ACDC2005

Unexpected

2012-01-02T21:56:00.000-08:00

Two things I've heard recently from my husband that I did not expect to hear for a long time:

"We should make Penny a little brother or sister!"

"Don't you think she'd be the BEST big sister ever?"

Honestly, if it wasn't for the endless puking I'd be ready to try again soonish. Natural childbirth was cakewalk compared to that. And doing it with a baby to take care of every day too? I shudder just thinking of it.

Also there's the whole mystery of our daughter. Was she just our one and only miracle? Or can we even do it again?

2011-12-06T19:50:00.000-08:00

I finally joined pinterest! Come find me! My nickname if you don't know my name is Gypsydoula :) Happy pinning!

Business of Being Born

2011-11-05T23:35:00.000-07:00

Did you watch The Business of Being Born? Did you know that MORE Business of Being born is premiering in LA this coming Wednesday (well one of the episodes anyway)? You could win a pair of tickets from The Feminist Breeder to attend the premiere! Just click >here< to learn how!

2011-10-15T14:13:00.001-07:00

One of these days soon I'll catch up on my blog, and maybe catch up on all of your lives too!

I'm 5 months today!

2011-10-10T17:37:00.000-07:00

^ this is what we do to our kid to document.

Coconut butter

2011-09-29T23:50:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to make a short post about my recent experience making nut butters! I've been pretty obsessed with Artisana coconut butter since I tried it recently. It's seriously delicious (if you love coconut like I do) and majorly expensive to! For a small jar it's like 13 bucks at whole foods. I ended up finding this blog that's one of my new faves and she had a coconut butter recipe I had decided to try out. It's way easy and tonight (thanks to my mother in law for letting me use her food processor) I made regular and dark chocolate! Yummy! Cost =$5 for both (about a pound of coconut + 88% dark chocolate bar).

Penny needs the ghost busters.

2011-08-15T13:42:00.000-07:00

Penelope is concerned that Sophie might be possessed.

Never say never reason #1

2011-08-04T09:42:00.000-07:00

I always thought I'd never be one of those moms who plops their baby down in front of the tv. Well that was before I was a mom. And most importantly a mom of a baby with colic. Sometimes the only thing that will stop her screaming is some good ole tv. Doesn't matter what it is, and frankly I really don't care if it stops the crying. Yep. I'm one of those moms. In fact she's currently watching the news. Let the stoning begin.

SOURCE

The above picture was Penny for over 12 hours yesterday, except for the few moments she was asleep (and the fact that she isn't a delicious cake). She even screamed while nursing. And yes, we are making her a cake that looks like this for her first birthday. If we all survive that long.

Put on your mom jeans

2011-08-03T15:47:00.000-07:00

I've become an unstylish frumpy mom. This is pretty much what I've been walking around looking like the past 3 months since I birthed a crotch goblin:

I need a shopping trip asap. ~~Someone~~ Dustin will be caring for our daughter while I make that happen. In about a week. Hot mom jeans here I come!

The Graduate

2011-08-02T13:15:00.000-07:00

Dustin finally graduated from the Army Recruiting Course and now we can move onto the next chapter in our lives! He even got Honor Grad! My husband is soOooO smart :) I am so proud of him!

Receiving his award!

I'm getting really excited for our move to Los Angeles I even bought my first LA Groupon for hot yoga today! I've never done hot yoga but have always wanted to try it, so I'm pretty stoked!

Penelope is going on her first plane ride a week from today! Wish us luck! We are going back to Washington to spend time with our wonderful friend Tasneem and Daddybear before we head down to California!

11 weeks! And other ramblings.

2011-07-26T10:52:00.001-07:00

Penelope is 11 weeks today! So far she can laugh, swat at toys, hold up her shoulders and head when she's on her tummy, roll over half way, coo (a lot), grab things, squeal, and bear weight on her legs. I'm pretty sure there are lots more that I'm not thinking of at the moment.

We've been dealing with colic for quite a while and I took her to see my herbalist a few times and a pediatric chiropractor 3 times (so far). The chiro suggested that I refrain from dairy for a while to see how she does. When I first started I was accidentally eating things with dairy as there are a lot of foods that have hidden dairy protein in them. I have officially been dairy free (for sure) for a week now and the last few days Penelope has been pretty awesome! I also decided to put her baltic amber necklace on her since it is supposed to help with digestive problems and pain in the head and neck (among other things), so it could be a combination of all the things we are doing (or maybe she's just growing out of it), but either way it is so wonderful to not feel like she's uncomfortable all the time and there is nothing I can do about it! I'm hoping this lasts. I will gladly cut out dairy forever if I needed to if it made her feel better. I've actually found I feel better not eating it myself, and there are some tasty alternatives too! >This< is one of my favorite discoveries! It's actually made me become more creative in what I eat and eat more healthy all the time. I'm almost back to pre-pregnancy weight too! I know that no one but me is probably excited about that.

We are still having some breastfeeding struggles but we are getting closer to fixing them....I hope anyway. It's been a hard road but it's something I feel very strongly about doing for my child so all the hard work is worth it to me. Even at times when it doesn't feel that way.

In two weeks Penny will go on her first plane ride with me to Washington so we can visit with friends (and be back with Daddy) before our move down to Los Angeles. We are very excited about this move! We have some friends close to where we are moving already and we won't be far from Dustin's family. Penny will get to be by some of her cousins, one of which is only 5 weeks older (Dustin's twin sister's baby boy) so that will be fun to watch them grow up together!

Dustin's parents were just up for a visit a week and a half ago, along with Dustin and they got to meet Penny and spend some time with us. We had a lot of fun! Here are some recent pics (and some from the weekend):

Back with Daddy and all smiles

How rad is our daughter?!

Grandparents with Penny

Tummy tub time

Daddy and daughter

We love our babygirl!

Also, cutest baby laugh in the world:

Also, everytime I show this video to Miss P she smiles and laughs all over again. She loves looking at herself on the computer.

2011-07-18T12:51:00.000-07:00

Do other moms get super paranoid that they're going to get knocked to the up again right after spawning a baby? I swear it's a sickness of mine. I'm all ready to POAS again and my husband has spent 98% of the last 2 months of our daughter's life in other states!

Happy 4th of July!

2011-07-04T18:09:00.000-07:00

Penelope went to her first fireworks show...

And I lit stuff on fire, hooray!

Happy Father's Day

2011-06-19T20:16:00.000-07:00

First time holding Penny

There is no other person I'd rather be on this journey of raising our amazing daughter with, and no better person for the job. We have gone through so much to get to this point, and I know that we appreciate this beautiful blessing that much more. I know already you would do anything for Penny. She is so lucky to have you. So am I. We may not always have time on our sides, but we definitely have love, and lots of it! Happy Father's Day! I'm looking forward to watching you grow as a father for many more years to come!

It's a Party in the USA

2011-06-17T08:46:00.000-07:00

Actual conversation between Dustin and I last night:

D: Maybe they'll send us to Calabassas and we can have a show called "Keeping up with the Kardashians"
A: Maybe we can have a show called "Recruiting the Kardashians"
D: That would be an epic win.

Yep, that's right folks, we're heading out to Los Angeles in August! We don't know what part yet, and it is pretty big but I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a few areas that I'd be super happy with. I'm sure they need recruiters in Beverly Hills though, right?

Via Google Images

Penelope's Birth Part 2

2011-06-15T15:28:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's taken me so long to get to this second part! There are photos that can be sort of graphic, depending on your personal threshold for those sorts of things. I tried to choose only ones that didn't show full on breasts, nipple, booty, or crotch.

Brandi applying pressure to my lower back.

