Let us make a wager!

Well, I'm 37 1/2 weeks along now and I'm feeling a little bored right now. No more Kaplan to review, no more stress of taking the NCLEX, Carl's out working, and the house is clean (mostly). SO, I would like to do something fun. I'd like to invite all you friends and family to guess (via a comment) when our babe will be born and the winner will get something delicious mailed to them. To make it more exact, specify one of the following times:

"morning" - 6 am to 11:59 am

"noon," - 12 am to 5:59 pm

"evening," - 6 pm to 11:59 pm

or

"no-man's hour" 12 am - 5:59 am

So here is an example if you are confused: I am betting that our babe will be born Friday, July 9th during no-man's hour.

Since many of you haven't seen me in person for awhile (I'm a baby beluga at this point. It's the truth, Katy!), I'll give you some numbers:

- I'm measuring right on the spot, so about 37 cm

- My waist is approximately 40 inches around

- I weigh 129 lbs as of Thursday (meaning I've gained 31 lbs!!!)

- EDIT: I should probably add that my due date is July 14th!

Ladies and gentlemen, let the wagers begin and a tasty treat be mailed your way!!!

FYI: Since I'll be 38 weeks this Wednesday (6/30), the contest closes off at midnight on that day... otherwise it'd be a little too easy to put in a guess after that...

On a different note, I'm one year older and wiser now! This year was very special to me because of this number: 22! You may notice that I put 22 at the end of my personal emails, screen-names, etc. This is why: I was born on June 22nd at 2:22 am. So what are the odds that this year, I turned 22 years old on June 22nd, at 2:22 am? It was special :) Carl and I even stayed up until 2:22 am. Well, ok, I made it to that time and Carl dozed off every few minutes. At least he tried :)

Ok now really, let the wagers begin!!!!!!!!! (even you, mommy, because I know you read our blog religiously!)

And Now, I Present to You...

Tracey Leder, RN!

Here's what I paid $7.95 (mind you, one of the BEST $7.95's I've ever spent) for this morning:

(i blotted out my ID and registration # since i wasn't sure if they were important identifying numbers...)

All I have to say is WHAT A RELIEF!!! I seriously came out of the test center 99% sure I failed because there was no way I could have passed with all those scary questions! Sorry to my fellow nursing student buddies, but it was SO HARD and SCARY!!!! At least for me it was! Other students have said it was easy or that it was just like a Kaplan test. On my test, the questions they pulled from the "Question Pool" were all so random and at least 1/2 of them weren't anything like the Kaplan practice questions and tests. It looked like my practice tests, but holy moly, the questions were HARD!!! So, through much anxiety and prayer, a miracle came about!!

Nursing Students,

As far as words of advice go, just be optimistic and confident when you take the test and I would highly recommend earplugs, minimizing the time clock, and only looking to see what question you're on every 10 questions or so after you pass #75. It took me 3 hours by the time they shut off the test somewhere between 110 and 120 questions. Good luck!!!

Now, I will continue to sew up a storm and focus on being a mama soon :)

SO GLAD I NEVER HAVE TO TAKE THIS EXAM AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This one is a keeper :)

I love him :)

We found him in the middle of a country road trying to soak up the rays, but had to rescue him from other cars. So we placed him in a grassy patch nearby.

Don't worry, I love Carl too :)

We had a fantastic journey going to some LDS Church history sites near us. First we went to Independence, MO on Friday, and then on Sunday, we took a lovely drive up north a little bit further to Far West, MO and Liberty, MO. Here are some pictures:

Disclaimer: this is not an LDS temple- it is the Community of Christ's (formerly RLDS- Reorganized LDS) temple in Independence, MO. It was interesting to learn so much about all the little churches that broke off in the beginning after Joseph Smith was martyred!

Far West, a tiny town that thrived when the early Saints were forced to move there after being persecuted and also where a few sections of the Doctrine and Covenants (revelations we believe to be scriptures as well) were revealed to Joseph Smith. This includes where our church gets its name (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)

the camera added a few pounds to my face...

A reconstruction of where Joseph Smith was a prisoner for the bitter winter of MO due to accusations that were never proved. Also where he received revelation for a few more sections of D&C.

They used some of the original limestone from the jail! Thanks to some historian who took pictures of the place in the late 1800's and also felt prompted to write the exact dimensions of the jail, this is an exact replica of Liberty Jail. Crazy, eh?

