8 weeks 'til D-Day.

Scary to think that I only have 8 weeks (I'm 32 weeks tomorrow) until my official due date! We don't have anything ready this time. I mean anything. Names, outfits, bassinet, who will watch Ezra if I go into labor before 4/4/2012 (when my mama comes!), newborn diapers... yeah, nothing. I actually don't feel worried, but at the same time, we really need to pull things together haha. It's also amazing how little time we spend planning for something this life changing when we have a little guy already- last pregnancy, I went to school, gradutated, and then studied for the NCLEX... but any "down time" Carl and I had, we would talk about plans for Ezra's arrival. Oh well. It'll all work out- it always does :)

I'll be preparing a blog post soon with a contest regarding Babe #2's d-day and gender... exciting stuff!

look closely. he has a waterfall under his nose.

This poor guy has been battling a cold, possible ear infection (again), and possible teething (also again). I stayed home with him today instead of going to church because he was so miserable this morning. Poor babe. Doesn't he look so pitiful?

So out of it...

My first week of work was highly uneventful for the most part since it was all classroom lectures. However, I did get to go into the ER one day to shadow a tech. In that time, I saw a person come in after overdosing by swallowing a transdermal narcotic patch, a few chest pain complaints, lots of UTIs and bowel issues, and a few colds. Fairly eventful and I'm excited to actually do more nurse-related things this week!

Carl is doing well- he has been working hard on his hardcore juicing cleanse/diet. His hardwork is showing too! He has lost 7 lbs since he started about 15 days ago! Here are the posts if you're interested in reading about his progress: http://harmonizedlaughter.blogspot.com/search?q=juicing


Hope everyone is doing well and avoiding the illness monster!

She works hard for her money.

I started work today and it wasn't too bad, somewhat boring. Mostly because we sat on our butts watching slideshows and videos, but still, not bad. I find that I get a lot of mixed reactions from people when they hear I'm working. It's either a "yay! so glad you can work where you want to!" or a "oh, I'm sorry. I would hate to be away from my kids that long. Is there anything you need?" I think the latter response is the more common one, but I know that it comes from good intentions. I agree, it is hard to choose to be away from Ezra, but I chose to go into a field that is more than a "back-up" degree. A nursing career does not have a very long shelf life when not working/volunteering/going to school. It requires experience not only to be useful, but to often keep a license active (I think many of my nurse friends and family who are also moms will really "get" what I mean). Nonetheless, I love that I'm a nurse and look forward to the experience I'll be gaining in the ER!

Carl and Ezra went to the allergy appointment and it was very uneventful and really not needed to be honest. Ezra didn't have to get poked (yay!) and the doctors basically just said to watch his allergy. Whyyyyy did the pediatrician have us go to an allergist for something this mild?! Ok. Anyway, the good news is that he will probably overcome his allergies (minus the amoxycillin allergy) in the next year or so. For now, we will be on the watch and continue to carry epi pens.

Glad to be home with the family this evening, back to the grind tomorrow!




Oh, and if it seems like I'm not as active on Facebook anymore, it's because I'm not. I deleted the app off my phone so I wouldn't be so tempted to check it so often. 2-3 min each check really adds up the hours of waste each week! I also deleted the pinterest app. I did sign up for instagram... but so far I'm only following my sister and her fiance haha. It's time to stop letting social networks take up too much time in my life!

A jumble of thoughts

I used to think "preggo brain" was a fake symptom. Maybe more of an excuse. I'm sorry if that is offensive, but it just seemed fake.

Until this pregnancy. I swear, I have said to Carl or myself "what was I doing again?" or "why am I looking in here?" more than I can even come close to counting. Or those random spurts of forgetfulness where I have somewhere to go and I have reminders on my phone and paper calendar and I still manage to not remember until I look at the clock, ask myself "am I supposed to do something right now?" and then frantically scramble out the door. It must be karma for having it too easy the first time.

I have been blogging up a storm on my crafty blog lately! It's been fun. I hope to add a few more crafty projects on top of the tasty experiments. And hopefully some interesting nursing experiences in the ER!

Speaking of ER, I start orientation in a little over a week! It's all classroom lectures the first week, but I am still so excited! Also very nervous for once I'm in the ER... what if someone codes?! And I'm still bummed about orientation being during the day- I'll miss my boys too much! But the rest will be nice :)

Ezra has been booming since my last update about him- he says a lot more words now and will try to repeat more often! He is so funny! He loves to tickle me or pretend to give me a toy car only to take it away quickly and cackle mischieviously as he runs off, convincing me that my only option is to chase after him. He also loves to give out kisses to us every night (usually. sometimes a bad mood will deny us kisses) and I like to demand kisses and hugs during the day because they are so sweet- this is usually 50/50. He'll firmly tell me NO if I ask too frequently.

Anyway, it is bedtime for the parents now, so enjoy my thoughts and the pictures below:

he automatically does the "cheeser" face for pictures now. I can hardly ever record a video without him holding this face for the first 10 seconds haha

I can't tell who he looks like more! Anyway, we thought this outfit was hilarious. We deemed him the country hunting bumpkin. His crocs are even camo!

a little blurry, but still handsome :)

crazy hair day!

If you ever need to buy toddler/kids shoes, payless shoes are the way to go. So cheap and great quality!

EEEE ARRRRRRR

The title is pronounced "E" "R" which is announcing that I just got a job in the ER! Woohoo I am excited. It'll be a challenge, but so exciting and rewarding. Have I ever mentioned how grateful we are for my nursing degree? It has been a blessing in our family, especially in the last year!

Another announcement, Ezra's tree nut allergy panel results came back. This kid has a peanut, cashew, and almond allergy. Blah! I never thought he would be an allergy kid. So I scheduled an appointment with the referred allergist for more testing. Sigh. I hate that he will be poked and prodded and not know why.

While driving around today, Carl stepped into a Jimmy Johns. He came back smelling like a sandwich, so I told him he smelled so good I could take bite of him. I must be pregnant because I'm pretty sure there is nothing tremendously sexy about smelling like a toasted turkey sandwich.

It's been lightly dusting the last 8 hours. Welcome, winter.


Life is good :)

Just for old time sakes :) This was taken almost a year ago. I could nibble up those little fat rolls on his arms!

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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!