Hey Baby...

come April 6 2012 (you know around then) that's what we'll be saying to Jack's new little brother or sister!  Yup, I'm growing a baby!  Exciting huh?

It's actually quite an interesting story.  Considering I was on birth control and all, again.  Listen closely if you have a mirena in!  I went to my OB in the beginning of April to have the mirena removed.  I wasn't happy with the side effects and just wanted it out.  It had been in over a year.  After poking around for about 10 minutes, the most painful 10 minutes of my life, the Dr. announced she wanted to use the ultrasound to locate it, then remove it after she saw it.  Another painful 10 minutes of searching under U/S and it wasn't out.  She showed me on the monitor what she thought was the mirena, but asked me to come back so she have the U/S tech there to help her.  Since I was leaving for NY the next day, we scheduled for a month later when I returned.

When I was home there was a week where I wasn't feeling too great, but I just thought it was either traveling related or a stomach bug.  I just had no appetite for anything.  A week into my visit, my mom hosted a psychic party with a woman near our hometown.  My mother-in law came down, all my aunts, one of my cousins and her son, and my grandma were there.  At one point, the psychic looked at me and said she saw babies.  She asked if I had babies, I said a son, and she said no you're pregnant?  Since this mirena was supposedly in, I said no I'm pretty sure I'm not.  She wouldn't give it up and kept telling me I was "pink" and that I would be pregnant by December then.  But she really kept saying that I was.

Fast forward the rest of the vacation, I get to my OB appt and the sonographer calls me back.  She says she wants to scan me first, find the mirena, then call the Dr. in for the removal.  So I lay back, get my belly lubed up and she's silent.  She finally looks at me and says, "Well, I don't see it, but you're pregnant."  I just about died.  How could I have a mirena in and be pregnant?  I was crying so much that she wasn't sure I was even happy about the situation!  When she assured me that the mirena was really not anywhere inside that she could see, I finally calmed down.  I was just so scared that there would be some complications with the baby having that in.  Then she informs me that I'm not newly pregnant, but 9w5d!  At least I'm almost done with the sucky part...

Apparently, mirenas can fall out.  And you won't have any idea.  I still can't believe that I wouldn't feel that, but the U/S tech says she sees it more than you would think.  Hmm... glad I went through that implantation pain just for it to fall out...

So here I am now, 13 weeks pregnant.  Baby E is due April 6, 2012.  Which also happens to be our 5 years anniversary!  Jack is very excited and loves to kiss the baby in Mommy's (or as he calls me "Mee") belly.  He will be a very good brother I'm sure. 

We are considering a home birth for this baby too.  I had a natural water birth at a birth center with Jack, but with no facility like that around, I'll do what is the next best thing in my opinion.  We haven't met with the homebirth midwife yet to make the decision, but she has good reviews and credentials!  The hospital here does offer water birth, I just am wary about a Dr. led birth.  My OB has already brought up the inductions and C-sections and I want nothing to do with that.  So, we will have to see what happens.  I have no worries though that the birth will be perfect.

2 Years, Coming Right Up!

Jack-man is fast approaching two years old.  I honestly don't believe it, but the increasingly frequent temper tantrums are proving me wrong.  Every day I am amazed at the amount of things this kid knows.  It's like he's studying ways to shock us in his sleep.  His use of words and signs gets better everyday and he actually tells us his opinion on things he wants for snack, lunch and drinks.  Potty training is also on the close horizon.  I'm going to try the 3-day potty training method.  It's gotten great reviews and just worked for a friend.  We are in the getting ready period since she recommends starting at 22 months, which is just a few short weeks away...

And now that Jack's birthday is only about 3 months away, I need to get started on thinking about his birthday party!  I love to plan a good party and my only little boys 2nd birthday has got to be great!  I had so much fun planning for his 1st birthday, I can't wait to pick a theme for number 2!  But I can't decide what to do.  Jack has a lot of favs.  Thomas, trucks, cars, dinosaurs, Elmo (and the rest of Sesame Street), so I'm not sure which way to go.  I've been browsing one of my favorite party sites, Kara's Party Ideas, to find the one.  I love all the ideas, I just need to go with one!

Jack will probably also have more than one party.  Lucky kid huh?  Since we don't live near any family, we will probably have one when we go home for Christmas.  So maybe, two parties, two themes?  We will see.  I still have a little time...

Fall is in the Air

Well at least the smell of my Cider Webs Yankee Candle burning.  Considering it's still around 95 degrees here, didn't we leave Savannah?, I had to make believe.  But soon enough, that crisp cool air will be upon us.  Bobby and I cannot wait! 

