Sleepy nurse.

Today, working graves got the best of me. Today the sun was shining and the birds were chirping and I wanted to be out of our basement apartment. So, after Caden made us some bomb-diggity breakfast, we went to a few stores and did some things outside of our house. Normally, when I work graves, I sleep until about 1pm and then get ready for work so I don't waste a ton of energy before my twelve hour shift.

Not today.

Today I woke up at 10:00 and ran to a bunch of different stores and did some things and by the time I got to work, i was ready for a big fat nap. My body can't do what it used to be able to do, and I get tired with the simplest of things. Hazel is requiring a lot of energy to grow all those baby parts she needs.

So now I sit at work and hope and pray that my patients all sleep lovely through the night so I can rest my little body. Three more hours and counting...

Blog Friends.

Dear Chloe and Jessica,

You guys suck at blogging.

That's all.

Ketchup. Catsup. Catchup.

It's been a hot minute.

I always have seriously good intentions of posting regularly, but I just don't do it.  Then, weeks pass by and before I know it it's been almost three months since my last post.  Then, I start kicking myself wishing I had posted about all the cool and neat stuff that happened while it was fresh on my brain instead of having to pull those memories out of the archive.

 

Let's start with the obvious things--baby Hazel.   

We found out she is a girl and we named her Hazel.  Which, is the cutest most best name in all the land.  Caden and I were laying in bed one night trying to come up with something awesome.  We were both going through apps on our phone to find something that stuck out to us.  Caden suggested Hazel.  We pondered for a minute, I said it out loud a few times, and then I got teary eyed and said "Yep! Hazel!"  And I cried a little, because crying is what I do best these days, and I said "Did we just pick our babies name?"  And Caden said "Yep, we did."   And it was decided.       My family thinks its an old-lady-maid name, but I told them they would grow to love it.  After a few weeks, they have.  I'm always right.  

 

She just started kicking this week.  I was working one night and drank a coca-cola.  Apparently she's a big fan of the caffeine because she kicked me almost instantly.   I thougth to myself "what the heck was that?"  And then I remembered there is a baby in there and it was probably her kicking around.   She only did it that one time so I talked myself out of it, thinking maybe it was just awesome gas pains.   Then, the next day she did it a couple more times.  And then the next day a few more times.  And now she kicks me quite a bit and it's the neatest thing in all the land.  It's such a comforting reminder that she is in there and she's happy and she's swimming and she's loving it.   She's a happy babe, which I think is pretty dang cool.

 

School has been rough being pregnant.  Not that it's hard, but I just lack some serious motivation.   I only attend on-campus class twice a month, the rest is online.  However, those twice-a-month days are a real drag.  I strongly dislike mornings now that I work nights and trying to roll myself out of bed at 0700 to put on some makeup and brush my teeth is a definite struggle.   However, school is winding down and both Caden and I graudate in April.   Hellelujah!   I'm sure I'll be a big basket case that day, emotional and happy and excited and tired all at once.   I have been going to school since 2005 and changed my major a few dozen times, so to finally be done and accomplished in something is a great feeling.   And, to be graduating with my sweet husband while carrying our baby is just the icing on the cake.   Life is good.

 

Caden isn't quite done with school, however.  He has been applying to grad school and we have been waiting to hear from them in hopes of some good news.  He wants to get his PhD in Microbiology and do some form of research with virus's or bugs.  He hopes to work in the lab and find some unknown disease and cure it to make millions.   That's my boy.   Luckily, he doesn't want to go out of state and has only applied to Utah schools.  [I don't think I could handle raising a baby outside of Utah without our families to lean on.]   If Caden doesn't get into grad school, he hopes to get a job working near the U of U doing research in a labratory.   Whatever he does though, he will be great at it.  Caden has a good attitude about everything he does and that boy is wicked smart.  Hope Hazel gets those genes.  

