LPN Graduation

Well...  today I graduated from the LPN program.  While I'm very glad, (and happy that I finished before going into labor!), it still hasn't quite sunk in yet.  My last day of my preceptorship was Tuesday.  I didn't expect fireworks or anything, but we got to 9:00, and I kind of said to my preceptor, "Well... I have my hours in" and she filled in my evaluation and said thanks and I said thanks and then I left.  

I keep on wanting to say "I'm done!"  But it's like "I'm done with my LPN... except I still need to take boards." Or, "I'm done with school...until I start the RN program in June."  Closure is never as clean as we think it will be, is it?  I'm ok with that.  I think I often deal with things better when they just kind of... fizzle out.

Today we went into school to do some final paperwork, and then have a graduation luncheon, and it was such a special time.  The food was amazing...and the cheesecake! Fantastic.  My sweet classmates and instructors all had a card and baby gift for me.  I still don't know how all of the best people ended up in my life.  God has definitely blessed me above and beyond anything I could ask or imagine.  

So now what?  On my way home, I treated myself in true Stephanie fashion... by going to the library.  Then I came home, and the dogs were actually excited to see me.  Jynx came running, chugged a bunch of water, went outside for a few minutes, then came in and puked on our newly refinished hardwood floors.  "Congrats, Mom!" Nothing says "You're going to be a nurse (and a mom)!" like making me clean up puke.  I guess this is what I signed up for (on the nursing end...I'm still not sure I officially "signed up" for parenthood...)

Tonight, to celebrate, Tim and I are going out for a really nice dinner I'm working a 12 hour shift.  So my real celebration will be a nap this afternoon.

I'm still not quite sure what to do with myself.  Last night I kept sitting there thinking "shouldn't I be studying something, or writing a care plan, or journaling about my clinical experience?"  Nope.  None of that. 

I know what some of you are thinking. "Well, Steph, maybe you should start getting ready for that baby to come.  Throw some things in a bag for the hospital...wash some baby clothes...GET A CRIB."  Don't worry... I have comforting words for those of you that are concerned.  The nursery is painted (almost... it needs another coat), we now have a car seat (it's in a box in our living room, but what matters is that we have it), and we live 4 minutes from the hospital, so it's not that hard for Tim to run home and get things.  I figure he might want to come home and shower anyway.  Everything I REALLY need for labor is in my purse (chapstick).  They also supply a few things at the hospital (like a gown, and ice chips).  I'll get around to packing a bag...eventually...probably.

See how prepared we are? We're so good at this parenting thing...

I've been comforting myself with the statistic that first time moms with a complication-free pregnancy who are left to go into labor on their own on average go to 41.5 weeks, which would put us in mid-January.  I'm very comfortable with mid-January.  However, about two weeks ago, I started feeling crappy (nauseous, mid-back cramps) and was worried I might be in pre-labor.  I didn't want to call the doctor and have him put me on bedrest (I had clinicals to finish up!), and I started to feel better, as long as I drank gallons of water and kept my blood sugar up.  I saw the doctor for my regularly scheduled appointment on Wednesday, and asked him about these symptoms.  He said they could be contractions, then looked at my belly. "You see this right here?" he said "This is a Braxton-Hicks contraction."  Oh.  Good to know.  That's been happening a lot.  For awhile. He also said I'm far enough along that if I go into labor they won't stop me (really?  are you sure?  isn't it still early yet?) and said "Maybe you'll have a Christmas baby!"  He must not be on-call for Christmas.  I don't think he was saying I'm going to go into labor anytime soon, but it wasn't a reassuring "you've definitely got a few weeks left."  So who knows? (God knows... duh.)  We shall see.

So now I just work twice a week, do what we can to get a nursery together, and see when this kid decides to show up!  In the meantime... here's what you can do to help.

Do you have any name suggestions?  
Let's try to keep this positive.  Please don't say "Whatever you do, don't name them (blank)," because what if we really liked that name?  That makes it awkward for everybody.