This weekend we are celebrating our new found falldom with a trip to the County Line Orchard.  We will be picking these...

Well, the Macs won't really be ready until mid sept, but they have Gala and Honeycrisp... But Macs are my fav...

And hopefully I will be then making a yummy one of these...

Oh and I'm sure we will be eating plenty of these...

Well they make them fresh, Bobby could never turn one down...

So it will be a fun fall family outing.  Of which there will be many more.  I just can't wait to pick pumpkins in something other than a tank top and shorts, sweating my butt off on the scratchy hay ride in the backwoods of GA.  I'll even take snow over that...



Do You Miss Me?

Well I'm on vacation.  In NY.  With my Jack-man.  And Bobby comes in on Thursday.  Woo-hoo.  So see ya later alligators!

Grocery Carting

I've really been struggling here with a good grocery store.  Well actually any good produce and meat really.  I never thought I'd actually say that I missed a Kroger!  Coming from a Wegman's, Kroger seemed second rate, but compared to what I've got here, Kroger is wonderful!  I guess I need to learn to keep my mouth shut.

Bobby found a yummy looking recipe for a Vietnamese style pork chop in his Men's health magazine.  I scanned over the ingredients and saw it was relatively easy.  I just needed to pick up some fish sauce.  One of the many things I've learned to hate about a move, is losing your fridge/pantry items that the movers won't take.  Like my fish sauce.  So I ran to the grocery store.  I mean in this day and age, everyone carries fish sauce right?  It's not that crazy of an ingredient.  Almost every Thai and Vietnamese dish has fish sauce in it.  Well not Strack and Van Til.  What kind of a grocery store name is that anyway? The cashier even called the other Strack's, that's what you call 'em here, to see if the had it.  Nope.  Don't even ask how many times I actually had to say "fish sauce" for them to know what I was talking about.  Come on people, this is a common ingredient.   As I'm complaining explaining that they should carry fish sauce, the cashier says I might try Pay Low since they carry a lot of gluten free products.  I hadn't tried out this store yet, cause well, I was a little grocery store prejudice.  How could a store called Pay Low Discount Foods even be worth the time? 

So I ran home, of course I forgot to bring my phone, and called Pay Low.  A few short minutes later I find out yes they carry fish sauce.  So yippee, I'm off.  After walking through half the store to find the Asian aisle, I see it's not that bad.  Not Wegman's quality, but I've come to learn not much is.  But whoa baby, their International aisle, it might actually come close to my Weg's.  They had not one, but three different kinds of fish sauce.  Thai, vietnamese and some other knock off brand.  A million kinds of soys, gluten and wheat free soy, flavored soy, tamari soy, soygu soy.  Curry sauces, peanut sauces, every asian noodle out there, it was pretty much a little heaven for me.  I love all asian food...

So I grab a botle of fish sauce and head to the cashier, but I'm pulled to a halt by the MASSIVE multiple aisle with cold cases ORGANIC section.  Wait, a minute, am I in Indiana still?  I didn't have time to browse, cause Bobby would never get any dinner, but today I went back.  And I'm not quite sure why I saved it for last because then  Jack was in his I am so done sitting in this cart, let me out to run or I will scream mood, but I still loved it.  There was so much.  So, even though I am still missing my one true grocery  love Wegman's, I at least found a little piece of organic heaven here in northwest middle of no where Indiana.   I guess we can stay...

I'm open!

For business!  I've decided to start an Etsy store!  Keeping up with this kid's eating habits is turning out to be quite an investment, so I thought I'd try to peddle my wares to stay afloat.  Ha, it's not that bad, but I've been getting some "How much would you sell that for?" questions so I thought there might be people out there willing to buy what I got.  We'll see how that goes.  I am still in the process of building my shop up.  There are lots of things to drag out of storeage to take pictures of, so it'll be a work in progress for a while.  But I thought I'd share my lil shop so you can take a peek!  Thanks for your support!

Getting ready...

For my BFF's baby sprinkle!  My BFF, KM, is working on baby #2 and this time she's having a boy, so I am throwing a sprinkle for her (and him).  You know, sprinkle = little baby shower.  She's got the big stuff, but diapers are always needed.  Even though I've tried to get her on the cloth wagon, but whatever makes the Mama's life easier right?  Anyway, she doesn't really have a theme going on for him, so I decided on just a burlap/blue gingham/vintagy backyard party theme.  That sounds boy right?  Yeah, basically I get to just make fun things that I love. 