Carl and I thoroughly enjoyed our time touring these sites. I really wish we could drive 5 more hours one day to go check out Nauvoo and Carthage Jail in IL and even a couple more hours to Kirtland, OH, but that will have to wait for another trip. There is so much history of the Church there and it really adds to my testimony of this Church- I am so grateful for the pain and suffering all the pioneer Saints went through so that I could have this Gospel in my life! It really has made an incredible difference in my life and definitely in Carl's too, especially since he had the opportunity to teach many individuals and families in Spain for 2 whole years. Without this church, I would never have met my sweet eternal companion and would have had some other life that I cannot even imagine. I am truly amazed at how blessed we are everyday!

Love you all and hope you have a fantastic day! I take my nursing license exam tomorrow morning and I'll be good to have this baby in 1 to 3 weeks!

If you are interested in more about my church, Mormon.org answers a lot of questions!

The Countdown Has Begun

June 11th.

Hmmmm, can it really be June already? I remember being in school thinking June would never come. and really, time seemed so slow then. Now, I have


33 days until my due date, which puts me due in 3 to 5 weeks (2 weeks if you count 37 weeks as term)


31 days until I see my mama (can't wait for you to come out here, mama!)


13 days until I take the NCLEX, which determines if I'm going to be a "Real Nurse" or not. Can I just ask that you all please pray that I don't suddenly pop in the testing center. I'll be 37 weeks at this point!


11 days until I turn 22 years old. Whoopee, I'll be sooooo comfortable in my 37 week body! Carl has presents stashed in the home somewhere, though so far, all I've discovered is the wrapping paper in the water heater closet.


9 days until Father's day (can't wait to give Carl his present. It's also currently stashed in a very secret spot)


6 days until my next doctor's appointment. We get to do fun stuff (not) like the Group B Strep test and checking to see if I've dilated or effaced any yet. Please, please, please tell me that I'll be closed up for at least another 2 weeks after that!!!


3 days until our AT&T bill cycle restrarts. Yes! Minutes are very scary right now and could use a restart...


2 days until Carl gets a break from work and we get to go to church and hopefully check out some cool historical sites nearby!


1 to 2 hours until I see Carl. Can't wait!




I feeling extremely pregnant now. I've even begun to develop a waddle. I've learned that at this point, my iliosacral joints are really beginning to loosen and stretch, causing me PAIN. and a waddle. On a brighter note, Carl took me out yesterday and we bought 2 shirts that fit me! I love Target clearances. I had been getting fairly frustrated because I now can no longer zip up any pants and all my shirts are too short. I've escaped maternity clothes this pregnancy, but maybe the next one I'll invest in some pants, skirts, shorts, shirts, and well, a whole wardrobe because while I enjoy being a penny pincher, it's not really fun to wake up each day and think, "Should I stay in my robe today, wear my black sweats, my blacks sweats, or black sweats? And should I wear the grey shirt or pink shirt, or the grey shirt or pink shirt?"


Can't wait to be holding our babe though!

I love spending money... when it's practically FREE!!!

A special thank you to...

So, I just needed to share a good deal with anyone who reads this because holy moly, I got these items for a steal!

I really never thought I would by everyday items online, but this health supply company, Medco, keeps giving out these $10 off $10 coupon codes, so how could I resist? You see, the subtotal comes to $33.25, but then I actually used 3 coupon codes on 3 separate orders, so before shipping, I paid $3.25 for all those items, and since I had to do 3 separate orders, I had to pay for individual shipping, but it was only $0.99/order! So yeah, all those items for $6.22! Wahoo!

Now, if you would like more toiletries, as you may have noticed that my orders are all everyday necessities like deodorant and soap (true, dove soap is not a necessity, but it sure smells great!), AND save $30, make 3 separate purchases on Medco.com (you'll need to create an account) as close to $10 as possible before shipping and use these codes in this order:

MHS10

TENOFF

DR10

Make sure not to include a space after the code and copy exactly the way it is typed here :) Happy savings!!!

Breakfast Options

Honestly, I considered eating this for breakfast...

but really, how could I pass this up instead?

I'll probably sorely regret this choice in a few hours when I'm curled back up in bed with a tummy ache. At least it was delicious :)

Happy day to all of you!

ps- I've had a lot of fun looking through this gal's fun craft blog: http://tearosehome.blogspot.com/