 

Work has been a big thumbs up.  I only work 2 days a week and I've been working the graveyard shift.  Everyone groans when I tell them that, but I truly love the nights.  It's much less chaotic and it's so quiet and peaceful.  I enjoy making my patients comfortable, tucking them in and then letting them sleep for the next 12 hours.   It's super great.  Plus, Caden is a big night owl so he usually stays up pretty late while I work and then we sleep in together the next day.   The Hall family is pretty famous for staying up late and sleeping in late, which works great for graveyard shfit.   I've grown to love the nights and strongly dislike the mornings, much different then my own family.   I am starting to feel real comfortable as a nurse and am thinking I'm ready for a change of scenery soon.  I have to stay on the Orthopedic unit until November, because they paid for my education, but as soon as that time is up I think I might give homecare and hospice a whirl.   Always up for new opportunities, eh? 

 

Everything else is pretty stellar.  My family is doing awesome.   My mom is dating a neat guy and I truly like him a lot.  He treats her right and they have so much in common.  Cass and Lace are working on being married in Washington sometime in the near future and I couldn't be more stoked for them.  I love when people in love, especially when those people are part of my own family.  Candie is living the single life and being awesome at it.   She's got her own place, own car, own job, own money and she's rocking it.  Her kids and growing up quick and everyone is so excited for the baby.   Caden's family is all doing awesome, as well.  Curtis started a new job and thinks it is going to do really well for him.  Sue is rocking it at Jet Blue and earning those reward points so we can all fly to DisneyLand as soon as the babe is born.  Sadie is starting to date and grow into a gor-ge-ous girl with boys left and right, so many it's hard to keep up.  Chrish just put in his papers for his mission call and he's learning how to be a good missionary by attending the temple and being awesome.  

 

Things are pretty dang stellar.  Pretty dang.

 

I wish that this post wasn't so long and I wish that it wasn't so vague.

I wish I was better at posting.

I wish I was eating a Zupa salad.

I wish I wasn't at work.

I wish Caden was snuggling with me.

I wish I had a foot massager on my feet right this moment.

 

Life is good.

I'm a happy girl.

and that's all.

 

 

 

Callie Carter Hall

Registered NurseJoint and Spine

Hobbies and Adventures.

Well, I've decided I need a hobby.

Before I met Caden, my hobbies included snowboarding and drinking/partying.   Well, I no longer drink or party and I can no longer snowboard because of the little babe.   

I love love love spending time with Caden, but he has hobbies that I don't have.   He loves to play Magic and he has a very close group of guy friends that spend a lot of time together.    When he is gone, I used to watch movies or clean the house.    Which made me totally content and happy.

...and then I realized that is completely lame and I need to do something better with my time.

So, here is to finding new hobbies.

Maybe a sewing class.
Maybe baby-yoga.
Maybe swimming.

I need something to keep me out of the house, off the couch and busy when Cade is magic-n-it-up.

Here is to new adventures.

Graveyard Ramble.

It's 1am and I'm working.

...kinda.

 

I'm getting paid to read my Nook and blog while my patients sleep restfully in their beds.   I definitely wish I was sleeping restfully in my bed.  Wonder how mad they would be if I snuggled up at the foot of their bed.   Crossing the line of "healing touch"?   Probably.

 

Last night I worked during the snow storm.  [For those of you who don't live in Utah, yesterday was a pretty hefty snow storm.] I have no idea how much snow we got, but if I were to guess, I would say about a foot in 12 hours.   Not an exaggeration.    As I was driving to work, I got stuck on a hill with 8 other cars trying to make it up the hill with me.  No one was going anywhere.  Trucks and cars with 4 wheel drive were weaving in-between those of us who had little tiny cars.   I called work and told them I was stuck.  They told me to get here when I could, so I rolled in two hours later thanks to the help of my friend.   Phew.     What a mess.

 

After working all night, I decided it would be best if I went to my Mom's house and slept there instead of try to make it all the way home and then all the way back again tonight for another shift.  So, I slept in my Mom's bed while she took care of her daycare upstairs.    Her bed is the most wonderful and glorious bed I have ever slept on.   We have the same mattress, but for some reason, her bed feels like I'm sleeping on clouds covered in glitter.   It's magnificent.    However, I slept only 7 hours instead of my usual 10 hours.  So, I'm a sleepy bear this evening.   