So KM doesn't like cake, I know, I know, it's absurd, so I decided to have an ice cream sundae bar!  Cute huh?  All the toppings will be in mason/jelly jars, in keeping the vintagy feel.  I can't wait!

Here are a couple of the decorations I've made...

Burlap wreath with blue gingham 'Welcome Jacob' bunting

This is a chalkboard sign I made.  We will write the baby's name at the top and everyone will guess the date and weight.  Then KM can hang it up until he's born.  And then Mr. KM will know where to go for all his chores after!

I haven't snapped the pics of the banner yet, but it's (also) burlap and blue gingham.  I am so excited to put it all together!  I love little party details.  Stay tuned for the party update!

 

I do craft, I'll prove it...

  Crafting sure has taken a backseat since Jack man entered the world.  My only free time is naptime and up until recently I've wanted to nap right along with him.  But his naps are turning into 3-4 hr long adventures, so I've got plenty of time to knock out some projects!

I've wanted one of these gorgeous Home is Where the Army Sends You signs since I first saw them...

Cute huh?  If you would like one of these, check out my friend Robyn over at Peanut Stitches.

Anywho, since the Army never sent us anywhere, our sign would be pretty bare.  We were at Ft. Stewart for 5 years.  Pretty boring.  So I found these cute latitude and longitude signs out in bloggyworld, (if I saw these on your blog, please let me know and I will give you credit, I forgot where I originally saw them!) and decided I could recreate those!

I love them!  I've got one more in the works for our current town.  Bobby and I met in Rochester, NY.  And with his current job, there are bound to be more cities in the future to add!  I can't wait to put them up on my wall next to the old window I found and beautified up with some vinyl!  I'll post pictures soon!

At least I won't buy that!

I wish I had this lil gem of a story to share with Bobby when he was screaming telling me we DO NOT need a new rug for the living room.  If only I had found a 5 foot chicken to teach him a lesson.  You really wanna read that story now huh?  Men will just never understand what is needed to run a household...

Now, let's all read the next part here with some understanding.  I have two dogs, a cat, an 18 month old and a husband.  So I was kneeling on the ground cleaning up bananas and graham crackers smushed into the rug when I got a little too close and got a big whiff of something.  It wasn't utterly fowl, just stinky.  I realized it was my rug.  I bought this baby off craigslist for $100 from some lady who had way too much money and traded up rugs like they are toothbrushes.  I brought her home, along with her runner sidekick, and shampooed the heck out of it.  Hey, fancy or not, I don't know what you people out there do on rugs...  When I was done, I sniffed it, rolled on it, layed on it, practically slept on it to make sure it didn't smell.  Satisfied, I put it on my floor and let Jack near it.  Now here we are a couple years and a move later, and I think it's about time to retire the old girl.  She smells like kids, dogs, and husbands.

I tell Bobby that it may be time to replace the rug within the year and he practically has a heart attack freaks out.  He's all, "Rugs last for 15 years!"   Umm, yeah, remember that 12 year old carpet we ripped out of our old house there Bob?  Gross.  And that was a carpet mean to last.  Not this dinky little area rug.  He gets all out of wack while I try to explain just because your mother may have had a rug that lasted that long it was because a) she paid thousand of dollars for it while I only paid $100 b) she never let anyone near it, let alone eat on it or pee on it  that's mainly Jack... and c) she bought hers brand new where as who the heck knows how old ours is.

Well I finally get him to calm down, and as long I don't mention the letters R-U-G in that order we should avoid all stress related injuries.  One day he'll just come home to a new rug, ask where it came from, and I'll remind him that we both agreed it was time for a new rug.  And then I'll tell him I had a coupon.  Because he always tells me as long as I have a coupon, it's ok to buy it...

Our first midwest storm

  Saturday night we had the worst storm I have even seen.  I would swear it was a tornado, but I guess they are calling it a microburst.  Whatever you call it, it was bad, I was scared, and it did a ton of damage in our town.

Around 4pm that day, Bobby was on his way back from his reserve training in IL.  He called and told me that the weather was awful, street lights out, people driving slow and pulled off the road, downpour and high winds.  It was 90 degrees and sunny where we were so I didn't think much of it.  Jack and I were headed into town to run errands. 