As always, thanks for reading. I love you guys...

I'm still alive and Baby's still kickin'

Hi Friends!  It's been over two months since I last checked in, but I wanted to stop by and let you know we're still here.  It feels like life might start to slow down a bit, but then... we're having a baby.  So maybe not.

Here are some updates, if you're interested,

Nursing School

School is winding down!  I just have 45 hours of clinical scheduled (no more classes) before I'm done on December 11th!  Done with the LPN program, that is.  I'm not really letting myself feel like I'm "done" because I still need to take boards, then start the RN program in June.  But the break will be much appreciated!  Two weeks ago it felt like school was trying to kill me, but I've slept some sleep since then, and I'm feeling better about life.

I'm continuing to work as an nurse aide at the hospital, scheduled for 1 or 2 12 hour shifts per week, so that is good experience and reminds me of why I'm doing what I'm doing.  I work with some really great nurses.  Also, I super-appreciate how flexible they are with my school schedule.

In other news, God unexpectedly blessed me with two scholarships!  Praise God from Whom all blessings flow!

House

Egress window installation

"How's the basement coming?"  Well kids, it's coming!  We removed another wall, and had an egress window installed.  Tim is steadily working on re-arranging/ re-plumbing the maze of various ducts and pipes that are hanging from the joists.

My family, all in one place!

My whole family came a couple of weekends ago, and Dad and Tim took down two dead trees on the west side of our house, while my mom and sisters (and Sapphire) had a lovely baby shower for me.  We now have a lot more firewood...and sunlight streaming through our windows. :)  Thanks, Dad (and everybody else).

We had our hardwood floors refinished as well.  No, we did not do this ourselves!  We're not that crazy.  We're happy with the results, and preparing for the procedure to be done involved a LOT of cleaning, pitching, and re-arranging, that we're still recovering from.

Tico guarding All The Things we stored on the porch while the floors were refinished

Baby

"How are you feeling?" Pregnant.  Most of the time good, but sometimes baby likes to roll over and kick me in the diaphragm, which is not so pleasant.  Tying my shoes is quite a chore, but one I'm still able to accomplish.  

"Are you ready?" HECK NO, Techno!  Is anyone every really ready to have a baby?  But besides that, I have no bags packed for the hospital, no clothes washed for baby, and the nursery hasn't even been started.  Am I stressed about this?  It depends on the moment, but my stress is exacerbated by innocent questions from well-meaning people.  I can tell myself that everything is going to get done and be ok, but when someone asks me "so do you have the nursery all ready" and then gives me That Look when I say "Nope, we haven't even started it yet..." I tend to become filled with self-doubt and feel like I'm a mess that will never have my act together.  Which I am, but I'm ok with that... most of the time.

"Boy" votes won at the baby shower

As I said, I had an adorable baby shower in early November, and I have another one coming up in a couple of weeks, so we do have some baby essentials... they're just all stacked neatly, still in their packaging, in the dining room.

So many baby things...

Dogs

Toby has officially gone to live with Sapphire, and for the most part, things are going well.  We've been to visit him, and he's come to visit us, and we're all happy to see each other when we do.  I think Jynx misses him the most.  It looks like he's going to spend Christmas Eve with us, so that will be nice!

I think Jynx and Tico have figured out that something's going to be happening, and they're not quite sure how they feel about it.  I hope everyone gets along once Baby shows up...

Thanksgiving

Due to my work schedule, we were unable to travel for Thanksgiving, which was kind of a bummer, since we can't travel for Christmas either.  However, we were blessed to be able to celebrate with close friends, and we're still working through the piles of leftovers. It actually wound up being the most relaxing Thanksgiving weekend I can remember.  Since I was going to be working, I allowed myself to just sit and rest the day before and after my shift.  Thanks to leftovers, cooking was unnecessary.  Plus, I was way behind on sleeping, so I let myself sleep when I wanted to.