 

Working a grave when I'm sleepy is my least favorite thing.   I tuck my patients into bed, get them comfortable, secretly wish I was in the bed instead, and then I check on them every hour and watch them sleep peacefully in bed while I stay awake all hours of the night.   Now, don't get me wrong, it's the best job in all the land.   However, not my favorite when I'm sleepy and pregnant and miss my husband.   Not my favorite.

 

So, I blog to pass the time.    And, if you want to text me to keep me awake, please do so.  

Greatly appreciated,

 

Sleepy, tired, preggy Callie.

Baby Hall at 13 weeks.

Here is little baby Hall.   [This is my most favorite picture as of now.]  We had another ultrasound yesterday and our doctor is 99% sure baby is a girl.   How can he be so sure at only 13 weeks though, so I'm trying not to get too excited.  I've only painted the entire house pink.    ...kidding.     She is a little thumb sucker though, which I think is way too adorable.    Melts my little heart.

We decided to participate in a new Mom study.  They are hoping to find early signs of pregnancy complications and need mom's who have never been pregnant before to be a part of the study.  Caden loves research and we get 3 free ultrasounds, so we said yes.   This little picture was taken by the ultrasound technician at the study.  She was such a nice lady and explained each part of our babe, plus showed us the placenta and my ovaries.   Pretty neat to see.   Then she just held the wand over my tummy and we got to watch baby live, just wiggling and moving about.   I think I could watch her for hours and not even get bored of it.  

Pregnancy has gone really great for me.  I haven't had morning sickness, but like I mentioned before, I get a serious case of the grumps.  Which I hate more than anything.  I would rather be nauseas then grumpy.   I'm not normally a grumpy girl so I can't figure out how to handle these emotions and it makes me crazy.   Luckily, Caden is patient with me and he does whatever he can to make me feel better.   Poor guy gets the blunt of it though.   ...is that the saying?  

I'm still fitting into my normal jeans, just without the button done up.  Thank goodness for long T-shirts.   I work with a girl who is 6 weeks further then me and I am definitely twice as big as she is.   Apparently my tummy grows outwards quickly.  Awesome.   It's fun to have a little baby bump, though and our families love to rub on it and love it.   My niece and nephew like to shake baby and tell her secrets and Caden likes to kiss it before we go to bed.  

Yesterday we bought her a crib and I can't wait to find out for definite if she's truly a girl so I can start buying everything in the store that is pink.   ...or blue.    Baby clothes are way too cute to handle and I hope we strike gold sometime soon so I can buy all the fancy neat baby things they have.

I feel incredibly blessed to be carrying this child.  I have several friends who have been trying for so long to have a baby and my heart aches for them.  I want them to experience this with me and I want to tell them how great it is, without making them feel horribly.   This is something that every woman should experience.   I feel SO lucky to have her growing healthy and SO lucky that she picked us to be her parents.   It makes me cry EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. I think about it.   

Just keep growing, baby Hall.   Keep being great.
Can't wait to meet you.
xo 

Grumpy to Grateful.

Sometimes it's easy to get caught up in the stresses of life.  

Bills. Finances. Jobs. Insurance. Groceries. Chores.

Blah.
Blah.
Blah.

Today I was flustered and upset.  I had a miscommunication at work and my insurance still hasn't kicked in.  We are having a baby and need insurance, so of course I stressed about it all day long.  And still am stressing.  

Yet, I came home today and I walked into our apartment with hands full of groceries.  Our apartment was warm and toasty and smelled like candles.  I had enough money to buy our favorite treats and all the food to fill our tummies.  Caden was hard at work at a company we both love and my mom was on the phone, calming me down and supporting me through the decisions of insurance and big kid life.   

So, why was I upset?  Why do I worry?   Why do I get grumpy and forget all the things that are great in my life? 

I am way too blessed and I forget that much too often.   So this blog is to remind me of that.  Not to brag about the blessings I have, but to remind myself that I have so much to be grateful for and I can-not-must-not-never-ever forget that.

Week 11.

Here is baby in all his/her glory. :)

Emotional Rampage.