After our first stop, the sky had changed and you could tell the storm was coming our way so I decided to head to the grocery stop down the street from our house instead of close to where I was.  When I walked into the store, it was still sunny and blue out.  I was in for maybe 15 minutes, we just needed some quick things for dinner, and the sky outside had turned black and it started pouring.  One of the cashiers offered to stay with Jack while I pulled the car up.  By the time I got the car, the winds had picked up and the power went out in the store.  I quickly loaded the groceries and Jack into the car and headed out.  I barely made it 100 yards when the wind picked up so much I swore the car would flip over.  I called Bobby hysterically crying that the car would flip.  I could see the wind and rain and it was horizontal.  That was really all I could see too.  We stayed put since I was too afraid to move.  It lasted about 10 minutes and then I could see where I was going. 

I told Bobby I was going to try to drive home.  We only live 1/4 mile from the store, I could make it.  Well the road to our house had two trees blocking the way so I had to turn around.  When I finally got home, it had started to hail.  I got Jack inside, noticed the dogs had freaked out and scratched the back door to pieces, and then noticed our patio set was missing the umbrella.  When I got closer, I noticed the glass top was shattered all over the deck.

Luckily, Jack, Bobby and I are all fine.  Just shaken up.  Bobby followed the storm most of the way home, but made it home in one piece!  Power was out for about 7000 people in our town and some people still do not have power.  Our town is being pretty great about clean up and restoring the power though.  They have set up a shelter at the community center and have man power from towns all over helping remove downed trees.  Here are some shots from our tour of the damage...

I'm still an Army wife...

  Well an Army Reserve wife now.  Bobby is away for his first Army Reserve training weekend.  He has to go a little over an hour away into Illinois.  I'm not exactly thrilled over this.  In Bobby's new job, he gets 2 4-day weekends off a month.  And that's pretty much it.  The other two weekends, he works 12 hour shifts.  So the Reserves are cutting into my weekend time.  Now I only get one!  I know, I know boohoo, at least he's home. 

Trust me, I am completely thankful he is here with us, gets to eat (most of the time) dinner with us, sleep in his own bed, and play with Jack everyday.  I just am not handling this transistion very well.  Bobby's hours are not what we were expecting.  His shifts are crazy and not anything normal humans should have to work.  But his plant is Unionized and the hourly workers make too much money with the schedule the way it is to want it changed.

I'm not sure what to expect of the Reserves.  He is stabilized, so no deployment looming.  We are beyond thrilled with that.  But it still worries me.  I guess it's because we just came from Ft. Stewart where units barely get 12 months home between deployments, and the time home is spent mostly in the field.  It must be my Active Duty wife brain that knows never to believe it until it's over.  The Army always changes things.  I don't feel strong enough to handle a deployment with a child.  I have said over and over, I don't know how families do it, and do it multiple times.  It breaks my heart to think of all the kids who have to say goodbye to their moms and dads.  Those parents are much stronger than me.  I don't want Jack to have to say goodbye to Bobby like that.  So the Reserves scares me.  I just hope everything works out like we want it...

Sore butts

 Poor Jack-man has the WORST diaper rash going on.  He's had some diarrhea from teeth coming in (so I diagnosed, he had no other symptoms, just call me Dr. Mom...) which caused a small rash to break out.  So I took him out of his cloth and put some disposables on with some diaper cream and waited for results.  Well nothing happened.  Actually, something happened. His rash got worse.  He ended up with little ulcers all over his bottom.  He cried, or rather screamed when we changed him.  I cried when we changed him.  It was not good.

So I called around hoping to find Jack a pediatrician.  No such luck.  Apparently in our town, every pedi is either booked up till September or not accepting new patients.  I really didn't want to drive to another town, so I took Jack to the Express Care clinic.  A short, for hospitals, 45 minutes later, we left leaving the Dr. confused on what to do since it wasn't yeast like she was expecting.  A couple creams and a week later, Jack still has a bad rash.  So I've been trying all the at home remedies I can find.  Vinegar and tea tree oil in the bath, a olive oil/water/tea tree paste on the butt, cornstarch dustings, and going commando most of the day for Jack.  So we've gone through a ton of shorts, but I'll gladly take laundry over screaming babies.  Any suggestions on anything else I should try???  My poor little man...

Don't you love it when...

 You've finally gotten the baby calmed down and ready for bed, you lay him in him crib, kiss him goodnight, quietly turn around for the door only to trip on the block that somehow snuck behind your foot which leads you to knock into the toy that proceeds to sound off with his obnoxiously loud helicopter noise.  Then as you try to bend down to pick it up to shut it up, you bang your head into the dresser drawer you left open when you got the pjs out.  The drawer was left open because you had to chase down the naked baby fresh out of the bath who is about to pee all over the carpet.  So holding your head you feel for the doorknob, but first catch your fingers in the folding closet doors and finally freedom is seconds away.  You open the door, light from the hallway floods in, the baby jerks his head up and starts to cry... again. 