So I thought I was in transition but I thought it had to be way too early. Shortly after that moment, my midwife's assistant/apprentice, Mindy arrived. She brought with her Brandi's computer and we started to set it up so we could video Dustin in. Multitasking in hard labor is not so easy. I'm on my hands and knees at this point and we are waiting for the computer to load up and I have another contraction, in which Mindy puts pressure on my lower back/hips. It was really, really nice but also kind of a weird sensation which made me wonder if the baby was posterior up until that point. I keep forgetting to ask Mindy if that was the case but it may have just been that I was feeling it more in my back. After she had applied pressure it sort of felt like the baby moved and I started feeling more pressure in my abdomen at that point. A few minutes later Brandi arrived and I was told by my Mom that Dustin was going to be online so I'm pulling up the google homepage and I'm signing into my gmail all the while having contractions. It was so hard to concentrate, and I would have had someone sign me in but telling someone my password would have been just as hard. I'm laboring on the floor still next to the couch, mostly on my hands and knees rocking or sometimes laying on my side when a contraction comes and I think at that point it had felt like I wasn't going to make it, so I told Brandi and Mindy in my Ricki Lake moment that maybe this was a mistake. I sort of laughed about it, but Brandi told me that we could go to the hospital, but she didn't think that was what I really wanted (and it wasn't, nor would I have been able to stand riding in a car at that point either). So I asked her to check me. Normally I'm not for vaginal exams but I really wanted to know if I was as far into this thing as I thought I might be. Turns out, I was. She said there was only a tiny bit of cervix left to thin and pretty much right after that check I said I felt like I needed to push and I asked if I could get into the pool. The pool wasn't filled up all the way (or even as warm as it should have been) because my mom had just washed towels before we pulled out the tub not knowing I'd be going into labor shortly so we had run out of hot water. I got in the tub anyway and it was nice to just be able to sit in a more upright position and have something to hold onto. Brandi told me to imagine that last bit of cervix melting away with my next several contractions. I did and the next several contractions had me pushing. It was not a feeling I could stop or slow down at all. I tried thinking back to my hypnobabies cds and to just go with the contractions and to breathe her down with each one. I also didn't want to do what is called "purple pushing" so I did really try to pay attention to my breathing when I was pushing. I had been told before by several people that when you pushed it was a feeling of relief. It really was. My body just took over for the most part and I just did my best to go with it. I was exhausted in between each one though. Like extremely exhausted. All I wanted to do was rest my head on the side of the tub until I needed to push again. I was totally waiting for the moment when I felt the "ring of fire" because I knew it would be close to the end when I finally did. I started to feel her crowning a bit but a few times she came down and then went back up a bit, which is pretty common. I asked how many more times I'd have to push until she was out, to which Brandi replied only a few. By that point thought I was just so tired I wanted to be done. I asked how big the baby was and Brandi told me she was big enough, haha. The contractions were taking over and my body was pushing her out and once I finally felt the ring of fire with that push her head was out. I rested for a moment and then reached down to feel her and if she had hair because I'd asked a few times but wasn't able to feel her before that point. I informed everyone that yes, she has a ton of hair. Contrary to the old wives tale about lots of hair equaling lots of heartburn, I really didn't have it that often, but I was curious to see if it would be true for me. Once her head was out it was followed closely by a shoulder and arm and I remember (and we caught it on our video of the event) her hand going up and touching my thigh. Just one small push after that and she was out. The cord was wrapped around her neck twice (which is common and happens in about 1/3 of all babies and is no need for early cutting of the cord or anything emergent) and Mindy unwound it and she and Brandi passed her under my legs to me. I remember the feeling of picking up her tiny, slippery body and that first feeling of holding her in my arms. I was so relieved and amazed and in love. She looked so tiny and beautiful. Of course I wanted to do the big gender reveal for Dustin to see on video chat so I had Rhiannon hold it to where he could see and did the whole open her legs deal to show that she was indeed a girl as I'd been telling Dustin the whole time. I wanted he and I to be the first to see though, or at least feel like he was a part of it. We got her to latch and nurse a little bit and just relaxed for a few while the midwives kind of worked around us. Dustin asked if I felt better...I felt way better and that's exactly what I told him. It was nice to not have her rushed away from me. We left her cord attached to the placenta until it stopped pulsing and about 10 minutes after her birth I got out of the water and delivered the placenta. I was a tad worried about this because I thought it would be a bit different than it was. It really was not noticeable at all really compared to her birth. I thought it would be more dramatic than it was. I sat down on a chair with her still in my arms and my mom got to cut the cord! The midwives checked my uterus and showed me the placenta (which they said was indicative of a very great diet). I was surprised since the first 24 weeks I was literally starving to death due to not being able to hold most everything down, but I did try to make up for that in the last part of the pregnancy. It was interesting to check out though I don't think something most people would care to see. I then had to make my way to the bathroom so they could make sure things were okay 'down there' and we could take our herbal bath while they took Penelope to weigh her and do a few routine checks. Her APGARS were 10 and 10 and when they told me she weighed 7lbs 2oz I was so surprised because she seemed so much tinier to me. She was 20 inches too! I knew she was somewhat long for her weight anyway. They brought her in to me for the herb bath and we just relaxed a bit and after I was able to eat and cuddle my baby and talk to Dustin on video chat. It really was amazing. Before they left they made sure I didn't need any stitches-nope I sure didn't, hooray!. I wish Dustin could have been there for real but if there's a next time we'll have to make sure he is able to get there. No more deployments or schools for 3 years so I hope we can do it. All night that night I replayed the birth in my mind. I couldn't sleep, I was so high and in love. Seeing that beautiful angel girl made me love Dustin even more. Those 5 1/2 years of waiting for her were so worth it. All the heartache and trouble, every bit of it.

Meet Penelope

Herb bath

Penelope's Birth Part 1

2011-05-18T17:30:00.000-07:00

Well as it's been a week today since she was born, I figured I might as well at least start on her birth story while it's still somewhat fresh in my mind.

As most of you know, I started early/pre-labor almost 3 weeks before the actual big day. I lost my mucous plug, I started having contractions, and several times they were consistent for days and then would pick up for a half a day to a day and then slow back down. So, needless to say, I was exhausted and not exactly impatient, but certainly felt like a ticking time bomb. I knew the day would come, and that it would be when she was ready as we tried everything there was to naturally (except castor oil because I wasn't about to get diarrhea intentionally) get things started. Dustin took his leave during one of our false alarms but it came and went with no baby. It was nice to see each other though and I was able to be in my friend Emily's wedding too, so while Dustin was here we spent a weekend down in southern Indiana. That was kind of our last trip before the big day I suppose.

The early afternoon of May 10, I lost my mucous plug again but this time it was blood tinged and there was no mistake of this being what I thought it was. Still with no consistent or big contractions I wasn't too worried. I still thought I had a few days at least before it would actually happen, but I did text my midwife and Dustin as well to just let them know. I told Dustin that I thought it would probably still be a day or two, but of course he said to keep him posted on things (as if I wouldn't). For the next few hours I was really hoping things wouldn't happen yet because I was tired and because I wanted Dustin to be there somehow, or at least to have my laptop back (which was being fixed at the Apple store in Indy). I didn't think I could do it without him there, at least I really didn't want to and I was feeling a little overwhelmed by the thought. At a little after 3 I decided to go upstairs and just lay down for a few minutes. My back had been hurting, which wasn't anything new, but it was a little worse than it had been for a few days and I was getting tired a little easier. I had barely laid down when I felt and heard a "pop" and to be honest it kind of hurt and I remember saying "ow" and then a few seconds later again I said "ow" and for a few seconds I thought it was the baby kicking or doing something crazy in there until I felt a trickle. Since I know I was not peeing I yelled for my mom to bring a towel before I stood up so it wouldn't get everywhere. I immediately felt more pressure and my Mom told me to call my midwife, Brandi. I called her and was nearly in tears on the phone because I knew that the baby would arrive a lot sooner than I had expected and that Dustin would definitely not be there. I asked Brandi to bring her laptop and she said she would be on her way to me shortly. I then texted Dustin that my water had broken. My mom started setting up the birth tub and I walked around for a while in the house trying to finish a few things up and get through my contractions, which started shortly after my water broke and picked up very quickly from there. I got in the bathtub for a little while since my birth tub clearly wasn't filled up yet and that was nice but after a few minutes I just felt like I needed to get out and eat something. I ate some trail mix and tried to walk, rock, breathe and whatever came to me to get through the contractions. I had done my hypnobabies cd's and I really tried to focus and do that through them but my labor was so fast and furious I found it much harder to stay on top of the pain. Dustin text me about 4:30 and asked to tell him when contractions had started and I told him they had and that they were intense and again at 4:50 I told him I wasn't sure if I could do it without him. I think about this time or a little before was when I hit transition. I remember laying on my side and feeling like I had to puke (and consequently believing that the trail mix had been a bad idea) and yelling that to someone and my little sister bringing a bucket and then after the contraction ended I was exhausted and didn't feel sick anymore. When I felt sick though I remembered thinking "maybe this is transition, but it seems way too early"....

To be continued. It took me a day to get this far!! I will add or edit as I remember extra details too, so bear with me!

Also, I realize there are like 20 run-on sentences. I'll fix it someday, maybe.

2011-04-19T13:23:00.000-07:00

I think my body is an Amish lady but Nuggie doesn't want to be Amish, and really who can blame her/him? I like technology too.

TMI alert

2011-04-17T15:03:00.000-07:00

We were lucky and got to have our home visit with our midwife and her assistant on Thursday, the day after I picked up Dustin for a short visit that is supposed to end Tuesday. We got our water tub, our birth kit supplies, shared a meal, and showed them around a little bit. She (my midwife, Brandi) told us how Amish wives generally go into labor between certain hours of the day (evening, night, early morning) so that they don't have to disturb their husbands' (and consequently other husbands') working and let other people know their business or they go into labor on the weekends when it's more convenient. I, apparently am very much like an Amish wife. I am now "plug free" and was informed that if this baby doesn't come before Dustin was scheduled to leave Tuesday, she (Brandi) would be very surprised.

So, in case this is really it, make your final guesses people. Nuggie *might* be here sooner than we thought!

Wonderful news!

2011-04-12T12:22:00.000-07:00

Well it's taken FOREVER to finally come, but we got some ~~great~~ AMAZING news from the Army today. Dustin was told by his recruiting school that he should have no problem getting leave for the birth of our little nugget!!! He also should be out for a visit in the next few days too. I am SO excited and happy! I can't wait to get prego pics taken and spend some time together before the baby gets here! We don't have much more time left! Since this will probably be our last time as a family of 2 humans, what does everyone recommend we do? It's kind of like our 'babymoon'.

I just want to yell to perfect strangers on the street "MY BABY DADDY GETS TO BE THERE WHEN OUR BABY BORN!"

Week 33

2011-04-04T17:01:00.000-07:00

It has come to my attention that I am too passionate, I share too much information, and I often say things that people do not want to hear so without any further babbling on my part....Nuggie and I at 33 weeks:

To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment."

-Ralph Waldo Emerson-

A ram or a bull

2011-03-29T14:20:00.000-07:00

Our Nugget could be either an Aries (if s/he comes early) or a Taurus.

Thoughts?

Yes I am quite aware that astrology is not 100% real.

2011-03-25T16:36:00.000-07:00

Well the Army has us in it's clutches for another 4 years. I was an almost Army Reserves wife for a few days. After an unnecessary amount of stress and hoop jumping (even by Army standards) over the last 6 months, Dustin's re-enlistment papers were finally put through and approved (and signed by him the following day). Now it's off to recruiting school for him next month-just in time to miss our baby's birth (HOORAY)! Now let's hope they don't mess up his next batch of paperwork 50 more times before he goes.

What has the Army done for you lately?

Heaven's Gate Away Team

2011-03-23T08:15:00.000-07:00

I have realized recently that some people will really believe anything. Case in point:

Babies don't feel pain

Heaven's Gate (Side note-they had armbands that read "Heaven's Gate Away team" you can't make this stuff up)

Jonestown

Obama is going to put all Christians in concentration camps (so ridiculous and dumb I'm not even linking anything to it, but these are all mostly the same people "gearing up" for a muslim takeover, etc. etc.)

Andrea Yates, Susan Smith, Deanna Laney, Christina Rigg

And finally, this little ditty:

2012 The End.*

I don't know about you, but I'm going with the zombie apocalypse end of the world scenario.

*I must admit freely that I totally just skipped through most of the above video. 1. Because Navy guy in the beginning looks like he wants to laugh so hard. 2. I thought it was a preview for a sequel to Armageddon and you can't make a sequel to Armageddon, everyone knows that.

I guess in 9 months (or whatever specific date it's supposed to be) we'll either all be dead and/or in hell/taken up by the "rapture"/insert belief here. Or, these people will have to think of some really good excuse as to why this didn't kill us all. There's supposed to be some "secret" planet out there too Nasa is hiding that will kill the majority of us, we need to keep an eye on that one too, or so I've been told.

