Finally, the weekend!

I hope everyone had a great week of work, whatever that may entail for you! This week went by fairly quickly for me, thankfully. I will always welcome those kinds of work weeks.  I found myself feeling a lot less energized this week, thus the reason no post for a while.  My sleep at night has been nothing to brag about for sure.  For some reason, the restlessness has already settled in.....isn't it a little early for that? Especially since I don't have a big belly to be contending with?! I guess this is just the beginning, right?  And not to mention the frequent trips to the bathroom in the middle of the night. Oh well, it's all worth it!  Anywho.....I've had many of you ask how the new job is going so I'm going to talk a little bit about that.  I LOVE it! It's a completely different pace from bedside/floor nursing, especially when you're talking about L&D at MoBap.  Ever since I worked in a Dr's office my Sr year of high school, I have eventually wanted my career to land me in an office, and here I am! I enjoy the "office" part of being a nurse, whether it be filing paperwork, calling patient's with their lab results, answering patient questions (some very legit and some quite hilarious), etc.  These are all things I have been placed in charge of thus far at my new job, and I am enjoying it! I am still working PRN at the hospital, bc there's that part of me that LOVES being apart of the delivery and taking care of mom/baby.  It's hard to let go of something that you've done for 5 years, especially when you enjoy it.  However, working 6 days a week some weeks is quite exhausting.  Espeically knowing that the 6th day is a 12 hour shift.  I experienced this last week, which could be why my energy level was at a ZERO all week! My bank account loves it, but my body sure doesn't :-) Another perk about working both places is that I will hopefully be able to take care of one of our office patients when it's time for her delivery.  I love that "follow through" and seeing someone from the beginning to the end! But that probably means nothing to any of you, so I'll stop now :-)

As far as this weeks adventures, I spent a lot of time doing some searching for fabric for the nursery. www.fabric.com I have conned my mom into making the crib bedding, so Ive been trying to figure out colors, patterns, etc.  Not knowing the gender makes it a little more, okay.... alot more difficult to pick out colors. What I think is neutral and what Chris thinks is neutral are slightly different.  And I'm a visual person, so I have to see something in person in order to see it in my head...does that make sense? Unfortunately, I can't just thinking something up in my head and then produce it.  Basically, I'm a huge copy-cat, but that's just how I've always been.  Thankfully, Pinterest was invented and has been my lifesaver when it comes to getting ideas, etc.  I'd love to meet the person that founded Pinterest!!! My hero for sure :-)  Back to the copy-cat thing, I'm hoping that I can find a couple things that I like and put my own twist on it.  And luckily my mom is quite creative as well!  Her poor little hands are gonna be tired by the end of all this, but she said she's ready so we shall see.  I'm not sure she even knows what she's getting herself into!  I suppose grandparents will do just about anything for the grandkids though, especially when it's the 1st one.  I am definitely blessed to have such a talented mom.  Anytime I come across something that I like, I either take a picture of it or save it into a file on my computer, bc why spend a lot of money buying something that I know my mom can make for me.  She's been taking plenty of pictures herself as well!  So, eventually over the next couple of months we will decide on colors/patterns and have all of that squared away.  It seems quite overwhelming, so I'm trying to tackle one thing at a time.  Maybe I should make a list.....hmm I LOVE lists and checking things off.  Being OCD comes in handy most of the time!

On a different note, this year I decided that along with reading my Bible I would read a daily devotional as well.  I use the YouVersion app on my phone for my Bible reading program and the devotional program.  I chose Rick Warren for my daily devotional and I have been so encouraged!  His daily readings are very challenging and applicable and he also accompanies each reading with at least 1 scripture to go along with it.  It's been great for me!  I challenge you that if you don't already have one that you read on a daily basis to find one.  I also have one of Joyce Meyers devotional books, "Battlefield of the Mind" and I like that one too.  There's plenty of them out there! 

I can't believe I've made it this far without mentioning how much I enjoy a relaxing Saturday!!! I got to sleep in til 8:30 today, got up and had some breakfast, relaxed for a few minutes and then started on a few things around the house.  Washed some dishes, made the bed, put some laundry away and started another load, and then I started on my Taco Soup for this afternoon.  Today we are having a fish fry at my parents house......and I don't do the seafood thing, so I am making soup :-) It's smelling delicious by the way! Oh, and I got to cook it in my new dutch oven!! So while that was simmering I decided to grab my cup of coffee and sit on the couch and blog to catch yall up :-) Quite relaxing!  This is my kind of Saturday!  I had all intentions of getting out this morning to go shopping for some maternity clothes, but it's just so cold out there and way too comfy in my house.  So, I'm thinking after the festivities at my parents house I may try to hit up a few stores.  I'll try to take some pictures today and maybe post them later....I'm still trying to get used to this whole "blogging thing" and get into the swing of things.  I know for me I always enjoy looking at pics on the blogs that I follow, so I'll try to do the same!

p.s. I am SO ready to go back to the beach and to be that tan again :-) Just a few more months!!