We've had a long night here.  Pretty ready for the Daddy to come home on Thursday. I never would have survived the deployment with a baby...  You mamas who do are way tough, tougher than me...  And don't ever let 'em tell ya different!

Shopping makes me mad!

Maybe just more so shopping with a toddler.  Not only do I have to entertain Jack, I also have to look out for people walking down the aisle (on my "side") not paying attention.  Keep Jack from grabbing anything within reach.  Force cinnamon pretzels into each hand to distract Jack from the fact that he is strapped into the cart.  Oh and I have to find what I need.  Piece of cake...

Today we went to Lowes to find a hanging basket for the gorgeous ivy geranium I bought at the Farmer's market yesterday.  While I was browsing the fruit and veggie plants, I found Thai basil!  I have searched high and low in the world, ok maybe just outdoor markets and greenhouses around where we have lived, for this plant!  I almost ordered seeds off the internet one year but ended up with no room for it anyway.  Well when I saw it today I had to have it.  Well, no we don't have a garden.  Or so much as an area yet for one.  Our fence isn't even up yet, so I have no clue where one would go.  But I bought it anyway.  And since you can't just buy one plant, I got some sweet basil, curly parsley, cilantro, 2 different tomato varieties, spaghetti squash, and a jalapeno plant.  Hmm... now where to plant these babies...  Well luckily, last year, a friend got us a cute galvanized bucket full of plants for our garden last year.  So I filled it back up with all these plants.  Ok just half, I need to go buy another bucket for the herbs.  Then once the fence goes in, I plan to build a raised bed garden.  So soon enough they will have a permanent home.

Ok back to why I despise shopping.  When we paid for our things, we get out to the car and wouldn't you know someone has parked over the line leaving me oh 2-3 inches to get Jack into the car.  Why does this always happen on the car seat side?  If I wasn't such a law abiding citizen and really liked my cars paint job, I would slam open my door into the other car just to teach 'em a lesson.  This always happens to me too.  The other day at the gym, Jack and I both had to get into the car from the other side cause someone was that close.  I'm not quite sure how she didn't take side view mirrors off getting in...

Also, it's my absolute favorite to watch people just sail the cart back in the general direction of the corrals.  Eh, so what if we push it into the side and not actually the opening.  As long as it's close it counts right????

Where's my baby?

 Someone took my sweet little boy and replaced him with a biting, hitting, pinching, screeching, hair pulling, whining, give me more (insert snack of the minute here) now or I'll scream (again) toddler.  Now who was it?  Come on, I want that baby back....

Now after all this happened, in a span of 10 minutes, I did get to laugh with him at the silly squirting fish in the bathtub, name and point to all the body parts we know, pour 25 or so cups of water over the belly (which is hilarious) and snuggle up in our towel cause getting out of the bath is sooo super cold.  That's my little guy...

Then I even got a few minutes of couch time snuggle while eating some blueberries and watching Diners Drive Ins and Dives.  Jack is a big Guy fan.  They have similar hair post bath time. 

But the moral of the story here is, my little baby is getting too big.  He so independent.  Knows what he wants.  And usually wants it right now, or 5 minutes ago.  The neighborhood kids ask him to come play.  He tries to call the dogs by "whistling" and clapping.  He drives his powerwheel (steering doesn't count) all over the 'hood.  Lounges in his chair while watching his shows, with his feet up.  Eats bowls of yogurt with a spoon and doesn't make (too much of) a mess. Climbs the stairs.  Feeds the cat.  And who knows what will happen tomorrow.  Well, nothing I tell you, I won't let him out of his room.  No more growing up Jack...

Mommy's Little Helper

 Just wanted to share the cutest little helper.  Bobby showed Jack once how to feed the kitty and now he's a pro.  He just loves the kitty so much, so feeding her must be great!

Isn't he just the sweetest boy?!?!  But seriously... how do I have a child old enough to help out???

Moving is for the birds...

 I hope I never have to move again.  I'm not a fan.  It wasn't so bad when pretty much all I had were clothes and a tv.  Now I have Jack.  And he has way more stuff that I even thought he had. 

We are trying very hard to find a home for everything in the house.  In our last house we were tripping over everything that didn't have a place and it drove us nuts!  So instead of just shoving it in a closet and being all moved in, we still have stuff in boxes and piles waiting to be put away in a neat and organized fashion. Yup, I'm about 2 days away from shoving things in the closet.