I have so many thoughts today.  
Thoughts about church, thoughts about life, thoughts about attitude, thoughts about baby, thoughts about marriage, thoughts on thoughts on thoughts.   I don't know where to start or how to end, but here goes a big blurb of emotions. 

Yesterday was Sunday.  Caden and I went to a class that his Dad was teaching on temple marriages.  His Dad is a great speaker and I feel the spirit easily when he speaks.  He makes me cry when he talks about his family, he makes me cry when he says family prayer, he makes me cry when he talks about church, etc.   As he taught his lesson, I felt the spirit so strong and felt so much love for the gospel.  Caden and I talked on the way home about the temple and our feelings about being sealed this May.  I told Caden that, even though I don't know much about the temple or how it came to be, I know how it makes me feel currently.  I can't explain the apostles and the keys they hold, I can't explain the symbolism or why the temple was built in a certain way.  However, I have an overwhelming love for the ability to be sealed to Caden for all of eternity. 

About a month ago my family was asking me why I thought I needed to be sealed in the temple.  I didn't have a great answer for them.  But, I told them this: "The temple sealing may be completely bogus for all I know.  However, I can't risk the thought of not being able to have Caden with me in eternity.  It doesn't hurt me in anyway to go through a temple sealing and won't change my life in any way except positively.   So, why not?"   Thankfully, my family has accepted that and accepted me for what I believe.   We all come from different backgrounds and have different beliefs on religion and God.  Yet, we each can come to agreement to love one another for our differences and support each other in whatever it is we believe.  And that, my friends, is the best way to be.

Being pregnant has been a whirlwind of emotions and made me think even more about having an eternal family.  This little munchkin is only 11 weeks gestation and already I worry about baby like crazy.  I worry about how baby will be treated by his/her friends. I worry about the worldly things that can harm baby.  I worry about illnesses, diseases, disorders.  I worry about financial issues, what school he/she will go to, what career he/she will choose.  I worry about whether or not baby will accept the gospel in his/her life, or any religion for that matter.  I worry about worrying and how that affects my pregnancy.  I worry about miscarriages, fetal demises, difficult pregnancies, nuchal cord, low Apgar scores, cleft palate, abnormal chromosomes.  I worry now that I can't even fathom how much a mother worries once baby is experiencing the real world and how absolutely terrifying that must feel.  I have such a new love for my mother and all the incredible things she did to protect me and my sisters.  May that gene be passed down to me and my little ones to come.

Being pregnant and graduated has also made me a grumpy little girl.  I get bored easily.  I've cleaned the house 100 different ways.  I've organized and re-organized everything and anything I possibly can.  I've washed the sheets, I've cleaned the laundry room, I've organized our storage closet, I've sold things we don't use, I've alphabetized movies, I've sanded our coffee table.  I've just about lost my mind and by the time Caden gets home, I'm dying to be out of the house.  Luckily, he has been such a great sport about this all.  I know I've said this before, but Caden is so good to me.  He came home after an 8 hour shift on his feet, and walked with me around the mall just so I could get out of the house.  He rubs my back for me at night, he tickles my tummy, he rubs my head.  He does anything and everything he can to make me as comfortable as possible, even though I'm a grumpy goose.  And with all this grumpiness brings an incredible sense of guilt.   I feel horrible when I'm grumpy.

So, I started watching The Secret today.  Never heard of it? It's on Netflix.  I've seen this movie twice before but I love it's philosophy it teaches.  Whatever you think about most, will become.    My thoughts about being bored, grumpy, tired and hungry brings about more boredom and sleepiness.   Time for an attitude adjustment.  Today I showered and got ready, I put on my favorite outfit, I ate my favorite lunch, I downloaded a new book and I'm going to the library to read.   No more grumpy.  No more emotional.   The Secret is out, friends.  

I'm off to the library.
Toodles.

Nursing. Graduate School. Christmas.

Ohhhhh, hey. 
Where you been?

Blogland, I've been busy.  I finished my schooling and training and am now working as a real nurse full time.  I have two more orientations for the graveyard shift and then they are setting me free on my own.   ON MY OWN.   What a big girl, I am.   