It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine.

The Sexy Savers

2011-03-16T10:04:00.000-07:00

If you haven't checked out my other blogging project (click here) then do so! We are doing a flash giveaway on our Facebook fanpage which you can link directly to from the blog page. It is running until tonight so hurry up! Consider it an early St. Patty's Day gift from me :)

Adventures in being pregnant

2011-03-15T12:07:00.000-07:00

Today we're going to talk about boobs. Yes, boobs. If this subject is offensive to you, please stop reading immediately.

If you've ever entered the dressing room of a Motherhood Maternity store, you've probably noticed those cheesy belly pillows with elastic straps and velcro on them. The first time I went in there I had literally no idea what it was, maybe some seat cushion had come off the chair or something...upon further inspection I realized that it was to add bulk onto your belly so you could try out clothes and see what they look like when you got farther along. Although on me it looked pretty lumpy-I hope my bump doesn't look like that by the end. Today as I was feeling pretty depressed that NONE of my clothes from pre-pregnancy that I thought would still fit me since they were more flow-y, in fact, fit me. Not because my belly is too big but because my chest is too big! It's kind of nice in some ways but at the same time, I'm a little bit scared to see how close I am to Z by the end of this thing. I had to order a bridesmaid dress 4 (YES 4) sizes bigger than my normal size because of these girls! Seriously, anyone else experience this phenomena? Anyway, I think that Motherhood Maternity should put some boob pads in their dressing rooms so we can all try on maternity clothes and see if those will still fit us in the chest in a few months, so we can plan accordingly. It's depressing to buy something cute and then grow out of it a week later especially when they charge a million dollars for maternity clothes as it is! Geez. And in case you are wondering, size quadruple P bras are either 1) not attractive because they need to function rather than be cute: i.e. be industrial strength in order to hold up the twins 2) cost a bajillion dollars if they are in fact cute, which is a rare occurrence.

Anyone else feel me on this one?

*PS* I really wanted to post a hilarious boob picture, but I was too afraid of what google might've come up with, so you'll just have to use your imagination.

This is what the 3rd trimester looks like

2011-03-11T12:15:00.000-08:00

Wow! I can't believe how long of a blogging break I've taken! Anyway, I'm in the third trimester now, and it's so CRAZY! I can't believe it!

I'm in my 30th week now and there are less than 2 months until our guess date! We'll see when this little one wants to arrive though.

Notice how one side of my belly is a little higher than the other side? I got to feel the baby at our last appt. with my midwife (little head, thigh, back, bum!). Baby is still head down and ROA. Now I know what keeps jabbing me in the kidney...an elbow! As long as Nuggie stays this way until birth, we are good to go (and that's what I'm planning on).

I can kind of see my feet still. If it try really hard.....

Dustin was able to attend my appt. with my midwife this week via google video chat! It was really nice since he's been missing out on the last several of them. You definitely can't get that option in a hospital, and I am very grateful that my midwife is so willing to accomodate. The heartbeat was 144 and the nugget hated the doppler! Kept trying to get away from the noise!

I am getting increasing uncomfortable as I get bigger which comes with the territory, and even though they say they are supposed to be less active after 28 weeks it doesn't seem like that's been the case! This is one active baby.

I've been starting to feel nausea again this week, and I have gotten sick as well but I'm hoping that it doesn't mean that it's back for the last 10 weeks. One month off was not enough!

I think that's about all that's going on besides getting ready for the birth and to have this little one!

Confessions of a formerly infertile Mama (to be) Episode 2

2011-02-15T07:06:00.000-08:00

I will mourn being a family of two humans. Call me worldly, call me whatever you like (I've heard it all by now), but the past 5+ years have been amazing. We've had the opportunity to do so many things we would have never been able to accomplish with a baby (or two) in tow. I'm gonna miss the freedom.

Don't get me wrong, I know a +1 will be awesome too, but you can't get those younger years back. I'm glad we took advantage of them.

How's that for a confession?

Valentine's Day

2011-02-14T10:50:00.000-08:00

Today is our 6th Valentine's since being married, and of these 6, we've spent 1 together. As in, in the same place. We even went on a date that one year! Haha! I'm not saying this because I want to talk about how much I hate Valentine's Day, or how sad I am that we aren't together, because honestly it's just another day to me (though I do enjoy eating lots of yumminess on Valentine's Day for the record). But I'm sure that there are definitely some other military wives out there that can relate. It's funny that even when our husbands are home from a deployment, they are generally still always missing all the "important" stuff. Holidays, birthdays, their children's births. Just because they're "home" doesn't mean they aren't off doing something: in the field, schools, training, on CQ-and by this I mean gone, the entire day/night or week, month, year. I don't think that many people understand this. They think when your husband arrives home safely from a deployment, that's it, he's done, and life goes on as it normally would. Of course most of us military spouses know differently.

Previous Valentine's Days for me consisted of a call, email, or video chat, with my soldier (if I was lucky), and about a month of prior planning and plotting to get a package ready and shipped out before the holiday, in order for him to receive a box of goodies on or before said holiday. Aside from shipping out a package a few weeks ago (which I did not do this year-hey sometimes we just need a break), this year will be no different. My soldier-man will call me on my google chat and we'll have an "online" date, and it will be enough. I don't need cheesy cards or expensive gifts, because even though our life isn't easy, it's ours together. And we have lots of love the whole year through! Though gifts of food are always appreciated, honey! Just want to throw that out there!

*Next year* Ah the military spouse's dream world is always in terms of *next year* it seems. Maybe *next year* we'll get to be together, or *next year* will definitely be better because of X,Y,Z. Well I think next year will definitely be better-because we'll have our little nugget to be our Valentine. Hopefully our soldier will be home and bring us something yummy! That's the plan anyway....we'll see if the Army is on board with that one.

I hope that all of you have a wonderful Valentine's Day, whether you celebrate it or not! And if you are away from your sweetheart as I am, I hope that you at least have something delicious to eat, something beautiful to look at, a baby to cuddle (furbabies count!), or a friend to make you laugh, and if you're waiting for your soldier I hope you receive that call/email/video chat.

And if you're bored, you can always do something wonderful for someone else! Spread the LOVE!

<3 you, sweetie

100 days??!

2011-02-08T10:39:00.000-08:00

Wow! Can you believe there are only 100 days left until my guess date?! I know it doesn't mean Nuggie will be born then, but it's definitely getting closer! So much has been going on, where to start?

First off, I finally popped! Yep I'm wearing maternity clothes and everything! I did find that H&M has some pretty cute stuff, and it's not super overpriced either, so I've pretty much been living in my maternity jeggings. A lot of my preggo friends were telling me how comfy maternity jeans are, and it turns out they were right. I do the cut under the belly kind-not the panel, but it's much more comfortable than doing the hair tie in the buttonhole thing. So here's me looking all pregnant and stuff:

Week 25

Woo hoo! I gained quite a bit in about a week or so (up about ~13 pounds from pre-pregnancy weight). It might be that I think I finally did kick the morning sickness/daily vomit seshes for the remainder of this pregnancy. Well I hear until the end? I'm trying to be optimistic though. Maybe it'll skip me?!

The little nugget has been crampin' my style too! Literally! I woke up the other night with the most painful leg cramp I'd ever experienced in my life. 2 1/2 days later and my leg still hurts! I did talk to my midwife about everything though, and ordered some supplements which should arrive here in the next day or two, and hopefully those will help keep that from ever happening again! I don't have Dustin here in Indiana to massage the leg cramp away when it wakes me up from a dead sleep so I am constantly reminding myself to not stretch my leg.

Our diaper stash is growing! I am so excited every time I receive fluff mail! It's my fave! I just can't wait to put Nuggie's bum in some soft, fluffy diapers!

I'm also hoping to get my hypnobabies homestudy course soon! We won't be able to attend childbirth classes together (as far as I can tell) and I've been hearing great things about this course for a while, so I'm excited to get started!

Dustin's whole situation is pretty messed up too, so it looks like there's now a big chance he won't be there for the birth either, which breaks my heart. I'm trying to be okay with it though. Thanks, Army!

I'm starting La Leche League International meetings, and I'm so excited! Maybe someday I'll add lactation consultant to my list of jobs? That would be awesome! Don't get me wrong, I have no doubts that breastfeeding can be a challenge, but I'm excited to learn more and meet other breastfeeding moms and moms to be!

I think Nuggie is a morning person like her/his Dad! It works out okay on the west coast because I normally am up about 6 am and Nuggie is as well, but out on east coast time here it's a little more difficult to tell what is going on because my sleep pattern is different. They say that their sleep habits are what they will be when they are born by now. I suppose we'll find out.

Cravings are in full swing now, and it's mostly all sugar/chocolate! I'm trying to keep it balanced though, but I've been loving some Reeses PB cups. Got that one from Papabear too!

We are registered on amazon.com's baby registry. For those who have asked, you can look either of us up on there, and our registry will come up. Make sure to look in baby registry, not wishlist. Or, link >HERE<. We chose this because it was easier for us both to just do something online, since we have limited time together, and different areas we spend time in don't have the same stores, it's just easier like that. It also gives friends and family who are not nearby the option to have it shipped directly here. There is also an option to purchase any item we are registered for in a store, or elsewhere, if you prefer, and still mark it as purchased though, so no one else will buy it. And also we are registered for a few diapers (which I am constantly changing, haha-I'm an addict) >here<.

As long as nothing else changes-or hopefully changes for the better (in regards to Dustin's schooling for the Army), the baby shower will be sometime in April (no for sure date yet) here in Indiana.

Oh and one cool new development is that I can tell when Nuggie has hiccups now! It's so weird, and cute :)

*Don't forget to answer the NEW poll on the top right hand side!

**Update! There is a password you will need to get into the Kellyscloset gift registry and it's nugget

Something to lighten the mood

2011-02-07T10:32:00.000-08:00

On my flight back to Indiana/Ohio<---where I actually flew into, I decided to look through Skymall, which I normally don't do often, but I was bored, and being kicked A LOT every time I tried to sleep so I figured what the heck. I saw these shoes:

And they reminded me of something....Sperm shoes anyone? Am I the only person who noticed this? I mean, clearly there's a market for these bad boys. Are they supposed to give you extra powers? Make you more fertile? Run faster than a sperm?! What's the dealio?!