Bobby's been having mini panic attacks each time we go to the store.  We show up for a few items and walk out $300 later.  But we will both be much happier when we go to open those closets and thing don't fall out. 

Speaking of closets, our master closet is beautiful.  We can both stand in there fairly comfortably and clothes don't swallow you whole the minute you cross the threshold.  My jeans are all neatly stacked along with my sweaters.  Nobody is tilting over and nobody is crowded.  My shirts aren't jammed so tightly that when I take one out all the rest around it fall off their hangers.  My shoes all have little cubbie homes.  Life is great in that closet.  Let's just hope life stays so good..

My kitchen is just fabulous.  I love it in there.  It's so open and easy to work in.  There are plenty of cabinets for all my stuff, even two empty ones above the fridge!  My kitchen aid mixer can live right on the counter where everyone can gaze at how pretty she is.  I spend most of my time making sure it's spic and span, so when the boys walk in it, I am right behind picking up after their tornado ways.  They are boys, you know...

Our bedroom feels a little bare still.  We have much more space than our last bedroom.  We could easily fit another dresser and chair in there.  I'm sure Bobby would be so happy to hear that...

The one thing I am a little disappointed in, are the walls.  Now I have big plans for paint colors, but Bobby has big plans for saving money.  So I am ok with waiting to slap some pretty grays on the walls.  But, the builders put FLAT paint over the walls in the entire house.  Who even does that?  So now the walls are slowly showing marks, hello 17 month old hands, and I don't know how long I will be able to hang with the flat paint.  Sorry babe, looks like drop cloths are in your future...

Once everything is picture perfect, oh at least put away,  I will post some pics for you to drool over.

It's all coming together!

 After taking a 2 and a half week trip to NY while waiting to close on our new house, Jack and I are back in Indiana, and we close TOMORROW!  I can't believe it's finally here.  The past month has gone by verry slow, but we are ready to wake up tomorrow, sign a million and a half papers, and unpack a thousand and a half boxes of stuff!  Who's coming to help??

Jack and I drove straight through yesterday with our 2 dogs, Sammy and Merlin.  It's about 9 hours straight, but with our lunch, gas, and potty break stops, it took us about 10.5 hours.  But we did get and hour back since we are in the central time zone here!  The weather was just awful and I wasn't sure if I really would make it.  Usually when we drive home as a family, Bobby drives the whole way.  So me having to drive the whole way was not fun.  Jack offered but since it was raining, I said I'd handle it all.  The rain was bad.  It poured most of the way and most of the highway was under construction.  Leaving two little lanes with no shoulders.  That makes passing trucks dangerously scary.  I just closed my eyes and hoped for the best...

When we got home, Jack and I got the best surprises!  Daddy had gotten Jack a froggie pillow pet!  Jack loves stuffies and always hugs and snuggles them.  He loves it!  And I got...

Oh baby!  I can't wait to use her!  Isn't she gorgeous???  I love the copper color!  She will look so pretty in my new kitchen!  What should I make with her first??

Jack and I are off today to buy baby gates for the stairs.  Jack loves stairs.  Not good...  So hopefully we find some gates that keep him off of them!

Hoosiers

 So we are in Indiana.  We are Hoosiers now.  What exactly is a Hoosier anyway?  We asked one Indianan (is that right?) and he had no clue.  Even went it Indian University where their mascot a Hoosier.  Hopefully someone here knows.  And everyone here is sooo nice.  People in the south are nice, but that is to be expected with the sticky sweet tea, southern drawls, and lazy hot days.  Everyone we meet is so excited to have us in "their town." 

We also bought a house!  It's soo pretty.  I just cannot wait to move in.  Come on April 21st...  It's a BRAND spanking NEW house too!  We really never thought we would be buying a new build, but it ended up being the best deal out there.  And no one has used the shower.  How exciting is that?!  So here she is...

Cute huh?  I just cannot wait to decorate that baby!  And one of the best parts about her?  She has a GAS stove.  I am in heaven.  No more electric stink tops for us. 