Other Happenings

Me & Lisa, after our excursion to The Moving Target

At the end of October we got away for a weekend to Chicagoland for Tim's cousin's wedding.  On the way I got to visit with Lisa, which (as always) was a much-needed, therapeutic laugh-fest.  We had a great time visiting with Tim's family as well, who were kind enough to shower us with baby gifts.

Family time! #BTTJDNMA

When we got home, my cousin Ariel and her husband Jan came to visit for a few days. (Remember when Kelly and I went to visit them in Germany?  Yeah, good times.)  They've moved to the states for now, and were finishing up a Grand Tour of the western part of the nation before settling down to real life and adulting.  Their visit was a lot of fun, and a huge blessing.  

Ariel & Jan (when they lived in Germany-- I forgot to get a picture this time around)

So now we just need to get a Christmas tree, do our Christmas shopping, send Christmas gifts, get ready for a baby (how do you even do that?!), and see when Baby decides to show up.  I'll probably do a fair amount of Christmas baking in there, too.

How are you doing?  Are you ready for what's around the corner?  Two years ago, going to England was just around the corner for me.  Last year, nursing school was just around the corner.  Now, parenthood (aka Permanent Life Change) is peeking at me from the new year.  I can't imagine what I'll be anticipating this time next year, but whatever it is, I'm sure it's God's best for me.

Checking In

Yes, I remember that a couple of weeks ago I mentioned I would maybe have a post about progress on the basement for you, and I realized that did not happen.  But here is what I would like to say about that:

• My exact words were "I may or may not have a basement update for you."  Obviously, we landed on "may not."
• The lack up an update post is not due to a lack of progress.  Ok, so things have been a little slow down there in the past couple of weeks, but we certainly have made progress since the last update you received. 
• After some aggressive drilling, the tendons in Tim's wrist have needed a bit of recovery time before progress continues. 

In case you're interested, here's what is happening around here.

As usual, the dogs continue to be dogburts.

I love it when she sleeps with her tongue out like this.  I have no idea why she does it.

Yes, that is Jynx resting her head on Tico's back.  You can't explain that!

I told the dogs this blanket was for people and not dogs and moved it to the people-only couch.  And hour later, this is what I find. (Can you find the Toby?)

We put the cushions up to keep them off the furniture. Obviously, it's super-effective.

This is where we have family time... in the basement.  Tim plays xbox while I study and the dogs do this. There is usually some snoring involved.

Toby with a blanky. Isn't he cute?

Speaking of things that are supposed to happen that haven't happened yet... Toby is still living with us.  He has not yet made the move to Sapphire's house.  I know what you're thinking, and it's not true... this is NOT due to my inability to emotionally let go of him.  That hasn't even been tested yet.  The issue is that Sapphire recently acquired another pet of the feline variety, and there are still adjustments that need to be made between the new pet and the current canine population in her new abode.  So we'll wait for things to settle down before we sent sweet Toby into the fray.  In the meantime, he continues to give ALL the licks.

This week my sanity will truly be tested as I have 3 days of clinicals and 2 days of class, with a test in each class.  Please say a prayer for me.  As I told my mom, this is kind of the "hump" of my semester (I hope)...if I can get through this week, the rest of it shouldn't be this bad.  God reminded me in my quiet time today that in my weakness is when I am closest to Him. (Can I get an amen?)  Already He is answering prayers, because I was supposed to work tonight, and I got put on call.  I really couldn't be more grateful, especially since it's a full moon, and I was unsuccessful in my napping endeavors this afternoon.

How are you doing? Are you losing your mind, too, or is it just me?

Pregnancy FAQ's

This will probably be one of the more boring posts that I write, but when you tell people you're pregnant, they have a lot of questions.  I've tried to answer/evade most questions as they come up in face-to-face conversation, but sadly I don't have the luxury of face-to-face conversations with many of you other than maybe once a year.  So if you're wanting to know the answers to these questions, here they are.  If you really don't care, tune in next week, where I may or may not have a basement update for you (yeah...remember that project?  It's still happening, and probably will be for the next 15 years).

