Andrew Q&A + what I learned from the night shift.

 

 

Hey everyone!!! Janae was off working all day, so I decided to write a post. First off, thank you for all the questions!!! That helps a ton to see what to write. This post is filled with a lot of random, so bear with me. Here are a few pictures of our day; then, I will answer a few questions and end it with a few things about working the night shift.

Beck is officially a mama’s boy. Anytime there is a choice, it is all mom. I either have to be riding my bike for him to want to hang with me (which I hope he continues to love), or I have to bribe him with something else for him to want to go with me. I’m not THAT mad about it, just a little bit.

They finished our floors yesterday, and I swear the oil finish they put on them is a biohazard. We had to run to Janae’s sister last night so we wouldn’t die of fumes.

All the remodeling has us outside the house quite a bit, so the fantastic warm weather this week has led to many picnics outside, and it has been fun!

Everyone else was gone, and out of the house, so it was just Beck and me at home working on the thousand things on my to-do list because the weather had been insane. I cannot believe how much snow we have gotten this year.

So we got some new chicks in February, and we have been introducing them to our existing group of hens, and it has been challenging. The older hens are establishing their pecking order. We have been keeping them separated at night, and one of the kiddos left the hatch where we get the eggs open. It’s big enough for the little chicks to get out. Fast forward to this morning, I went outside to find one baby chick running around on its own, and the others were nowhere to be found.

The above picture is how I found them. They were all huddling together between our house and the hot tub, I was so relieved, and it took FOREVER to find them. Our awesome neighbors found one too!! So glad they didn’t get snatched by an animal.

I decided to be Bob Vila and try to make our coop just a little bigger so the chickens all have some much-needed room from each other. I didn’t do a very good job constructing it, but we tried! If any of you have ideas to help integrate the two flocks, I am all ears!

So many neighbors are getting chickens; Skye says her new favorite animal of the day is a chicken, especially this one. I think the new animal changes by hour rather than by day, but we LOVE IT!

Remember the tree that almost fell on Brooke in the backyard? It is finally Spring cleaning around here, so Beck and I got to work with the chainsaw, and we took six full truckloads of this massive tree; I’m tired.

Alright, I know not that exciting of a day, but I wanted to answer some of the questions from a few readers!!

Question 1: John

Do you own a Specialized Bike? Do you have a road bike, gravel bike or hard tail in addition to your full-suspension mountain bike? Have you competed in any organized rides/races or do you plan to? Have you ridden gravel or roads or do you stick to single track and mountain bike trails? What is your ideal mountain bike day/ride?

Hey John!! First off, if you are willing, I want to go to the PNW, so BAD. You’ll have to tell me where to go to bring the family and where to ride!! I have ridden all kinds of bikes. Currently, I own a Santa Cruz – Hightower. It is the perfect do-it-all bike. I got a great deal on it, and it has a lifetime frame warranty and bearings too! So I’m stoked about it.

In a perfect world, I would love to have a gravel and road bike. However, I use the Peloton ALL THE TIME, especially during the winter; I hope that translates to my bike fitness this season. I have yet to do any races, but I keep thinking about it, just wondering what to do.

My perfect mountain bike day is riding most during the middle of the week; most times, I get the mountains to myself – they are empty. I love to do a little of everything. My favorite ride is about 20 miles and about 2,000 feet of climbing. Come out to Utah, and I’ll take you. I could talk about bikes all day – so I’ll have to stop there.

Question 2: Ali

Yes, I have a question for Andrew: Are you excited to see your bestie in Boston?!

Uh yes!! When do we get to see you??

Question 3: Jenny/Amanda

My daughter and I are dying to hear about your career change. No more DNP? What made you change your mind? I am a nurse and my daughter is in nursing school at SUU, so we are totally curious!

Hi Jenny!! This is a loaded question; I’ll try to get this simple. So I have 3 Bachelor’s Degrees: Exercise Science, Spanish, and Nursing. I absolutely love being a nurse, yes, there are some really hard times, physically, mentally, etc., but I truly wanted to have a career where I feel like I am adding good to the world and making a difference, albeit a small one. I wanted to find something that I felt fit me, my goals, and my family. I am actually going to try to stay per diem in the ICU so I can still keep my skills and have the “intensity” I love.

Ok… back to the point. For how much schooling I have done, I don’t love it. If I am being completely open and honest, I wasn’t happy with trying to fit everything in. I really liked the material I was learning, but I didn’t quite feel the passion or find that I was happy in the program. I didn’t also have a job that I really wanted or a field to pursue. Another detractor was that I was expected to find my own clinical preceptors in addition to working full-time, school full-time, find quality clinical placements, and shadow them in my already VERY limited time.