For now we are living in a Residence Inn.  Now there are some perks to living in a hotel. 
1. Some one besides me will make my bed every day if I want.
2. We can eat out every meal if I don't want to cook.
3. I don't have to make breakfast, just walk down the hall.
4. Swimming every afternoon in the indoor pool makes Jack happy.
5. HBO

And of course there are some not so great things.
1. Some one bugs me daily wondering if I want the bed made.
2. We eat out a lot, my waistline will testify.
3. The person above us is housing an elephant, I swear.
4. Two dogs, one cat, one 16 month old and a husband in a teeny 2 bedroom "suite"

Also, we didn't exactly pack right.  Two weekends ago, we came here to house hunt.  We left Tuesday, got back around 11pm then had to drive another 2hrs home (airline tickets were $400 cheaper here) which got us home at 3am.  Then the packers came bright and early 8am the next day.  They packed up everything in sight.  Even Jacks diapers.  I went in to change him and she had already snatched them up.  I was kinda mad.  I mean, I have a baby, he wears diapers, why pack them up?  And they also got to our clothes before we knew what was going on.  So all my cold weather stuff is now sitting in a storage unit.  And it's oh 30 something degrees here!  When we left GA, it was like 80.  And we chose here?  But it should start getting warmer soon.  Right?  It is almost April...

The Last Weekend...

Please ignore the fact that I have been MIA for a month...  Life has been flip turned upside down...

I am sitting on my couch in my living room for the last time on a Sunday afternoon.  This is the last weekend we will be spending in Savannah.  Crazy I tell ya...  Next weekend we are off to Chicago/Northwest Indiana to house hunt.  Then on the 18th, the movers come to pack up our house.  The house where Bobby proposed to me.  The backyard where we had our little wedding reception.  The bedroom where I slept alone for 15 months hoping my love would make it back me.  The nursery where we brought our baby boy home to.  The kitchen where I made my one year old's first birthday cake.  So many memories have happened here in 5 years.  And now we are moving on to make new ones.

It feels like life has been stuck on fast forward the past few weeks.  We accepted Bobby's job offer the day before we left for Disney.  That was a huge relief for Bobby and he was able to relax and enjoy himself.  We both ran in the Disney Princess Half Marathon on Feb 27, yes Bobby is now a princess, and survived finished in 3:03:11.  This was quite good for us considering Bobby was in a car accident the month before and our training basically halted then.  As soon as we got back from Disney, it was full speed ahead, Move to Indiana!  I feel like Bobby has been on the phone nonstop with his new company getting everything ready.  Good thing we up'ed our Verizon plan...

I'm not sure how it got to be the last weekend we will spend here.  I still have so many things I want to do.  I didn't get to finish much on my bucket list.  I guess I had some high hopes there.  Our last weekend was spent holding a garage sale, napping for 3 hours, and eating out at Houlihans.  And today, staying lazily out the front windows in my living room.  Hey they are open though, it's beautiful outside.  And to think I will be leaving the sunny 70s for the snowy 30s.  Who's idea was this moving North anyway??

So hopefully our next weekend will be more productive and we find a house to put an offer on and they accept it and we move in on the 20th when we get to Indiana.  HA!  Right!  Can you tell I am not excited to be residing in the Residence Inn with a baby, husband, 2 dogs and a cat for 30+ days??  At least we know pretty much what house we want, so as long as it looks as good in person as it does in pictures, we're offering!  Wish us luck!

Craigslist Envy

I don't know why I do this to myself.  I love to scour Craigslist for furniture.  Specifically things I could revamp and make them fabulous.  And right now for stuff that could go in our new house.  No, we don't have a new house yet.  Or do we even know the city we will be living in next.  But I can still dream.  I know our next house will be (much) bigger than the one we are in now, so I will need a lot more stuff to fill the space.  Especially if we move into that beautiful 6 bedroom 4 bath 3000sq. ft. house in one of the cities Bobby's new job could be in.  It's gorgeous.  And boy have I been dreaming about decorating that baby!  Call it planning, not dreaming...

So of course on Craigslist today I found a bunch of stuff that I need want. 

Who doesn't want a cute table like this?  And for only $50??

There will probably be the perfect spot in our new house for these!  And $20 is such a good price!

I also want a china cabinet with a hutch, I haven't found the one yet though.  I want it to have glass doors on top, but I would take to glass out and put chicken wire in it's place. Beautiful details that would show up after some good distressing and maybe beadboard backsplashing.  It's out there.  I will find her.

Soon enough we will know where this dream house will be and then let the decorating begin!  Get ready Craigslist, I'll be busy...



The wait is almost over!

Bobby had a great day of interviewing yesterday! He had 7 interviews and is knee deep in his 6 interviews today.  The opportunities are just amazing and I cannot wait to see what comes of it!  We have been waiting for this weekend for 2 years and now that it's almost over I CAN'T WAIT!

