor photos in a hurry..

|{ Analyze Me (Well My Blog Anyway) }|

So I've been thinking about what makes blogs popular and wondering what I could do to make mine more interesting to general readers.

Are my posts too long?

Do I have too many photos?

Are my posts too centered around just my life so they are uninteresting?


Also, I would really like to add links to my blog so it can more easily be navigated, links like the ones they have at The Art Of Making A Baby and Rockstar Diaries.  I want to make my blog more accessible and professional looking in that way.

I would like to do giveaway's sometimes as well but I have no earthy idea how to even go about doing that...



I could definitely use some honest opinions and tips here, I won't be offended!  I would really be grateful for any tips and constructive criticism.