The oracle

2011-01-29T13:20:00.000-08:00

We've been given an answer. Dustin's school will be in April as his new orders state and he will either try to make it home for the birth OR try to get them post-poned until after the birth. Now we just have to decide what we will do, what suits our family the best. I wish it was an easy decision to make. ~~Where's a crystal ball when you need one?~~ Found this one via google (I love google-most of the time) and typed in "should I move back to Washington?"

The answer:

YES

Maybe I should ask a fortune teller too, just to be safe?

Answer:

Sure, why not?

Our answer is pretty clear now, right?

*I even asked a Magic 8 ball....(just to cover all the bases)

Answer:

Outlook Good

In limbo

2011-01-25T14:55:00.000-08:00

Just when we think we've gotten one step ahead of the Army, we realize we have again been bested!

I moved across the country during Christmas because we assumed (since we had orders already) that Dustin would be going to school in March-April, we'd be out of the house by the end of January and have it all packed up and ready to be moved when we pcs in June (since we had orders), and that's when Dustin had time off to help me drive all the way to Indiana. There are a few other reasons, but whatever, you get the point.

I flew out to Washington last Thursday so I could help Dustin get the rest of the house packed up, get rid of more stuff, clean, and all that jazz before we need to be out since he's been super busy with work, and also wanted to see me (and I him). We just got news that his orders have now CHANGED to April which means he would be in school from April-June, which will obviously not work out too well for us as the baby's "guess" date is in May. We can get these orders remedied after Dustin submits more paperwork with documents showing my due date from the doctor or midwife, which my midwife was nice enough to email me this morning with. But, we were told that we will most likely only get the orders pushed back to after the baby is born. So this means potentially a trek back to Washington for me, which I am not looking forward to at all (it's a long drive). All we can do is keep waiting and see what happens, but as I get more and more pregnant, this just doesn't sit well for me!

Where will we be for the birth of our baby? Who will be attending our birth? I have literally no answer to these questions at the moment, and it's a little unsettling.

Aside from all of that, we have some amazingly wonderful friends that have offered help, support, and just an ear to listen to me freak out, and for that I am very thankful! Hopefully our "hurry up and wait" time won't be too long.

Baby talk!

2011-01-18T13:41:00.000-08:00

If you hate reading my pregnancy updates, then you should probably skip this post altogether.

The drive over Christmas break to get here was pretty rough. I spent the entire time car sick, and have now puked in half the states in America. We got stuck in bad weather a few times also, but thankfully we finally made it! And we got to enjoy the break together, before Dustin left to go back to Washington.

We met and felt really comfortable with our midwives. Seriously, my whole experience in pregnancy has been transformed. I don't have a doctor or CNM trying to scare me into something I don't feel comfortable with doing, they answer questions, bond with us, talk with us about whatever we want, it's so nice. Our appointments last over an hour, and it feels so much more like it should. Everything is set now for preparing for our home water birth. Yes! We opted for the birth tub, which I'm extremely happy about. My parents are really on board with this too! It's so exciting. My Dad even said his Mom (my Grandma) was born at home back in her day, for $5! It's great that they are so supportive (and excited even) of my decision. I am so thankful.

I'm finally starting to show a little more, and I've gained about 5-6 pounds at this point.

I had 5 days of being puke free, which was a record because up until that point, I'd gone maybe 1 day here or there without. So, maybe it's going to get better? I hope!

The baby kicks and punches me all the time, and my belly moves like crazy. I will document this via video camera soon.

We still aren't finding out the gender until birth.

Pregnancy cravings: I still don't really have them often, if ever. I love pizza, veggies, kefir, fruit leathers, and cheese but I'm not entirely sure it's from the baby (because I already really liked all of those things).

Things I've learned in recent times:
Apparently there is a trick to peeing when your uterus grows to a certain size. It's weird.
Maternity clothes are mostly hideous.
Pregnancy pillows are not overrated at all.

I'll leave you with the most recent "bump" photo. Taken after I ate breakfast so I'm showing more than when I wake up, but less than the end of the day when I'm much more full.

Oh, and our baby is apparently the size of a papaya this week! I can hardly believe it fits in my belly, but it does.

Aaaaaannnddd, I went back to using our original due date, instead of the different one from the last ultrasound. It will probably put me closer to 40 weeks of gestation anyway, since most due dates are calculated only giving you 38 weeks + 2 phantom weeks instead of the more accurate way of calculating a due date. This calculator actually puts me due at the end of May/beginning of June.

Shizz my Dad says....on drugs.

2011-01-16T19:22:00.000-08:00

Mom and Dad

My Dad recently had knee surgery. Thankfully everything is going fine and he seems to be healing perfectly, and they didn't have to do a full replacement yet, so that was good too. The TV at my parents' house has also been broken for a few months, downstairs at least, so there hasn't been a lot of watching any TV (which is fine by me) but it has provided many interesting conversations, that have become even more interesting in light of the recent surgery and subsequent medications my Dad has been under the influence of. I started a running list of the hilarious things my Dad has been saying, enjoy:

Upon waking up from surgery, my dad says to my mom:
"I want Rally's and a donut."

Upon arriving home that same day while the rest of us carried groceries in:
"Where are my donuts?! I want a donut!"

This morning (Sunday) I woke up for the 1890797665 time to go pee at 5:30 AM, and my Dad yells to me after I come out of the bathroom:
"Hey Aimee! I've been trying to get Mom to do a comedy skit all night, and she won't do it. I told her she could even just say something in a stupid french accent but she won't even do that."

"It's the days of wine and roses."

"I feel stupid on this stuff, I just feel so weird."

After laughing to himself for about 5 minutes:
"I didn't want you to know I was stupid."

"I knew that you were just looking at me thinking man I wanna party with this guy."

"I'm really feeling funky tonight! I'm all aboard the funky train!"

"You can have that car, but remember, diamonds are forever."

"I'm invincible now! Just don't ask me to drive."

Dad: "I wish I could take a shower."
Me: "You can't yet, you'll just have to pretend in your mind."
Dad: "Well I'm gonna need a couple more of Mom's pills then."

"She has a methane leak, she tickled herself to death."

"I'm glad I didn't eat a snickers because then I would've gotten sick and my breath would smell like peanuts."

To be continued...

Confessions of a formerly infertile mama (to be) Part 1

2011-01-15T12:03:00.000-08:00

I never, in the last several years (at least), thought I'd be where I am at this very moment. Still pregnant, with an active, growing baby, and completely content with life. I must admit though, coming from the other side of the fence, I sometimes do feel guilty. It's not that I feel like I never deserved to be a mother, or have my own child, but I just never expected it to happen to ME. I see so many others who are struggling, who wanted it more than I did, for longer than I did, and my heart breaks for them. I know that no matter what the case was before this baby came into my life, they will never see me the same way. I am one of "them". I've crossed over. That doesn't mean I am in the clear, and everything will be perfect from here on out-though that is the hope, but there is definitely a line that has been crossed.

The first trimester was extremely hard for me. Every twinge or twitch in my body was reason to send me googling any and every possible scenario I could think up. I wasn't feeling that connection to the baby I so desperately wanted. I sort of expected that reaction, but it was so hard. I yearned to be able to just scream out to the world that we were having a baby, but I was so paralyzed by fear to share with even my family. Every time I went to the doctors office I was told that there were no promises, and I knew that, but it made keeping the faith even harder. I knew that no matter how much I wanted to know what was happening in my body at every second, there was no way I ever could. Coming from where I've been made that realization even more difficult to swallow. Even after I announced to the Facebook and blogger world, that I was indeed with child, and the child appeared to be 100% healthy, I still had a hard time feeling the excitement. It was all business. People would congratulate me and be so excited, and I'm ashamed to admit I wasn't on that level. I felt at any moment my whole world would come crashing down. And even though in the seconds before my pee showed me that second pink line, I was happily not having children for at least 3-5 more years (if I could ever have one of my own at all), I was going back to school, life was great, and I was moving onto accomplish my goals and dreams; once those double pink lines appeared, I KNEW, that there was nothing in the world I wanted more and none of that other stuff mattered as much. I was scared as hell, but I knew I would fight as hard as I could for this. I felt like it was my one and only final chance, and I had to prove I wanted it the most, that I deserved it the most. But how do you fight for something that you have no control over? That was my biggest dilema. I had the chance to grow this amazing miracle-just as I had 3 times before-and there was absolutely nothing I could do about it. Aside from thinking good thoughts and eating. So I did those things. It was the hardest 4 months of my life, those first 16 weeks. I was so overwhelmed with fear, exhaustion, sickness, depression, anxiety. I wanted to love every second of it, because I know all too well what it's like to lose something so precious, but yet, there were times when I just didn't think I could handle another second of it. It's shameful to think that I could ever feel that way, coming from where I am, knowing full well that there are women who would kill just to have the experience I was having, but yet, I couldn't get past it all. And now, even as I write, and am kicked from the inside, feeling insanely grateful, happy, peaceful, content; I must admit that I still feel a little guilty and afraid. I have to wonder, when you've been on the dark side of the moon, can you ever come back completely?

2011 is a year for changes!

2011-01-06T18:11:00.000-08:00

I normally don't make any resolutions because I like to change or do things as they come, but this year is different. I want to make some changes right now, and keep in mind things for the near future.

One of the biggest things that has been eating at me lately is gossip! Yeah, I'm not the type of person who will talk about people I love, at least I won't say anything about them I won't say to their face, but I've def been known to hear about everything else and participate too. I just don't care anymore! What a waste of my time. I don't want that negativity eating at me anymore. Done.

Negative people. From time to time I purge myself of these people, and for the next few months will be re-evaluating friendships/relationships in general. I'm sick of people around me who can't be happy for me because I choose a different path then they do, or that I obviously must not research any decision I make because I don't lie down and take the first advice that comes to me from a politician/doctor/elder/teacher/church leader (bishop, stake pres, pastor, whoever or however you want to put it). Not all advice is good advice, sound advice, or even has any truthful/doctrinal/scientific basis whatsoever. Do your own research, that's why you have a brain and free will. Common to popular belief I don't make major decisions in my life based on one thing I've read, seen, heard, or hearsay from a friend or friend of a friend, I actually utilize my brain and discuss things with my husband, and we make decisions together. I do not do what he tells me to do because I feel that, that makes me a "good wife". Argumentative people that also come to me with no basis for an argument besides hearsay or what someone told them to do, also fit into this category, and people that just like to argue because they don't agree with me. You can present your side of something without being rude, childish, manipulative, etc., but after a while, I just really don't care, so continual arguing or negativity will just make me dislike your attitude even more, and I dislike feeling that way, and just need those people gone.