14 weeks, obviously not really showing.  Let's consider this "baseline."

Q: So how far along are you? When are you due?
A: I am currently 23 weeks along... I think. Yes.  Yes I am.  I just checked my email from Baby Center for this week, and it tells me I'm 23 weeks along.  As for due dates, they really are a range of 4 weeks anyway, so we'll go with late December to early January. Or mid January.  Who knows.  If I get the baby I deserve, it will take it's sweet old time coming out.

Q: Can you feel the baby moving yet? Can Tim?
A: Yes.  Yes I can.  A lot.  It's already preparing to be on Dancing with the Stars.  And yes, Tim has felt it.

Q: How are you feeling?
A: For the most part, my honest answer would be "pretty much the same as I did the last time you saw me and you didn't know I was pregnant."  For the most part, I've really not felt a lot of pregnancy symptoms.  I haven't thrown up once.  I don't have aversions to smells, other than the smells most people have aversions too like vomit and diarrhea. In fact, it was very hard to believe that I was pregnant, because I really didn't feel pregnant at all.  I'm starting to feel more pregnant now, though: hot (temperature, not sex appeal) and fat, with a hint of abdominal discomfort. Sometimes a lot of abdominal discomfort.  Oh yeah... and I can feel a person moving inside of me...

Q: When do you find out if you're having a boy or girl?
A: In late December or early January.

Q: Did you plan it/ you planned it, right? Were you trying/ you were trying, right? Was it a surprise?
A: This is definitely a question that falls under the should not be asked category.  Pro tip: if you don't know where are couple was with family planning before their pregnancy announcement, it is none of your business and they don't wish to discuss it with you, so don't ask.  Also, please don't worry that you have offended me if you asked this question...I am not offended.  Just don't ask again.

Q: Are you going to take weekly belly pictures?
A: No.  My list of "things I can't keep up with right now" is already long enough, and arguably it contains more important things.  Like trimming my nails and spending time with friends.  Not that I judge anyone else for their weekly belly pictures.

Q: What do the dogs think?
A: I don't think they know I'm pregnant, even though we talk to them about "when the baby comes."  They just look at me like "Baby? What do you mean baby?  We are you babies."  Toby is going to live with Sapphire soon, so we will only have two dogs when baby arrives.  I think that they will love the baby, my concern is actually that they will be overly protective of the baby.  Anyone with knowledge about how to make this transition, please share!

Q: So...what about nursing school?
A: I finish my LPN December 11, so that leaves a good buffer, even if Baby Taylor does come earlier than expected.  The RN program doesn't start until June, and by then the baby will we walking, talking, and able to feed and take care of itself, right? I won't even need childcare.  I jest.  At this time the plan is to start the RN program, but we will see how things go and how God leads.

Q: Have you started decorating the nursery yet?
A: No.

Q: Have you made a baby registry yet?
A: No.

Q: Have you started picking out names yet?
A: No.

I think that's the bulk of the questions I get asked.  What questions did you get asked when you announced you were pregnant?

So...that happened

Well friends, summer has come and gone.  I started back to school this week, there is a distinct coolness in the air, and I'm ready for apples and all things pumpkin.  It's been a good summer, but it's been a whirlwind.  I didn't mean to take the summer off from blogging, but... things happen.  Let's catch up a bit, shall we?

Summer "started" the last week of May with a trip to Hilton Head with my family.  We stayed in a house in Sea Pines, rode bikes, went to the beach, enjoyed our private pool, played games, got sunburned, read books, and cooked and ate and cooked and ate and cooked at ate.  So. Much. Food.  Long story short: it was good times, and I want to go back.

We also took some breezy family photos on the beach in which we aren't sure when to smile because the camera was on a timer so we look fake and posed.  So that happened.

Weekly Meditations: Psalm 18:30

"As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless.  He is a shield for all who take refuge in him." 

