First Mother's Day, plus other goodies!

This sunday was so much fun! I got home from work at 8am and saw my sister-in-law's husband working on a gift for her. Honestly, I got a little sad and pouty till I walked into my room! Alan had set up the baby dresser and on top where 4 supper cute baby outfits, a pair of baby penny loafers (which I know are unnecessary, but sooo cute), newborn swaddler with cap & rattle, bouquet of flowers, and a gift card for a pedicure! I stopped pouting and pounced on my dear hubby to give a hug... which would have worked if my hubby wasn't dead asleep and immediately reacted with his JKD defense, tossing me to the side! So I took my nap and woke up to thank him.
We drove up to see my parents for mother's day and spend the night. On the way, I enjoyed eating my chocolate covered strawberries and occasionally shouting "I'm a mom!". It was really nice getting to just hang out with them and I loved giving my mom her present of a babysono pic frame that says "love at first sight" and two baby books, you are my sunshine (my mom's fav song to sing) and spot loves his grandma! Next day was nice and chill-- breakfast with mom, meet up with some friends, register for baby stuff at babies r us and dinner! I had to hold my mom back from buying every grandma related baby item! It was a wonderful weekend (or my version of a weekend)!
Went to see my new ob md today-- love her! Super sweet and didn't comment on my weight (which is a great way to win me over). 2 more weeks until glucose screening and 3rd trimester! Can't believe things are going this fast! But I do believe our lil man is growing because i've been out of breath all day today-- I look pretty pitiful huffing and puffing while putting up laundry!

As far as other goodies go... here's some words of wisdom from an ER nurse!
1. Don't fall asleep with your arm out the window... especially if you are driving!
2. If you are a wound care nurse, be sure to check the rest of the patient and not just were the wound is. You never know what creepy crawly things lurk below!
3. If you've been trying to get a room in the hospital for several days and we keep sending you away because there is nothing medically wrong... go with the suicide route-- we have to give you a room somewhere!
4. Don't threaten the nurse... ever! Our security guards get pretty aggressive when one of their girls are threatened! And trust me, they all come to the join in the action!
5. Just don't even try to fake a seizure. We know. You can fool family and non-medical people, but you can't fool us!

That's all for now! Will try to post some pics later of more baby goodies-- almost done with my first attempt at a quilt!

24 weeks pregnant!

Chickens eat their young!

So I learned nurses aren't the only ones to eat their young today! I was checking on the chickens today and thought I could grab their water and eggs at the same time. Evidently, I'm not coordinated enough and dropped one of the eggs as I was leaving the coop. All 3 chickens jumped on the cracked egg and ate it! A little creepy and cannibal-ish, but maybe they were just really thirsty! (side note: yes I do collect chicken eggs! I'm not a country girl, but I like the chickens!)
Another creepy thing today: maternity photos! I was looking online at ideas and was really disturbed by all the naked or almost naked prego photos! Who's kid is going to want to see that when they get older?! Not my boy! I see the conversation going something like this:
Mom: Oh honey look! This was taken when I was 8 months pregnant with you!
Son: uhhh mom, you're uhhh not really wearing anything *eyes darting to avoid photo but keeps looking back. Jaw open*
Mom: oh silly, I'm completely covered! I looked pretty good back then! Right?
Son: soo... I've got to clean my room or do homework or something!
Mom: But sweety, I haven't shown you the caste of my body that we made! It worked great as a chip and dip bowl!

Again, I'm going to avoid that scenario and go with the classy pics, like "don't open until.." and hands making a heart!

All this creepy talk reminds me of a patient last weekend! As my husband so pleasantly puts it, "it's ok, she sees naked people all the time". And yes, bring a nurse does expose me to much more of people's anatomy than most see. Most of the time, it's really not a big deal and I do my best to make the patient comfortable. However, there is the occasional patient who doesn't feel awkward and personally requests a catheter (aka tube going up into the bladder). Female-no biggie, Male- creepy! So what do we do when those situations arise? Find the biggest male nurse we can and send them in to do it! Most of the time the patient changes their minds and pees in a cup! You learn early on not to get taken advantage of, but to be smart!