Better time management. Yes, there are lots more things I'd like to master before the baby gets here, and I will be spending more time doing those things. Learning how to be the best mother I can be (yes I do use my brain!), improving on skills, and gaining ones I have yet to learn.

Now that I'm feeling slightly better getting back into exercising more. This will help tremendously with labor and I won't have to work as hard after the baby is born to lose the baby weight. Yes I do think of these things even though I'm not very big. Before I got pregnant this time I was eating awesomely, I had done several cleanses, homeopathic treatments for a few things, and was working out more. When I was deathly ill that obviously wasn't happening but yoga has been slowly creeping back in, as well as walking, and other exercises recommended by my midwives. I'm also entertaining the idea of doing a 5k walk fundraiser in the spring. We will see, but otherwise my exercise routine is back on.

Get rid of more crap. I need to organize and slim down my life and the clutter that comes with it, ASAP! Before I left Washington we got rid of so much stuff, and it felt REALLY good, but there is so much more I want to get rid of. This is part of the reason I have not bought anything I don't actually need for the baby. And I mean literally need, as in I haven't even bought clothing at this point, and I'm not worried in the slightest. It is also another reason I am happy we are not finding out the gender until birth. It will keep people from buying us more clothing than we need, and I'm honestly not worried about having a million contraptions that will keep me from my baby. I want to be with my baby.

Doing what I can to be a great wife, friend, lover, etc. to my husband. I feel like we have really great communication skills together. This didn't come instantly and is something we have had to cultivate over the years, and is also something that I cherish and have great pride in. We really work together as a team, and I hope we can continue to communicate well and have a balanced relationship after the baby is born.

This about as far as my list has gone at this point. I may add to it if I find something else that I feel needs work or attention. Hope everyone has had a happy new year so far! Mine has been a little depressing in some ways but I am making the best of it.

Moving!

2010-12-10T13:50:00.000-08:00

Seems as if I am always moving, maybe it's because I am! I'm leaving Washington in a week to a week and a half and I am sad. I will miss all my friends that I've made here. Dustin will return after Christmas break to finish packing up the house into storage and then stay in the barracks for a few months until he goes off to recruiting school. I will be living with my parents in Indiana again, and that way if anything happens or the baby decides to come early, I will have someone to help me out. Dustin's school ends at the very end of April and as you know nugget is due May 14 so we were worried about me being here alone. It is definitely going to be hard, but after the deployments we've been through, this shouldn't be too bad, so I'm trying to stay positive. His school will be on the east coast so there's also the possibility of me visiting him while he is there since I won't be too far away. We also just put in for our wish list of potential places we will be moving in June of next year. Our number one is of course, Southern California, and I am hoping and praying that is where we will get to move. We did choose some areas around where my parents live as well (Indianapolis, Chicago, etc). It was a hard list to make, as it decides our fate for 3 years! 3 years will be the longest we've been able to live in any one place since getting married, so I would love for it to be a place we both love and would enjoy. And of course we'll be adding a baby into the mix too!

As far as the pregnancy goes:
I went to see my midwife here on Monday and I have officially gained 2lbs! I am still considered underweight but she didn't seem worried at all, and in fact told me she'd rather me gain too little than too much. The baby bump is still looking the same or smaller, depending on when I've eaten, so no difference there.

I am feeling the baby move all the time, and Dustin can feel it now too! It is such an unreal feeling! I love it!

My boobs are now at Heidi Montag status-they don't look real in the slightest. At least my face hasn't morphed into hers though.

I have some sciatic nerve issues (which is weird since I've only gained 2 lbs) and I am pretty sure I've also had braxton hicks a few times.

I'm starting to feel better more and more often.

I have been having asthma issues which doesn't surprise me much because it's that time of year, but I have a recheck on Monday to make sure that myself and the baby are okay.

I have become obsessed with cloth diapers! They are just too adorable and I can't wait to put our baby's bum in one of those soft, tiny diapers! Those lil joeys are the cutest (the purple and grey ones)! They are for 4-12lbs and they even have a fold down flap for the umbilical cord.

Tomorrow I am 18 weeks! I can't believe it!

We now have an official appt. to meet with our potential homebirth midwife in Indiana during the Christmas break. I am really excited about this. I remember hearing about water birth when I was in middle school I believe and thinking it was an intriguing notion, pretty cool actually. Then hearing about home water births, and home births in general, and how interesting it all was. When I got to massage school back in 2006, I remember realizing what area I wanted to work within (pregnant women, infants, etc), and the more I learn through my different studies, the more I love it. It speaks to me. I learn new things every day and just want to bring this baby into the world in the most peaceful and loving way, surrounded by loved ones.

I should probably stop procrastinating for now and get at least my clothes packed up!

Mr. Pepe vs. the cabinet that contains his favorite dog treat

2010-11-24T20:30:00.000-08:00

I wanted to share some other stories since all I've been talking about lately is baby stuff. But I'm not always like that, promise. The first one is about Pepe trying to score some treats.

It was a Sunday, and I believe it might've even been Halloween, but I can't be for certain. I am pretty sure it was a Sunday though because Dustin was working all day on school work because his semester was ending. He started reading me one of his essays he was finishing and out of nowhere we hear some crashes. Kind of like a jump then a slide then a crash kind of deal. We both run downstairs to investigate. I ran to the sliding glass door and moved the curtain thinking maybe Pepe was trying to attack another cat or animal through it again and that's what we were hearing but he wasn't there. We checked the rest of the living room, dining room, and kitchen. No Pepe. I then go back into the living room and even look in the bathroom, and he's not in the extra bedroom either. So we start calling his name and don't hear his little bell collar tinkling, or any meows. Then I'm thinking maybe he was up in the cabinet above the dryer because I had just recently moved these dog treats (really it's just duck jerky) into that cabinet because he discovered them on top of the cabinet and was eating them. He's not in the cabinet. So I tell Dustin to look behind the washer and dryer. THERE HE WAS. He wasn't even gonna fess up to being stuck back there until we discovered him, and then of course he meant to fall back there and was not really having any problems getting out so we should just leave him alone. Except that wasn't really the case, the little fatty was stuck, and he wasn't getting out, and now he's meowing because he's mad we've found him out. He even dragged a shoe down with him when he fell, and when I tried to get him out he made it pretty difficult. But I finally grabbed him out of there and I think he learned his lesson. But who really knows with cats? George Carlin has a funny skit where he talks about how cats never fess up to anything, and it's so true. They hate to be embarrassed, that's why I took incriminating pictures of Mr. Pepe when he was stuck, so we could embarrass him for years to come.

As you can tell he looks angry and not amused in the slightest. But we had a good laugh about it.

Weekly update (again)

2010-11-24T20:08:00.000-08:00

I'm sorry if I'm boring some of you with these updates.

How far along? 15 weeks 4 days
Total weight gain/loss: I'm not sure but as of last week I was about a pound and a half down from pre-pregnancy weight.
Maternity clothes? Not yet
Stretch marks? No
Sleep: About 8 hours. Some days more if I'm tired or not feeling well I'll nap.
Best moment this week: I JUST FELT THE BABY MOVE!!!! I had been feeling it for a few days but I wasn't for sure. Sitting here reading an article online about 30 minutes ago it was for SURE the baby and not gas. Also the fact that I am feeling better, is fabulous.
Movement: YES!!! I can't wait for everyone else to be able to feel it too!
Food cravings: Chili, I LOVE spicy, I also love Coconut M&M's!
Gender: We did the Intelligender and it said it's a Boy!
Labor Signs: No thank goodness
Belly Button in or out? Innie (still)
What I miss: It's hard to say, I don't miss being as sick as I was, and while I'm not 100% not nauseated I will take this over what it was. While I am finally showing a bit, and sometimes a bit more if I'm full, it is a welcome and unwelcome thing all at once. I knew this would happen, though I didn't expect it already, and I'm happy that the baby is growing, but it also makes it feel more real, if that makes sense. I'm actually SHARING my body with another living being. Which is crazy. And awesome.
What I am looking forward to: Feeling the baby move from the outside, so Dustin can share in the excitement! Eating lots of food tomorrow for Thanksgiving!
Weekly Wisdom: Vitamin b6 + 1/2 a unisom at night is wonderful for nausea.

Finally getting out there

My pee says it's a boy!

Weekly update

2010-11-08T16:05:00.000-08:00

I know I'm a little late posting the "weekly" update but I had a while where I was just too paranoid to do it. I don't know why, just hearing about others losing a child put me in a bad place, and I was worried that I'd made a mistake in saying anything at all. But I got my doppler so I can listen to the baby any time I'm feeling stressed and be put more at ease. I am thankful for that because it really has helped tremendously.

How far along? 13 weeks 2 days
Total weight gain/loss: I don't have a scale but I'd say none
Maternity clothes? No
Stretch marks? No
Sleep: 8-10 hours still
Best moment this week: Getting the fetal doppler in the mail and finding the baby's heartbeat.
Movement: Not yet!
Food cravings: I have craved fries once. Other than that I can't remember wanting anything specific.
Gender: According to this it's a girl.
Labor Signs: Thankfully no. STILL hoping it will be a while for this one.
Belly Button in or out? Innie
What I miss: Kind of the same things, feeling like myself, having more energy, getting out of the house and not having to puke out the door of the car.
What I am looking forward to: Feeling the baby move! Next doctor's appt.
Weekly Wisdom: This week's wisdom is not quite as dramatic. Don't eat what the baby repeatedly tells you it hates. Nuggie hates apples and pears, I've been warned (quite a lot).
Milestones: Getting out of the first trimester!

Weekly update!

2010-10-26T18:30:00.000-07:00

Since I didn't know about this earlier and couldn't do it exactly on 11 weeks I figured I'd start today! I don't know if I'll keep doing this every week but I might do it just for myself mostly, so if it's going to bore you, by all means you can stop reading now!