Psalm 18:30

Happenings

Hey Kids!  I figured I would stop in for a little, hello-how-you-doing-I-can't-hear-you-cause-this-is-a-blog-so-I'll-only-talk-about-me. (NOTE: I actually could hear you, if you would leave a comment.  Then this conversation wouldn't be so one-sided and therefore boring.  Just sayin'...)

There are lots of things going on!  I finished my first semester of nursing school, and I passed all my classes.  This means I'm MOVING ON!  Yay!  One semester down, 5 to go...  My clinicals for this semester were at a nursing home.  We were each assigned a patient to do the nursing cares for during the week we were there, and I got THE BEST patient.  And no, I'm no biased. Everyone in my group told me that, even my instructor.  It was all a very positive experience and I loved it!  Yay nursing!

I am now working as many hours as possible which feels like a lot, but is still considerably less than 40.  However, shortly I will be working NONE of the hours because I will be out of town.  Where am I going?  I'm so glad you asked.

First, we're meeting up with my siblings and parents in Hilton Head Island, SC.  The vacation destination of my childhood.  Also... my happy place.  It will be beyond fantastic.  There will be swimming and beaching and game winning playing and ALL the good food.  I heard a rumor it might even rain tacos one night we're there.  If that's not exciting, I don't know what it.

Weekly Meditations: I John 1:5-7

"This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.  If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.  But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin."

I John 1:5-7

Weekly Meditations: Colossians 3:23

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men" 

Colossians 3:23

National Sibling Day

Hello Friends!  Long time no see. If I were here to apologize I would be offering you all kinds of excuses such as nursing school, work, nursing school, dogs, nursing school, husband, nursing school, and (of course) Dancing with the Stars.  But I don't need to apologize, so I won't.  Thank you for understanding.

The real reason I have gathered you here today is that apparently, it is National Sibling Day.  I don't know if that's true or not, but if social media can be trusted, it absolutely is.  And social media can always be trusted, amIright?

I figured I would take this opportunity to give a bit of a shout-out to my sibs.

Weekly Meditations: Romans 5:8

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." 

Romans 5:8

Weekly Meditations: I John 4:19

"We love because He first loved us." 

I John 4:19

I DON'T miss...

Hello Friends!  I'm on spring break this week, so life's a little slower and I have more time to drink tea and think.  Not surprisingly, thinking causes England to be on my mind quite a bit.  One year ago I was there. 

In fact, I have some very specific memories of this day one year ago that I could share, but I would be boring you with detail and telling a story that's not really that funny, and scaring you with how much I remember.  I remember a lot, guys.  A lot.

Weekly Meditations: Psalm 86:15

"But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and abounding in love and faithfulness." 

Psalm 86:15

Weekly Meditations: Isaiah 26:3

"You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you." Isaiah 26:3

Weekly Meditations: Isaiah 30:15

Is it just me, or do you often find yourself lost in your own mind and thoughts?  Sometimes that's ok for me, but my mind can become a scary place.  Remember how we used to do those weekly meditations?  (It's been awhile, I know.) Well kids, I'm bringing them back!  Here's our meditation for this week:

"This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says:

'In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.'"

Isaiah 30:15

Life According to my Phone

Hi Friends!  How's life?  Does it feel like nothing in particular is happening, yet everything is happening at once?  Me too.

This was my schedule last week

FAQ's: Nursing School and a Basement Update

Hi Kids!  How's it going?  I don't get to talk to you very often, but when I do, there are some questions that keep coming up, so I thought I would address them here.

First up: the basement.

Q: How is the basement coming?

14 Things I Learned in 2014

About a year ago, I was hosting January Bunco club.  The girls were asking how I was adjusting to the change of leaving my job for 6 years.  I think I was saying something about how it still hadn't really sunk in yet, and my (always wise) friend, Kari, said "Yes, well you are going to be having a lot of changes this year."  Yep.  I remembered her words many, many times in the next 12 months.  It was rough.  There were a lot of changes.  And I don't like changes.  Also worth noting: it was awesome.