Long story short, I had been thinking hard about this for about six months. A job opportunity just kept coming up, and I didn’t really think much about it the first couple of times, but the opportunity is to be an Organ Donor Coordinator. I’ll be working as a nurse, and it literally hits all my wants in a career and lifestyle. I’ll work better hours and less time than I previously was as an ICU nurse (To answer Amanda’s question). I am really trying to be a morning person right now – we will see how that goes when I start working. There is a huge work/life balance focus for the team I’ll be working with, and the team seems to be AMAZING. So I’m excited about a new adventure.

I changed my Masters’s program to an MSN in Nursing Leadership and Management. I have less than a year, and it is an easier program. They also told me that if I ever wanted to go back to the NP program, I could do it after my Masters and it is only a year more. I’m not sure I’ll do that, but it is nice to know that opportunity exists.

I could also write a whole other post about this.

Question 4: Erica

Question for Andrew: Which one of your personality traits do you see in each of the kids?

It is really fun to see our different personalities and our kids’ personalities and how, if any, are passed on. One thing that Janae and I really agree with is sleep. There is something in Baron genes that make sleep and falling asleep VERY difficult. Bedtimes are hard with the kids that have some of my chromosomes. Janae and Brooke can fall asleep within 10 seconds. I also think the Baron side has some wild chromosomes – but that is up for debate. Nature vs. nurture, who knows?

Question 5: Arianna

For Andrew, I know his blogs are normally lighthearted/funny but I am sort of curious what tips he has for being a supportive spouse when a taper is difficult or race day goals don’t go as planned… Just say nothing, try to be encouraging…? Personally I get more annoyed with my spouse sometimes when he tries to be encouraging so it’s a lose/lose for him unfortunately.

This is a VERY important question, and I don’t know, hahaha.  I find that I am a fixer and will do anything I can to make things better, but if it’s a hard day at a race, injury, or whatever else.  Sometimes I hug Janae, and sometimes, I just sit there in the trenches with her and let her know that I love her no matter what, and I just love to cheer her on.  But you are right; sometimes, it is a lose/lose.  But That’s what we do!!

 

Okay, this post is wayyyy too long sorry about that! I just wanted to finish with a list of 5 things I learned from the night shift. This meme really sums up a lot!

1 – The night shift takes its toll on you. I think I was in denial for the longest time about this. I have major FOMO – fear of missing out on everything. I would rather sleep for 4-5 hours and be involved with the family than get extra sleep. My kids wouldn’t miss too much time without me because I would leave for work right before bedtime, and I would see them before they went to school.

To play devil’s advocate. I really don’t feel a difference between 6 and 9 hours of sleep. Anything less than six, I start to deteriorate and forget my first name. So if we are being honest, six nights in a row, I would feel my brain working slower, and I would have a lot less patience.

2 – The munchies come alive at night. I know this is probably scientifically proven – but I cannot believe how much food I can eat during the night shift. At my last job, management kept the back office full of all kinds of treats and food. THIS KILLED ME. I would subconsciously walk back to the office,   not realizing what I was doing. The security guards and I became best friends, mainly because I knew where the stash was (with permission, of course), but I needed to get into a locked office, and they always knew when I was calling that they were going to get the good stuff. I liked to do this a lot when I was the charge nurse. It seemed to brighten everyone’s night, especially at 2 AM.

3 – I ALWAYS would forget what day it was. I usually would work 5-6 nights in a row and all dates and times lose their meaning. The only important thing was to remember what night it was, whether it was night 6 of 6 or 1 of 6.

4 – You learn to be creative with everything. Sometimes it is very difficult to get a hold of a doctor, family member, and/or lab result. The list goes on. Sometimes it works, and sometimes you get someone yelling profanities through the phone. Sometimes you have to roll with the punches.

5 – My favorite thing about the night shift was that by the end of the shift, I was dead tired. But I could get into bed when I got home and fall asleep within 2 minutes. That DOES NOT HAPPEN normally for me. Maybe I’ll get healthier sleep habits and do that naturally. Also, if you have any tips on this, please send them!

Questions:

1 – Have you ever worked the night shift? Did you like it?

2- Tell me about an unexpected career change. Are you happy you did it? Do you regret it?

3 – What is the most challenging thing that you have overcome? How did you get through it?

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