How far along? 11 weeks, 3 days
Total weight gain/loss: None! I had lost 4 lbs earlier in the pregnancy but I evened out again and have maintained my weight so far.
Maternity clothes? No....I have a feeling it might be a while for this one!
Stretch marks? No
Sleep: 10 hours maybe? Somewhere between 8-10 I think sounds right.
Best moment this week: Seeing our baby again on ultrasound and hearing the heartbeat, and Dustin getting to experience that with me. Also, the moment I realized Dustin was coming home with my prescription. I was crying right before and was dreading the night without them.
Movement: Not yet!
Food cravings: Not very often. I sometimes have them but they are usually fleeting. These days I don't want most anything. This week I haven't had any.
Gender: So far thinking girl, but I'm not set in stone on that YET.
Labor Signs: Thankfully no. Hoping it will be a while for this one.
Belly Button in or out? Innie
What I miss: Feeling normal, things tasting better, going through days without puking and feeling nauseated.
What I am looking forward to: Being out of the first trimester (it's soon). Each day is a blessing and I am thankful for them and taking everything a day at a time. Finally getting my hair cut tomorrow!!
Weekly Wisdom: Always, ALWAYS have your barf bucket handy, because when you gotta puke and pee at the same time equally bad, evil things can happen!
Milestones: Hearing the heartbeat! My boobs growing out of my bra again (Dustin pointed this out to me at the doctors today)...is this considered a milestone? Making dinner for the first time in quite a while, all by myself no help from the man.

I got the magic in me

2010-10-21T14:22:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the LONG post last night but I really wanted to get some of that out so I could remember it and transfer it to my pregnancy journal when I get it. There's so much more but I didn't want to bore you too much, so I'll save the rest for the journal.

So after the ultrasound yesterday I got in the car to drive home and this song came on the radio:

I've heard this song before (who hasn't) but when I heard the "I got the magic baby" part I just had to laugh and think this song was for me (and our dancing nugget). I feel like Rivers and B.o.B. are cheering us on every time I hear it now.

Our Rainbow baby

2010-10-20T20:58:00.000-07:00

Well I finally decided to make it FB official so I figured I'd make it blog official as well. Sorry to all of you who feel neglected by me, but there is a really good reason why, promise!

Shortly after our trip to Hawaii, my period was late. I kind of assumed it was maybe some sort of hormonal imbalance because a few months prior to this I had been doing some treatment with progesterone for some issues I have. Well I waited and waited and it didn't come. So on Monday Sept. 13th, after Dustin came home from CQ (24 hour duty) in the late morning I ran down the street to dollar tree and picked up two pregnancy tests. I fully expected them to be negative and that I would feel like a crazy person but I figured it was worth a shot. Well I did my thing and bam, not even a minute later there were two lines. I'd never had a positive test show me two lines that fast, and that dark before. My immediate reaction was to cry. We were not trying at all, it just wasn't a convenient time for us and I was also just not feeling ready. Not so much emotionally, but more physically. I've had rough pregnancies before and I just didn't know if I could deal with all of the sickness and then bad news again. But all of that aside I figured I would try to be excited, I mean, this came out of nowhere so maybe it would be different. So I decorated a little index card and wrote "Mommy's pregnant!" on it and attached it to Shira's collar, which was kind of hard because she moves around a lot! After that Dustin started to wake up so I told him "Shira has something to tell you". Of course she sees he's awake and runs over to him and he grabs her collar and gets the note off and reads it for a minute and then looks at me and says "are you serious?!" or maybe it was "seriously?!" of course I said yes (still in shock myself) and we hugged. Pretty much right after that he says he's calling his grandma because it was her birthday and that he was gonna tell her. He said if she told other people they probably wouldn't believe her anyway. Of course my next step was to call the infertility clinic because that's what I'd been instructed to do if I became pregnant or wanted to get pregnant. They wanted me to get beta tests so that afternoon I went and got my first beta hCG test done to make sure the pregnancy was progressing. I called 2 hours after and they said my levels were 2,030! I went back in on Wednesday (which was two days later give or take a few hours) thinking everything would be fabulous as my levels were already doing really well, and two hours after the test I call and get bad news. My levels weren't doubling every 48 hours like they wanted them to so they are thinking it is a possible ectopic and they want me to come in on Friday to get another level drawn and an ultrasound to make sure the baby is in the right place. I was devastated. I know they didn't necessarily tell me that something was wrong, but the way they said things, just depressed me so much. I cried all day after I got the news but then for some reason I decided it wasn't over and then I started researching online, and I found some good news. Some hope. So Friday I was super nervous, and I was hoping that even though I was just over 5 weeks that things would be great and I'd magically see the heart beating already and everything would be great and I'd feel so much better. It didn't quite go down that way. I got my blood drawn and went right up to the infertility clinic. The wait this visit wasn't too long and when the doc came in and performed the ultrasound we saw the fetal sac and the gestational sac, which was actually really good for us! He didn't seem too excited for us but he did say "so far it looks okay". When I finally got home I took a little nap, and in that dream I dreamed my levels were 5,000. That would have been kind of low, but a decent increase so feeling hopeful, I called to get my levels. I was blown away because my levels had actually more than tripled since Monday, and they apologized and told me that Wednesday's levels were probably just a lab error! What a lab error to make! After all that nightmare we scheduled another appt. for about 2 weeks later. In that time frame we had to travel to San Diego for a wedding where it ended up being the hottest weekend of the year, and I was miserable....but I somehow survived, and when I got back the morning sickness really took over full swing! When I got in for my appt. I got some meds for nausea (which didn't really work) and we got our ultrasound. Not a super great experience unfortunately. The doctor was not very encouraging, and he came in 2 hours after our scheduled appt., which for a sick pregnant lady is not so great! We did see the heartbeat though, I wish we had gotten a little more info from him but that part was at least reassuring, and that did mean I graduated to the OB clinic. So I went to the OB clinic and scheduled my intake appt. I attended that appt. and receive stronger meds (THANK GOODNESS) and it seems like a pretty great experience which makes me feel so much better. Fast forward to today (Oct. 20) I go to the bathroom and have some weird spotting. I'd been having some back pain but wasn't sure if it was a uti starting or what so I decide to go in. They ask me a bunch of questions, take a urine sample, and then decide to do an ultrasound. I AM NERVOUS. Sitting by myself in that room I cried a few times. I'd never been this far a long and gotten good news from an ultrasound so it was very scary. The doctor finally comes in and preps the machine. He has a doctor that is training with him so he's showing her things that he's not showing me, but I do hear him say here's the baby in the uterus. And he's talking to her and showing her around my uterus and then he turns on the heart monitor and I hear the most beautiful sound in the world. Our baby's beating heart! Immediately I'm crying, and I'm apologizing and telling them I've never had good news this far along in a pregnancy, and certainly have never heard our baby's heart beating. After that he turns the screen to me and shows me the baby, and it is dancing ALL over the place putting on the biggest show. The doctor showed me the tiny face and the limbs and everything, it was perfect. He said our baby is quite the mover already! When he measured the baby it was measuring ahead which is also, awesome! After today I feel like I can breathe again, like I can finally start getting into this pregnancy! We will keep hoping for great news and keeping positive. I have another ultrasound next week and I can't wait for Dustin to be able to see what a beautiful and perfect baby we have, hear the heartbeat, and see it swimming around like a little mermaid/man (haha). So next May is going to be one busy month but I'm finally starting to feel like this is real!

Oh and the spotting. It wasn't a big deal apparently. They think it's from the fact that my vomiting is so violent. I know, weird.

Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day

2010-10-15T12:34:00.000-07:00

"All over the world, on one special day, grieving mothers light a candle for their babies"

I will be lighting 4 candles at 7 pm in remembrance of our 3 angels and 1 to remember those of our beautiful friends that were taken too soon. I invite all of you reading this blog to light a candle for yourself or for a friend, or both at 7 pm your time.

STILLmusic & lyrics: Gerrit Hofsink
I’ve been waiting for you
For such a long time
You’re always on my mind

And I’m lying awake
Most of the night
Waiting to hold you tight

Now that I do
And look at you
My heart is breaking
This can’t be true
Chorus:Lost you before I found you
Gone before you came
But I love you just the same
Missed you before I met you
On earth we never can
But in heaven we’ll meet again

Close to my soul
Close to my heart
Right from the start

Lost in time
Lost in space
Can’t wait to see your face

Now that I do
And look at you
My heart is breaking
I know it’s true
Chorus:
Lost you before I found you
Gone before you came
But I love you just the same
Missed you before I met you
On earth we never can
But in heaven we’ll meet again

Sometimes I find myself wondering what to do
With this pain that I’m going through
But I know one day, God will take me away
And I’m coming home to you

And when I do
And look at you
My heart is healing
I know it’s true

Chorus:Lost you before I found you
Gone before you came
But I love you just the same
Missed you before I met you
On earth we never can
But in heaven we’ll meet again

2010-10-13T21:47:00.000-07:00

Okay, okay, so we do have a slight update! We at least know WHEN we move. June 2011! Hopefully when they told us we wouldn't know where we'd be going until next March/April they lied. I don't know if I can wait that long to know!!! Such is the Army I guess..."hurry up and wait!" There MUST be some place really bomb being chosen for us if we have to go through all this, RIGHT?! That's what I'm going to keep telling myself!

Curveballs

2010-10-04T21:50:00.000-07:00

So 2010 is a year for some major curveballs thrown into the mix. Just when we've been making plans everything changes! Today we got another huge bit of info that has the potential to change everything AGAIN. As some of you may know, Dustin was planning on possibly re-enlisting (but more than likely) pending a few other things we were waiting on either changing or staying the same (could I be anymore cryptic?). Our original plans were to get out and he would go to school full time, but with the economy the way it is right now we were also a little scared to go that route, and of course another wrench in the plan, SURPRISE, that won't work. So we were weighing our options, and seriously contemplating a re-enlistment for Hawaii. After all the fun we had there we were excited at the possibility of going back so soon. Today Dustin got news that he was selected for recruiting and that we wouldn't have any idea where we would be going until next March. Recruiting scares me for several reasons, but I have heard that even though it is a non-deployable job, it is extremely stressful and hard on families as they literally work 24/7. I have also heard that it is one of the hardest jobs in the Army. I'm not sure what to think at this point. These days with the Army being bigger than it actually needs to be maybe it's a much better job, but maybe not. His ETS (estimated time of separation-from the Army) date is April 1, 2010 but with these orders from what we understand, its one of those things where you take the job and re-enlist for it, or you sign a declaration statement saying you are done with the Army and don't plan to return because you have other plans. While that second part sounds fine, we just aren't sure if we are completely DONE yet. As far as we know right now, he has no other options for re-enlistment and we aren't even sure if they will give him the option of choosing where we will go, which means we could literally end up ANYWHERE in the US. Yes, that opens up so many options: middle of nowhere USA, liberal city that hates the military (normally I'd be all for a liberal city, however, not when my husband has to meet a quota on the opposite end of the spectrum), the projects, the middle of frozen tundra Alaska....anywhere.....

