Hello...I'm Kat. thanks for stopping by.
I am a 30-something wife, nurse, student and mother of four. I've
been married, (happily for the most
part) for 20 years. I have three boys, one of whom has already left the
nest, and one beautiful daughter, who is also out on her own.
I was born and raised
in a small town in Illinois, Kankakee... you may have heard of us on the
David
Letterman Show. By the way, Kankakee isn't THAT bad!
I have an older sister, and two younger brothers.
(Ah, the struggles of a middle child.) My dad was an
over-the-road trucker, mom was home with
us until an injury forced my dad's early retirement and she went
to nursing school. By that time I was already
out on my own. I had a fairly typical childhood, went to a
small school, church on Sundays, had sleepovers
with my friends....all of that. Looking back, I was a happy
kid, except having to lose my paternal
grandfather when I was eight, and my maternal grandmother when I
was sixteen.
When I became a teenager, I was a hellion.
I pretty much did whatever I wasn't supposed to. I was real big
on my civil
rights and rebellion. Lucky for me, my parents let me live...and they still
speak to me!
I met my husband Don, through a friend,
at a time in my life when I had no interest in getting involved with
someone. Having just gone through
a painful first marriage, that lasted less than a year (yes, my mother
warned me,) and the birth of a stillborn son, the last thing I needed was
a man in my life.
Along came Don to change all of that.
He too was very young, divorced and the custodial parent of a one
year old son. We dated for about
2 years, (and had a child) before we got married. We have since had our
other two boys.
I was a stay-at-home mom while my kids
were young, but when my youngest started kindergarten, I went
back to school. I was unsure what
I wanted to do with my life. I had gone back to school and earned my
GED, and taken a few classes ten years prior, so I knew what I didn't want
to do.
I decided I would try nursing school.
I went through the LPN program at our local community college and
earned my certificate. I have
been working as a nurse at a wonderful long-term care facility for about
five
years, and completed my associate's degree in nursing in the spring of
2000.
I have since gained new employment at one of our local hospitals and will be working in the Heart Center, where in the past year several open heart surgeries have been performed. Critical care is a far cry from geriatrics, but I'm anxious to learn. I will still continue to work at the nursing home on a PRN basis, as leaving my comfort zone and my patients, has shown to be more than a little traumatic for me.
I have only recently become interested
in web page design. This is my first venture...and with much help
from my 16 and 14 year
old sons. I hope to create a site that will be helpful for nurses and students,
as well as
enlightening for anyone who happens by.
I love to laugh.
Some of the things that humor me are: my
dad's jokes (even funnier when mom tells them!) The Drew
Carey Show, Everybody Loves Raymond, Friends,
Spin City, and Just Shoot Me. I think my favorite movie of all time
is "Seems Like Old Times" with Chevy Chase
and Goldie Hawn.
I also enjoy all types of music.
My daughter re-introduced me to a love for
classical music when she took violin, (she was in the school
orchestra for eight years) I love the old
classic rock - Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Aerosmith, and Santana (my two
youngest sons entertain me by playing the
oldies with their friends on guitar!) Growing up near Chicago in
the '70s, you have to love the old Motown
stuff; The Temptations, Four Tops, Stevie Wonder, The
Supremes, Marvin Gaye, The Chi Lites, and
Al Green. And yes, I also like country music. Some of my favs
are - The Judds, Garth Brooks, Faith Hill,
The Dixie Chicks, Vince Gill, Merle, and of course...Hank Jr.