The locations of the jobs are alllll over the US.  To name a few places... Wilmington DE, Athens GA, Cleveland OH, Hammond IN, Cheyenne WY, Arizona, Utah, Chicago, Albany NY, and a few more I can't remember exactly.  It's actually quite overwhelming to think about!  We could be anywhere....

The hardest part is not being there with Bobby.  Spouses are invited to the career conference since we are part of the decision making process!  But with no one to watch Jack, I stayed home.  Bobby's older brother drove to Austin from Louisiana to be there for support. 

So for now I sit and wait, again.  Yesterday was the longest day of waiting...  Until 8:20pm or so, my time, after Bobby's meeting to find out the list of 'yes, no, maybes.'  Maybe some Target shopping will help the time pass...

Mr. Mom

 Here I am laying in my bed listening to my favorite sound.  Jack and his Daddy playing in the living room.  Unfortunately, I have strep throat and cannot get in on the playtime fun out there.  Last night I felt a little sore throat coming on but figured it was related to the cold I was just getting over, geez I never used to get sick I tell ya, and brushed it off.  Until about 3 in the morning when I woke up to the worst pain in my throat.  I wanted to cry, but was too tired to even move.  So for the rest of the night I tried to sleep but every swallow was excruciating.  Don't ya hate how you never even think about swallowing until it hurts to do it, then you feel every single one?

So I woke up called the Dr. got an appointment, after finding out my PCM had retired, and was congratulated by my new doctor on having strep.  Gee thanks...  And at first he didn't think it was strep since my throat didn't look like it, but since Jack is around, he did the test.  That's one test you never wanna pass...

And thankfully, Bobby is off for MLK day.  He's being a super Mr. Mom.  He's been doing laundry, dinner is in the works, Jack napped successfully without breastfeeding, lunch was made and fed, and now playtime is going strong.  I don't know what I would have done if he was at work today! 

But it's so hard to not be around my baby.  I can hear him talking away to Bobby.  I think the are playing with some trucks.  When I left for the Dr. this morning he waved goodbye to me through the window.  I wanted to kiss him so bad.  I am trying not to hold him too much since a baby with strep is the last thing I want to deal with.  So here I am, banished to the bedroom, while my boys have a boys day.  Being a sick Mommy is no fun...

My Predictions Are...

 That this year will be one for the record books!  We have SOO much going on I cannot even stand it!  The first big thing coming up is Bobby's career conference at the end of January.  This means we will know where the heck we will be moving to next.  That also means I will have a real city to stalk houses for sale in and not just those in our hometowns.  Although we would be tickled pink to move back to NY!  I am just not ready for the whole packing up a house business.  I know the Army will take care of it which makes me even more anxious after some of the horror stories I have heard.  Anyone got a good moving experience??

Next up in the excitingness is our trip to Disney for the Princess Half Marathon!  My parents paid for our room for Christmas and since they are also going we got a swanky two bedroom suite at the Animal Kingdom Villas.  We just love Animal Kindom and I can't wait for my mom to see how incredible it is!  I have been busy making dining reservations, which I compare to studying for my pharmacology tests, and just have on more lunch to figure out!  There will be some good eatin' going on while we are in Disney.  And there better be considering all the calories I will be burning!  Part two of the excitingness of Disney is that two of my best friends (and their hubs) will be there running with me!  All the boys running in their tutus will be pretty funny too...

After we get back from Disney, Bobby will start his terminal leave from the Army.  This will be such a bittersweet time for us both.  This is all we have known for the past 6 years and the only wife I have ever been is an Army wife!  I have met so many amazing people being an Army wife and a ton of those people I have never met face to face!  But we share something special and understand each other better than most non-Army friends. 

Like I said before, a new job means a new house!  I spend hours looking at houses online, mostly in the towns Bobby and I are from, but some in other dream locations.  I have my dream house all planned out in my head.  This will make it easier when we do go to find a house right?  As long as the house has a craft room, I will be happy.  All my crafty goods need a nice new space to spread out.  Another small request is a laundry room.  Something slightly larger than the laundry closet we have right now.  Hopefully unpacking will make it easier to find proper places for all the stuff we have.  A shopping trip to The Container Store might not hurt either...

This past weekend was our last (for real this time) St. Barbara's Day military ball.  And it was extra special for three reasons! 

    1. Bobby's parents came down to come with us!  They had an absolute blast.  Ann even cried.  Twice.

    2. Bobby was awarded the St. Barbara Award!

    3. I was awarded the Molly Pitcher Award!

I'll put some picture up when I get them from Bobby's parents.