Now we have so many more things to figure out, and once again, we are back to playing the waiting game.....TIMES 2!!!!

2010-09-17T17:20:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't been keeping up with either of my blogs recently. Things have been a little stressful recently and blogging hasn't been a big priority as a result. We had an amazing time in Hawaii though and although I'm sure most of you have seen the pictures, I just wanted to link to the album here in case you haven't. I should be adding the last day's pictures either tonight or tomorrow, finally!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=206720&id=507679610&l=c9a946194b

Shark week

2010-08-10T22:41:00.000-07:00

In 2 1/2 weeks we will be on the island of Oahu enjoying our first 'real' vacation together. I don't mean to brag but I have to admit I am pretty stoked on this vacation. I didn't expect this to be happening for another 2-4 years after school is (hopefully) finished for the both of us and we have a little more freedom, and more money coming in ala better paying jobs. Nevertheless, it will be an amazing and unforgettable trip and one that is long overdue for the two of us. I think 27 months of combat separation (and all the other stresses we have been through together) entitles us to a week in paradise, don't you? So getting more to my point:

Sunday night we were watching shark week from 2009 on netflix (if you don't have it you should). So we are watching shark week (Dustin's first-I used to watch it back in the day when it wasn't hip and they pretty much played the same episodes every single year) on netflix a year late because that's what you do when you don't have cable, and the episode we are watching is the "world's deadliest beaches" or something to that effect. So my first thought is "should I really be watching this when we are about to go to Hawaii?" and my second thought was "I hope Hawaii is not on this countdown". They go through all the deadliest beaches and they're getting to number 1 and right before it says the beach Dustin says "Hawaii" and I'm hoping it does not say Hawaii at all, and thankfully, it DIDN'T!!! It was Florida in case you are wondering. Then last night we watched some new episodes and one of them was all on shark attacks and the victims so maybe it wasn't such a good idea. The last few nights when I've gone to bed I have tried not to think of sharks because if not I'm going to have a nightmare of a shark attacking me by polaris breach like they do to those poor seals which is dumb because I a) shouldn't be in water deep enough for that to happen, and b) apparently it is only a thing sharks mostly do in South African waters. Today I even google shark repellent, like it's readily available for anyone who wants it, haha. All of that aside sharks really are fascinating creatures, I just don't want one to eat me or Dustin.

Lavender Festival

2010-08-03T12:09:00.000-07:00

We made the trip to Sequim, WA several weekends ago to attend their yearly Lavender Festival. The day was kind of a fail in a lot of ways but we made the best of it. We sat in traffic for most of the trip, got left at the last farm tour we were at by the bus driver-along with everyone else touring with us, Shira barked the whole time we left her with the pet sitters (they had them at the festival) and was the only one there since we were picked up over an hour late after getting forgotten, and we had car problems on the way home (which was part of the reason we bought Maru). I can't complain that we got a car out of the whole ordeal because I love it, but having a car payment again is lame sauce.

Anywhoozle, here are some photographs to serve as a permanent reminder of the day:

There was a field of these:

Chamomile

Lavender everywhere!

This was an accidental occurrence with my picture taking skills but ironically enough one of the farms was called "purple haze" so it feel like it was a win.

Waiting for the tour bus to come back to get us.....

We waited for a while...over an hour...people started calling cabs to take them back.

Despite the craziness of the afternoon and the fact that we missed the Beatles' tribute band play because of car trouble (which was a big reason for me going) and getting left at the farm, it was great to see all the fields of lavender and be together, despite everything else. The drive, was also gorgeous! We were up in the Olympic mountain range area and Dustin made sure to let me know that is where Edward hunts. Haha shhhhh don't tell.

Point Defiance rose garden

2010-08-01T19:40:00.000-07:00

Point defiance rose garden is almost always in bloom with something, and it's free so that is definitely a bonus.

Flower bed!

How about pink pants lady in the zen garden? Not so zen.

She did much better the second time around on the way back, haha.

We love to take afternoon strolls while admiring all of this beautiful scenery.

We did it! Dog-A-Thon 2010

2010-07-31T13:03:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday was the Dog-A-Thon we participated in to help raise money for our local Humane Society. It was more fun then I could have imagined! We got there about 9 am and registered and then walked around the fair for a few before we hit the trail. There were two trails to choose from, 4 miles and 1 mile-we chose the 4 but we were a little worried about Kenji making it through (we were pet sitting him that weekend). Amazingly enough he never even got tired, he was such a champ! They had little stops along the way too with water for dogs and their owners as well as treats for the dogs, one stop even had human "treats" which was good because I was HUNGRY by then. We were so happy we got to help such a wonderful charity and get some exercise together too.

Our first stop. Shira ~~enjoys~~ inhales a treat.

Dustin and Kenji bask in the shade.

We loved the gorgeous view

See, even Kenji couldn't look away :)

Kobayashi Maru

2010-07-23T19:34:00.000-07:00

So we've expanded the family. No we aren't having a baby, and we didn't get another pet.....we got a new car!!! Here is Dustin in our little darlin' when we brought her home yesterday!

It is a 2010 Subaru Forester, and we got a sweet deal on it. The 2011s come out soon so I did some research to see what new features if any were coming out with those models (not really much of anything) and where and how to get the best price, and I ended up getting us the car for less than MSRP and TMV! We decided on a Subaru for several reasons but we really love the space, ruggedness, versatility, and it gets great gas mileage too, not to mention it's a PZEV (partial zero emissions vehicle). They also hold value really well and decided on a new one as opposed to a used one because we could get a new one for not much more than a used and we would know that way where the miles were coming from and how the car was being used and abused. We hope to at least almost pay it off if not fully pay it off by the time Dustin gets out of the Army next year-just throwing that out there (yeah I've read and watched The Secret). You're probably wondering what the title is all about but that is actually what we have christened our new family member: Maru the Subaru, Maru being short for Kobayashi Maru obviously. Geeky as it is, all of our potential names were from intergalactic tv shows or movies because we are cool like that. So far we are enjoying having a reliable vehicle, especially one we love so much already!

The final camp-down

2010-07-16T12:26:00.000-07:00

Okay the title is cheeserrific but who doesn't love cheesy?

July 4th:

We were planning to go to the parade that morning in the village on the Island, however our food took longer to cook and we just pretty much lazed around and took too long to make it on time, however, we did drive by the tail end.

I didn't take any more pictures from the village or anything :( But we did have a wonderful time walking around and checking out the farmers market they had.

Later that evening we decided to walk down to the beach again and have a fire since even after buying more firewood we still didn't have a lot and it was cold that day. We debated going to the firework show on the island also but it was clear on the other side in the village and from what we had heard would be a mad house getting in an out. So we settled on having a relaxing time on the beach by the fire and we got lucky enough to see a few fireworks off in the distance behind these hills (not sure if it was part of another island or the same).

Almost all the boats had gone (I suspect to the other side of the island for the fireworks)

We lit this on fire and stayed warm all night! Jay kay!

Our fire and lovely view!

The marsh on part of one side of the spit. I love the little bit of pink sky in the background.

I love this picture. When you enlarge it, you can see Shira's evil eyes and the orb that is in the background. This was quite the haunted trip.

This marsh was a wildlife habitat. It looks gross but it wasn't smelly or even trashy.

Since we really were alone this time Shira enjoyed being free again! She also likes profile shots; we can barely get her to look at the camera when we try to take her picture.

We hiked back to our camp in the dark and the next day we packed up and said goodbye to Spencer Spit State Park with hopes of catching the lunchtime ferry back to Anacortes.

We all expected it wouldn't be too difficult to catch it in the afternoon because we assumed everyone would be on the morning ferries. WRONG! We sat in line to get on a ferry for about 2 hours or so. It wouldn't have been as bad if we had some real food in the car, or there were restaurants nearby, but all the food was on the other side of the island and we couldn't lose our spot in line. We barely made the ferry we got onto as it was. We were one of the last cars to board, and if we hadn't made that one, it would have been about 3 more hours until the next one! Thankfully it was a gorgeous day, so the waiting wasn't too depressing and we were actually able to take some walks and enjoy the sun before finally saying our goodbyes to Lopez Island.

Camping part 2

2010-07-14T22:16:00.000-07:00

After a brief battle of strength with a blazing heat wave that hit Washington last week, I am now back and ready for action, as long as it doesn't involve it getting hotter outside because another week of mid nineties temps with no a/c might just do me in.

Okay, so we made it to our campground shortly after exiting the ferry and set up our temporary homes.

Here was our nice warm bed. Thanks for the jean quilt, Mom! It really came in handy! I guess we had lots of ghosts in our tent-hence the gathering of orbs.

Our tents. Doesn't the smaller one look like a helmet? I love it!

Side note: There is an orb on that blue chair.

Our food area. It was messy here because we had just eaten and hadn't cleaned up yet.

Fire area, where we cooked our ~~wholesome~~ junk food.

Kenji went swimming!

Just kidding...this was actually one of our firewood buckets. No Kenjis were harmed in the taking of this picture.

That night Dustin and I walked down to the beach at sunset together. It was glorious! Just us ~~two~~ three and the views were incredible. Beaches in Washington are so beautiful (but cold)! I didn't have our camera but I did have my phone and managed to capture some of the beauty that way-actually I got some really great shots with the camera on my phone if I do say so myself, but you be the judge.

This and the next are my favorites

People build all kinds of forts and teepees out of the drift wood (and then just leave them there)

No one was on the beach so we let Shira run leash free for a few minutes (shhh don't tell). She had a blast and kept drinking the salt water-ewww. I think she would forget and then go back and try to taste it again later.

These are views of the other side of the "spit" we walked down.