Productive evening = happy me

Whew! I feel like I have gone non-stop since I got home from work at 5:30.  And that's probably because I have.  I decided this morning that I would put a pork roast in the crockpot for dinner tonight.  I found a new recipe for "apricot glazed slow cooker pork roast" on Campbell's website.  It was actually pretty good! http://www.campbellkitchen.com/RecipeDetail.aspx?recipeId=25213&ref=%2fSearchRecipesResult.aspx%3fq%3dslow%2bcooker%26filter%3ding.Pork..... there's the link if you'd like to try it :-) So, when I got home dinner was all ready to go.  Can I just throw in here how much I LOVE my crockpot?!?!! I should really use it more often.  And not to mention, Chris had the day off so he was able to prepare the side dishes that went along with the meat.....he's the greatest! Okay, so back to my evening.  So, we ate and then I showered so that I could get into my comfy clothes, aka my pjs.  While in the shower, my mind was going 90 to nothing of all the stuff I needed/wanted to get done this evening.  My first priority after my shower was to get the dishes cleaned up from dinner.  How I long to some day have a dishwasher, but until then it's either myself or Chris.  So, we did it together to make it go faster :-) Oh, and I forgot to mention that while Chris was off today he did some laundry.....he really is super husband!  So, while I finished up in the kitchen he started folding the laundry.  By the time I finished, the clothes were ready to be put away so I did that.  And then I got the "energy" to FINALLY take our Christmas tree down and the few decorations that we had up.  Can I just say that I love my Christmas tree and the way it lights up my living room! This year we didnt have to rearrange any furniture in order to put it up, we just kinda put it in an empty spot.  All the more reason for me to want to keep it up.....because it wasn't "in the way" of any normal furniture.  So, clearly it took a lot of convincing to myself, since it's January 10th, to take it down.  I must admit, the living room looks bigger once again, but just not as cheery :-/  Okay, so back to my productiveness. As if that wasn't enough, then I decided to vacuum the living room, dust the entire house, and clean all the mirrors.  I am attempting to follow the "clean & organized challenge" by cleanmama, one of the bloggers I follow, found here (http://www.cleanmama.blogspot.com/).  Each day you choose 1 chore to tackle, but by the end of the week you have a clean and organized house without making it an all day event.  I have really enjoyed reading her blog because I am all about having a clean house and organizing!!! So, once I finished those "chores", I decided to update our Mint budget.  I started using Mint.com last January, but kinda got away from it these last couple months.  So, I decided I wanted to try it again because we found it very helpful last year and easy to use.  I had some updating to do, and still have a little more but for the most part I got it back on track and ready to use, so I'm excited!  Especially with the baby coming, I want to be able to save every little penny that's extra, and I know this will help.  So, as you see....well okay read....this has been quite the productive evening.  And what better way to end it than by writing on my blog and sharing it with you.  Although you're probably bored to tears and ready for bed, if not already asleep :-)  Now, I think I shall read my Bible and call it a night!  

This pic is just for fun....it's my "15 week belly bump"

 

Busy, busy

I promise I didn't forget that I started a blog, it's just been one crazy week! Long story short, I was admitted to the hospital Wednesday evening for some heart issues. They kept me overnight so they could monitor me, and Thursday morning the Cardiologist came to see me and they did an EKG and an ECHO of my heart. All the test results came back normal (thank God), so I got to go home Thursday afternoon. Needless to say, I was definitely more worried about the baby than I was myself. But thankfully baby turned out to be just fine as well :-) Speaking of baby......IT is a little over 4.5 inches this week and about the size of an avocado. I feel as though my stomach tells a different story, but I guess that's just me trying to get used to having a belly. I had some pictures taken at the OB office I work at.....oh the awesome perks of my job..... On Friday (16 wks 2 days old). My little youngin is quite the acrobat! Chin was to the chest and knee was hitting the nose!! Try that position and let me know how it works out for ya :-) The detail that the ultrasound shows is simply amazing!! One of the pics that I'll be sharing you can see it's little legs are crossed at the ankles with a little hand at the bottom of the screen....SO cute!! I just love my little youngin so much already :-) Many of y'all have asked when we find out what we are having.......so about that. As of now, Chris and I have decided that we want it to be a surprise! I have wanted that all along and it took a little convincing on Chris' part, but I think he's finally come around. This is not a 100% decision, but it is our current plan. However, my "big ultrasound" is scheduled for the end of January, so we have until then to change our minds. As a labor and delivery nurse, I have found that those are the most exciting deliveries to be apart of!!! Tears are always a guarantee bc of the surprise :-) As if I'll need another reason to cry! Well, this lil momma is tired so I'm going to call it a night . I hope everyone's having a wonderful weekend!!