I enjoy my job so much more when I'm working as a nurse than when I'm working as an aide.  I enjoyed being an aide, but needed more satisfaction.  And, I definitely get that from nursing.  It's such a great feeling having patients trust me and having them ask ME questions, as if I have the answers.  And then, being able to actually answer their questions is such a neat experience.  Makes me feel like all my hundreds of years of school is finally worth it.   Yessssss!

Cade has stopped working as much so he can focus on school.  He was working 6 days a week, 4 hour shifts.  He was going go to school in the morning, rushing home to eat some lunch and then going to work at 5pm-9pm.  Then coming home for dinner, shower and bed.   That leaves about 0 time to study.  Poor guy.   So, we decided it would be best if he only worked 2 days a week and then spent the rest of his time studying.   Which, has paid off greatly.   

He took his entrance exams for Graduate School in November and he did extremely well.  That boy can test better than anyone I know.  I sure hope our children get his genes, and not my test-anxiety-can't-focus-on-a-single-thing genes.    Cade is super smart though, one of my favorite things about that boy.  

He has one more semester at WSU and then we decide where he will be going for Graduate School.  That may involve moving outside my little comfort zone, which is slightly nerve racking.  Never have I been more than 10 miles from Ogden.   Ever.    Here's to new adventures.

So, that's our life in a nutshell.  Things are trucking right along and we are just living the dream every day.   Pretty excited about life and super excited about our first Christmas together.

'Tis the season, friends.

Baby Hall: Growing

Written 11/8/12.

Last night I was reading on my BabyApp about our little sea monster.  That's what Caden calls him, because I sent him this picture.  I see the resemblence.

As I'm reading about week 4, I see that the heart, lungs, and spinal cord are forming and what a crucial and important time this is for the fetus.  

Immediatley my heart starts to flutter and I feel more protective and worried about my little uterus than I have ever felt before.   I found myself holding my little tummy and wanting nothing to happen to it or the things that are inside.  

At four weeks I'm already worried about this little guy.   I can't imagine the amount of motherly instincts that kick in when that thing is actually crawling, walking, talking, experiencing real world things.   What an ovewhelming thought.

So, I spend a good chunk of my time worrying about this little sea monster and hoping it's still growing just as it should be until I can see my doctor in four more weeks. 

Keep growing little one.  Stay safe.

Ketchup. Catsup. Catch-up.

Random thoughts. 

I had a guest speaker today at work.  He is a therapist and he talked about the people he sees in his marriage classes.  Most of the arguing stems from this one fact: wife likes to work and then play, husband likes to play and then work.   Uhhh, light bulb.   This makes so very much sense.   All this time Caden thought I was boring for wanting to do dishes before playing outside and I thought he was just being silly for not putting away the laundry before he went longboarding.   Well, this makes so much sense now.    Thank you free marriage counseling.   

Yesterday was my first day as a real honest nurse.  They have me orient two shifts on every floor for the entire month of November.  Yesterday the nurse thought I could handle it and let me take three patients all by myself.  She didn't follow me into the rooms, she didn't watch me give meds, she didn't tell me what to do.  She just let me be a nurse, and it was such an incredible, scary, exciting, worrying, thrilling day.   I didn't manage to kill anyone.  Only cut my finger once.  And didn't forget anyones medications.   Pretty much a rockstar.

We signed a year lease on our cute apartment.  The lease is up in March.  It's now November.  We haven't even considered moving or looking or buying or renting or anything.   Slightly stressed.  Mostly  concerned that I'm not really concerned.   Things have just kind of worked themselves out for Caden and I and I feel like that might be the case again come March.  Maybe, just maybe, this awesome house will show up in the perfect neighborhood and only be $20 to buy.   Here's to hoping.

Speaking of big plans--Caden takes his GRE test in two weeks.  This is similiar to an SAT in that it's a bunch of general information that he is tested on: math, reading, history, geology, science, etc.   He must to well in order to be accepted into the graduate program that he chooses.  In real life scenario, I would be stressed out of my mind for this test.  However, Caden is the best test taker I have ever met in my entire life.  He studies for an hour and can pull a 90% without breaking a sweat.  I could study for 7 hours straight, 7 days a week and be lucky to pull off an 80%.   That boy has testing gifts.    I pray that he rocks it and may the odds forever be in his favor.