On a cuter note: I've got some pics of my amazing room! My husband found or made most if the furniture, installed the hardwood floors and did the crown molding! He worked extra hard to make a wonderful oasis for us! The headboard are actually two 1800's doors. The white table thing will be the changing table along with the window photo frame (I did the burlap!). There are still a few more things to go up, but it looks great so far!
Thanks for reading and have a great night!

Lessons learned from my patients

So I worked thurs-sat night this past week and throughly enjoyed it! This ER has an amazing set up and very well ran with excellent resources! But what would be an ER weekend without some very very interesting stories?!

1. Whenever playing donkey basketball, always wear a helmet and try to land in the grass if you fall! 
2. Of course it makes sense to wear steal toe boots but no helmet while riding your motorcycle. Your face may look like it went through a meat grinder, but at least those toenails won't be scratched!
3. Always keep your inhaler nearby for when you smoke weed if you have asthma. That way you don't have to wait till you get to the ER to chill out.
4. A bandaid can fix most things, but if your finger is still bleeding after cutting it open at your reception, you may want to go ahead an come to the ER. I mean, who doesn't want to spend their honeymoon with such great peeps like me?!
5. What a better way to end a date than in the ER? After all your xrays and CT scan, just jump in bed naked with your date. But keep it discrete because security doesn't approve of patients having relations in the ER!

On another note-- I've grown 2 inches since tuesday! I got a scrub top on tuesday and thought this should last me for another few weeks.... WRONG! Saturday it was so tight I could barely put things in my pockets! Time to get some open ones with T-shirts. I had to laugh a little inside when I informed some co-workers that I was pregnant-- I said I don't normally have a potbelly ;)

Priorities and Tidbits from a Nurse

Its still so crazy to me that we've been moved for only 1.5wks-- it almost feels like another lifetime. And isn't it true that when you make big life changes (college, marriage, children) that they don't tend to follow a nice spaced out order? Take for example my marriage: within two months time I graduated college, started working as a nurse and got married. Then there was a lull in time for us to catch up only to get pregnant, move to a new city, and consider different jobs for hubby! Maybe a bit of chaos is good every now and then-- at least it makes you reconsider on what things you thought important during the lull of life.
So what are my priorities? God, Family, Friends, Career. Do I live that? Not really. Do I needlessly worry and fret because of my mixed up priorities? Yes. So what do we do from here? By God's grace, be pulled out of the murk I'm in, be placed upon the firm foundation of Christ, and let others see His grace and salvation in my life (psalm 40:1-3).  Did I mention by God's grace? Just wanted to make sure that was in there a few more times! Thank God I don't have to pull myself out of destruction because I never would or could! I agree with the book of Jude and Piper at T4G, I'm amazed I'm still a Christian!

On a lighter note-- our little man is still growing and I feel those wonderful muscle tearing growths all the time! And his kicks are getting stronger all the time.... and still my husband has yet to feel them! He know's when it's daddy's hand on my belly and calms down right away! Such a good son! Although, with each new story I hear my mother in law tell me, the more I'm ready to buy a leash and extra bubble wrap for when he starts walking! Beware world, He's going to be just like his daddy as a toddler! But, he'll grow up to be such a handsome man with amazing manners who loves his mommy!

Oh ya, a friend asked me about allergies and knowing when to see a doctor sooner or later. So here is my tidbit for all moms and future moms: If you can hear "crackles" or "wheezes" when you put your kids chest or back to your ear, go see your doctor. If you can see you kids chest suck in below the sternum (end part of the ribs) when he breathes in, go to the ER. Other than that, follow the recommendation of the pharmacist and doctor on tylenol, ibuprofen and allergy medications. And please keep up with your kids shot schedule!
There, stepping off my nurse platform and back to normal. And with that, I'm going to go raid the fridge for something sweet! Adios!

Why it's important to update your GPS!

  So, on monday I started my new job... meaning I sat for 9hrs listening to random business talk about the hospital and going over things I already know. It was a pleasant reminder of why I didn’t go to business school! I am excited about the hospital itself-- defiantly well run and is very supportive to it’s staff! 

After all day of being crammed in a small room and trying to stay awake, I started to drive home. Made one corner a little too sharp, blew my tire and proceeded to roll into a restaurant nearby. Great. At least we have roadside assistance, right? Well yes, but it will take 90min till they can get out there! Ok. Go inside the restaurant and see if someone can help. “We have no one on staff who can help you.” Thanks. Hmm. Try to change tire myself. But maybe not with the rather large half dazed hobo sitting out a few feet from your car. Hubby?! Yes! Alan came to my rescue from Waco to Temple! 