the New Year

With each New Year,  new resolutions are written down, new habits are formed,new dreams are thought of, new opportunities are presented, and the list could go on and on.  And I think I'm seeing a theme..."new"!  Well, as part of my New Years "changes", I have decided to start a blog.  This has been a huge desire of mine for the past 6 months or so, but I just never "braved" up and did it.  So, what better time than now with all the changes and fresh starts.  This whole writing thing is definitely taking me out of my comfort zone, but I suppose that's good for me, right?! Most of y'all reading this will already know many things about me, but in case we have some "visitors", I want to share a little bit about me and my "Young World". 

My world basically consists around my husband, church, and work.  So, now a little bit about each: I have been married now to my best friend, Chris for 5 years!!! 5 years....can you believe it?! Time really does go by SO fast!  Chris is from North Carolina originally, and we met here in St.Louis (where I was born and raised) when he came here for college.  And, thankfully I've managed to keep him here since :-)  Our lives together have had many ups and downs, but through it all we have used those times to draw closer and to learn more about each other.  Never in a million years did I think we would have to face some of the challenges that we have in the last 5 years, but God has NEVER failed us once!! When we said our vows to each other on our wedding day, December 29th, 2006, we both meant each word! So, it's always been just the two of us, well and our sweet little cocker spaniel Zoe, for the last 5 years, but not for long.  In June of this year, we will be adding a "little Youngin'" to our family, and we couldn't be happier! It's amazing to me to think that I'm "growing a human being", but that's pretty much what's happening..hah!  It's truly a miracle and a gift from God! Enough about us, and I promise to keep you posted on the pregnancy updates throughout the next few months.  I have been blessed to be apart of the APC family, aka my church family, for my entire life.  My dad is the greatest Pastor/Leader anyone could ever want/have.  As part of my New Years changes, my desire is to grow deeper in God and to develop a greater relationship with Him.  We want our lives, as individuals and as a couple, to be centered around God and His will!  As for my work, I am a Registered Nurse, and have been for 4 years now...wow! Once again, time flies.  I knew going into my nursing career that I wanted to work in Labor and Delivery, so that's what I do and have done for 4+years.  I started out at Barnes Jewish Hospital where I learned and experienced SO much more than I could have ever imagined.  Some good, some bad, but all of it is what helped to make me the nurse that I am today, so I am grateful.  Looking back on some of the situations, I know that God had me there at that particular moment for a very special reason.  There were many drives home that I would cry, cry, cry because of what I had witnessed that work day, but God always managed to wrap His loving arms around me and give me the peace that I needed to go on.  There were many times I told myself that I couldn't go back, or I would ask myself why in the world I chose this profession......but somehow, someway God has given me the strength and courage to do what I do.  I think the best way to describe my job as an L&D nurse is that it's the best and worst job all wrapped into one.  And in the most sincerest way, I do believe that God equips special people to do our job, and for some reason He chose ME! Along the way, I transferred to Missouri Baptist to work on their Labor and Delivery unit.  I still currently work there PRN, but just recently God blessed me with a new job.  One I like to best describe as having "normal people hours".  I currently work in a Perinatologists office, which is a fancy word for a High Risk Obstetrician with lots of additional qualifications, etc.  I have always enjoyed the office setting and the hours that come along with it. Oh, and not to mention the fact that I'm off today because of the holiday..woohoo! My hopes are that I will gain a lot of knowledge and experience in the office setting, which will help to prepare me for my desired adventure of becoming a Nurse Practitioner.  Speaking of, I have applied to Graduate School and will hopefully hear some good news in the next few months of when I will begin that journey.

2011 was full of many changes, and looking back I am truly amazed at how awesome God is.  He had His hand on each and every decision and path that we took.  I have high hopes for 2012, as I know it will bring MANY changes as well!