Things are happening in the Hall house.  Lots of testing, new jobs, new schooling, new houses, new plans.   All this growing up and getting older.   It's such a fun time.   And such a new experience. 

Cheers to new things.
Kudos to change.
and good thoughts for my Caden on his test.

One of Those Days.

I have a serious pet-peeve: when people say "It's just been one of those days..."  

I don't know what it is about this phrase, but instantly I'm annoyed.  

If your day isn't going so great, take a hot bath and a nap. 
Don't blame it on the day. 

And, on that same note: people who say this saying, say it often. 
Ever think maybe it's YOU that has the bad stuff going, not the day? 

End rant.

Baby Hall

Written 10/30/2013---

These past few days I've felt like an emotional wreck.  I thought it was just a serious case of PMS.   ...which I don't usually get.  

I found myself annoyed at the smallest things: Why did people in the grocery store had to stop in front of the food items I wanted to buy?  Why did my upstairs neighbor insist on turning on the air conditioner in the middle of fall?  Why did the cords on my TV have to ALWAYS be tangled the wrong way?  Why was my text tone SO loud and SO annoying?  Why did my nail polish chip the day after I painted my nails?

Why? Why? Why?!

I put up with it for a day.  Then another.  Then another.  Then another.
After four days of feeling this way, I finally mentioned it to Caden.   He agreed that I had been on edge and thought I was just ready to start my period.  So, I started counting back a few weeks.  1...2...3...4.

Yep, I was late..but, that's not unusual for me.  Sometimes my period will be regular for months on end, sometimes it won't come for 6 or 7 months.   So, I argued with myself until last night.  I was home alone while Caden worked and I decided to take a trip to the store for a pregnancy test.  I had no make up on.  No sort of hairstyle whatsoever.  And no bra.   I threw on a hoodie and headed down the street for an First Choice test.

After a quick pee, I noticed two solid lines.

Pregnant.

That can't be right.  I stared at it again.  Then, I ran out to the living room and sat on the couch.  Pregnant? Can that be true?   Caden and I had gone off birth control just three months prior, but I never thought my body would respond so quickly.   I paced around my living room and then back to the bathroom.  Yep.  Two pink lines.  Pregnant.     I read the box for instructions.  Did I do it right?  Am I reading something wrong?   Nope.   I'm pregnant!   Oh my gosh.  Oh my gosh.   Back to the couch.  Grab my phone.   I can't text Caden this information, but he won't be home for another half hour.   Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh.   Back to the bathroom.   Stare at the stick another time and get the happiest tears rolling down my face. 

I'm really pregnant.   :)

The next half hour was the longest half hour of my life thus far.   I tried to watch TV to pass the time, but all I could think about was telling Caden this news.   FINALLY, he walked in the door.  I asked him about his day as I usually do.  We smooched.  We hugged.  He told me all about his day at work and what he learned at school.  Then, I told him I had a surprise and  he had to close his eyes.

I handed him the stick and told him to open.

His jaw dropped open and he looked at me.  "Really?! Is it true?!" He asked.   Yep.  It's true.   We are doing this.   He screamed and he yelled and he hugged me and we kissed.  And excitement filled his face.  More screaming. More kissing.  More tears for me.  

Of course, I didn't sleep all night long.   How can you sleep with information as exciting as this?   So, I spent the whole night lying in bed planning how to tell our families.  When morning came, I got ready thinking how careful I had to be not to upset the little baby inside me.   As I kissed Caden goodbye he told me "Be careful, love.  You have our baby inside you."   

I can't believe this.
We are pregnant.
We are having a baby.
and my babies dad is Caden.

Too exciting.  
Eeeek!

Tips on Marriage.

I have this phobia of getting divorced.
I've blogged about this issue before.
It freaks me right-the-heck out.  

So, I do a lot of reading on successful marriages.
...and this, is by far, the best advice I have read.

It's so simple.
So true.
So perfect.

So, I'm posting here so that I never forget these things.