About 20min later, the hobo left and I started to try to change it myself. Thanks to the beautiful weather and record pollen count, I sneezed every minute or so. Here’s a mental picture: pregnant woman staring at trunk trying to remember what to do first when changing a tire while sneezing so much that her eyes start tearing up. I looked pretty pitiful. Enough so that a family pulled up and the husband offered to help. Alan arrived a few minutes later valiantly riding his dad’s motorcycle to save his allergy stricken wife! Few more minutes and we were on our way to where to GPS said there was a tire shop (ps I do have to give kuddos to VW for placing an entire spare instead of a doughnut!).

First one was closed. Second one didn’t exist. Third one lead us to lake Belton (about a 25min further south). At that moment we decided it would be a good idea for us to figure out how to update our GPS!

The drive back was actually really beautiful and I kept thinking “If the scenario of how this drive started was any different, it would be very relaxing and lovely.” Lot of small hills covered with bluebonnets and indian paint brushes with the sun slowly setting and my knight in shinning armor riding his bike-- seriously, a hot guy on a motorcycle down a country road is magical! ;)

The next few days filled with more classroom time, husband working on flooring+crown molding, room filling up with bugs due to going in and out of window, Alan sucking the bugs up with a shop vacuum, few crock pot recipes, hillbilly Directtv set up guy messing up the internet, baby growing pains, and some needed cuddle time with my hubby! I’m excited to start working in the ER and see how their dynamics are, but also nervous simply cuz everything is new. Hopefully will get some chill time this weekend and maybe actually move our clothes out of brown paper bags and into closet/dresser! We shall see what new adventures await!

Easter is here and I can't stop sneezing!

Happy to Easter to all! It's been a crazy weekend of moving and getting our place ready. Alan is still working on the flooring and trim while I do my best to organize the chaos around him without being in the way. Allergies are taking every hit they can at me and my little psuedofed just can't quite keep up! Yay for being pregnant during allergy season (next time well try to get pregnant in may so I can avoid it all together)!
We went to our new church today and it was hard not to wish to be back in our familiar church with our friends. But i'm grateful that we at least have a solid church to go to here! Sang a "new" song today that me and alan happily joined in singing:

Oh, to see my name
Written in the wounds,
For through Your suffering I am free.
Death is crushed to death;
Life is mine to live,
Won through Your selfless love.

This, the pow’r of the cross:
Son of God—slain for us.
What a love! What a cost!
We stand forgiven at the cross.

I'm excited to see where God grows us in this new church and who we will become close friends with. Alan and I enjoyed a simple lunch together by ourselves that allowed us just to talk over different ideas of how we want our lil man to celebrate easter and christmas and just how each other was doing. I do already feel a new bond with my husband as we move out of familiar territory to a world of unknown. It's not so scary when you Know someone is there with you the whole way and even more so, God is guiding each step.

So far community living has been nice. I honestly hate being in an empty house by myself and so it's been nice just having others around. I expect there to be annoyances in the future, but so far I'm enjoying the company!

Will post pics later of our room and such! 

Hope in God

Why are you cast down, O my soul,

and why are you in turmoil within me?

Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,

my salvation and my God..

(Psalm 42:5-6 ESV)

Psalms 43 has been such an amazing reminder of how Great God is and how ridiculous my emotions can be! David shout out to his soul asking "why are you cast down, O my soul?", why do you fret? Don't you remember who your God is?
I find myself getting worried over nothing or fretting about things in the future that haven't even happened yet. I want to shout to my soul and say "Why are your freaking out?! Why do you worry? Don't you remember who your God is?" I'm so grateful for the psalms and there being real human emotions in them!

On another note~ I was blessed to find out my last day in the ER is actually Monday so I have more time to pack! Yay for packing, sad day for work though! It's still all crazy that I'm moving! What an amazing adventure awaits for our family!
So through the sniffles from allergies without relief (thanks to only being able to take sudafed and benadryl), we've had a nice 2 days in the ER. Ready for tomorrow, but at the same time not... because that means tears, hugs and lots of goodbyes. I don't like goodbyes-- I prefer see-you-laters!