A ~~boy~~ man and his dog (even though you can barely see Shira)

So this is a piece of drift wood burning in our fire pit. When we were down at the beach, Dustin grabbed this piece and carried it back. When I asked him why he brought it back I assumed I would hear something like "because we don't have much firewood back at the camp" which would have been true, however; instead he told me about how he remembered in the Twilight series they burned drift wood in a fire and it burned green and blue (or maybe it was just one of those colors). Anywhoozle, we burned the piece of wood and I am happy to report it did burn mostly blue. I wish the picture would have shown that more clearly!

Hopefully Dustin won't be too embarrassed I told you he read the Twilight series (well he did the audio versions) haha sorry babester! We will also pretend it didn't take me a week to actually finish this post! Ooops!

Part 3 coming up sometime in the near future....we hope!

Please help if you can!

2010-07-08T16:43:00.000-07:00

I am interrupting the camping segments to say that Shira and I are walking in the Dog-A-Thon on July 24, and would love to reach our goal of raising $150 for shelter pets in the Tacoma and Pierce County Humane Society. Shira was once a shelter dog herself so it means a lot to us me. Any amount is fine if you can and are willing to donate! Thanks so much! Here is a link to our page, check it out and share it with your friends!

http://www.firstgiving.com/acdc2005

Camping part 1

2010-07-06T15:11:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday we decided to go camping with a couple that lives nearby here in Washington that are dear friends of ours. The original plan we had was to go to Vancouver, British Columbia Friday morning and return on Saturday but when we got invited to go camping we couldn't pass up the chance! Especially since our friends are moving to Vegas soon-we will miss them so much (but come next year we will probably only be a few hours away). These posts are probably going to contain a lot of raving about Washington state and how much we love it and think it's a fantastic place to live, so just keep that in mind.

We went camping at Spencer Spit State Park on Lopez Island which is part of the San Juan Islands. They are up north toward Canada so we got close enough to our original destination I'd say. The only way to get to these Islands unless you fly (which I'm sure is expensive) is by ferry. I had never been on a ferry yet (even though I've lived in Washington for 2 years and they are everywhere here), so that was a fun first experience for me. In over 4 1/2 years of being married Dustin and I still hadn't gone camping together so that was a first for US! We brought along Shira without knowing how well she would do but she was terrific! She's definitely a good camper!

Our first stop was Anacortes to catch the ferry over to Lopez. We loaded up the car and made our way there. It's about two hours from where we live.

Shira didn't mind the drive too much.

Anacordes is on an Fidalgo island but you can get there by a short bridge. Once we got there we headed straight to the ferry terminal and got into the que to wait to board. Kenji enjoyed smelling the grass and enjoying the sun while we waited.

Shira took a small bathroom break and we all tried to avoid the massive amounts of dog poo people just left. This is one of my biggest pet peeves. If you have a dog, pick up your dog's turds! If it grosses you out or you don't want to do it, then don't get a dog, and certainly don't walk your dog. Not only is it illegal to leave your dog's poo, but it ruins the beautiful landscape, and it also can spread parasites very easily between animals! Okay, enough of my rant, here is a lovely picture of our view from the terminal.

Family shot

Here I am on the ferry after boarding taking a picture of......

...this...looking back at the terminal entrance, and....

This! These birds all live here on the docks.

Shira enjoyed the ride on the ferry in the car...

Kenji enjoyed it ON the car!

Here are some of my favorite shots that I took on the ride across:

about 40ish minutes later we arrived at Lopez Island, deboarded the ferry, and were off to our final destination!

The ferry ride alone made me fall in love with Washington over and over again, but there's still more!

Next installment is coming soon to a computer near you!

Happy 4th of July!

2010-07-02T22:58:00.000-07:00

We are running away to Lopez Island for the weekend to go camping at Spencer Spit State Park with some dear friends of ours and of course Miss Shira. It is our first camping trip together and it is Shira's first REAL camping trip as well. We are so excited! Hope all of our wonderful friends and family enjoy their holiday weekend!

Happy INDEPENDENCE Day! Yes, I did spell it wrong on this eCard. Whoops!

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

He's home!!

2010-06-21T18:53:00.000-07:00

At a few minutes until 10 pm on Friday night (18th June 2010) my amazing hero and husband arrived home! We are enjoying every blissful moment back together!

He's actually way in the front of the first line. He was the third one out after the two in the very front. I wish I would've gotten a better picture of him in formation or coming in but they all started coming in and of course we all started cheering wildly and all that I was thinking at that moment was how happy I was to see him! I also wish I would've video taped it because there is nothing like the feeling you get from hearing a screaming crowd of families welcome their boys home! I already let Dustin know that I'd love to find a copy of someone else's.

Luckily none of us had to wait too long because right after they all got in, they stood in formation for just a few minutes for a brief thank you and were released to their families!

Although I don't want to repeat it again any time in the near future, and possibly ever, it's been a good year for growth and intimacy. Sure we spent the time apart but I don't know anyone in the entire world that I adore and trust as much as the man sitting beside me right now. Deployments have a way of weeding out the weak and strengthening the ~~strong~~ survivors. It is hard to describe the feeling you're left with but in the end am so grateful for the time that we've had to grow within ourselves and within our marriage. It's not just about "us"-it's about each of us as individuals as well.....but I am thankful to be an "us" that is together again in every way.

Now I'm off to play catch up on everything that we've missed doing together this past year!

Richmond

2010-06-17T11:19:00.000-07:00

I know R&R was in April/May but I'm just getting around to posting about some of it, so bear with me here friends!

My mom, sister, and I took Dustin to Ghyslain while we were in Richmond since he had never been. It's so worth it for the desserts and chocolates alone! Dinner has never disappointed me though, so we had dinner and then some tasty creations for dessert.

Here is Dustin's dessert. I'll only post one so you won't be too sad you couldn't go.

Mom and Rhiannon enjoying their desserts.

Dustin and I <3

We then headed over the the Richmond furniture store for a little bit before heading home. It's 3 stories of furniture, and each floor has a different theme of murals and decor. It's pretty neat actually.

And now begins a series of us on/next to random chairs such as this one:

This is the largest dining chair in the world and has a mate in the Ripley's Believe it or Not museum in Florida.

A new dynasty? Scary thought huh.

A furniture store for ants. The real one is at least 3 times bigger than this one.

Books!

2010-06-11T20:11:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to let everyone know that I did finish Pride & Prejudice & Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls. It's decent but not as good as P&P&Z was. It was different and not what I expected at all.

Also recently read Fireproof (Links to movie, couldn't find one for the book). Terrific book that is realistic as well! I know everyone likes to pretend their marriage is great and they've never had a fight, but we all know you're either not living a real existence because you're not really getting to the nitty gritty of life or you're lying. Everyone's got problems, some more than others of course but everyone's got them (although please don't feel obliged to share-haha). I know it's a movie as well, and I haven't seen the movie but I've heard it's good too and I know they show it at quite of a few marriage retreats. Some parts are a little too "thank-you-Jesus" for me, you'll understand this if you've read it. I don't know how else to describe it, if you have a better word/way please spill. I'd like to get The Love Dare that goes a long with it at some point because it's always good to strengthen/work on your marriage. I'm not sure I'd do everything in it but it could be interesting.

Thought I would throw those out there for those of you looking for a good read.

Oh I also just finished City of Bones, and I'm about to go get the second in the series City of Ashes. It's a young adult book I believe but it was really good and I couldn't put it down.

envy eyes

2010-06-05T23:58:00.000-07:00

I'm having serious envy eyes for this tuxedo duvet from Anthro:

(image courtesy of Anthropologie.com)

It actually has a waiting list to buy it in king size (3 months wait). I tried to find a replacement, something similar but not quite so expensive, but the only thing I found was from Urban Outfitters and they only make Queen size which totally bummed me out. Are any of you amazing seamstresses and willing to whip me up this little number? Anyone?!

I've been searching houzz.com for other ideas (one of my recently fave sites). As of right now I am still on the hunt (but I still have a million more pictures to look at)! Let it be known however, that I am totally coveting! My Mister would not approve of the price tag*, and would probably even think it's ugly....oh men! Always crushing dreams....but a girl can look....and drool.

I need some ruffles in my life, and not the edible kind.

*=actually makes me gag

A new place to be lazy

2010-06-04T18:07:00.000-07:00

Most of you probably know that we finally got a new couch and it only took us 4 1/2 years! I love it! It's so nice to finally not have a broken tweed couch and an unmatching pink recliner. Don't get me wrong I love vintage (though these weren't cute vintage) and they were great while they lasted but I'm seriously okay with 'out with the old and in with the new' in this case. The house is coming along really well and I just wanted to share a few pictures of the living room/bathroom with you guys.

I don't know yet if I'm keeping the plum runner on the table. I'd love one with all the colors I'm using in this room much like the throw on the couch but I haven't found it yet. If you see one please let me know!

If you look to the left you can also see the brown leather cushion with embroidery I picked up.

Here is our bathroom. It's not super exciting except for the awesome claw foot tub which I LOVE!

I love the new place! I dislike that 50% is sage. It's a very pretty color but it kind of limits one as far as what colors can be used, so I just chose to ignore it and do what I wanted anyway! I'll be doing the same in our bedroom and the dining room as well because they are also......you guessed it: sage! Woo! Well one of the two rooms might match but it will most likely be entirely coincidence because I'm doing what I want in those rooms too!

2010-05-30T19:07:00.000-07:00

I love this quote:

"I fear dictatorial dogmatism, rigidity of procedure and intolerance even more than I fear cigarettes, cards, and other devices the adversary may use to nullify faith and kill religion. Fanaticism and bigotry have been the deadly enemies of true religion in the long past. They have made it forbidding, shut it up in cold grey walls of monastery and nunnery, out of sunlight and fragrance of the growing world. They have garbed it in black and then in white, when in truth it is neither black nor white, any more than life is black or white, for religion is life abundant, glowing life, with all its shades, colors and hues, as the children of men reflect in the patterns of their lives the radiance of the Holy Spirit in varying degrees.”

-Apostle Stephen L. Richards

I looked out the window...

2010-05-27T23:43:00.000-07:00

and saw a Stellar's Jay! I love these little guys. I remember the first time I saw one I thought I saw a blue jay and didn't get a good look at it, but nope it was a stellar's jay. I'm sure they are nothing special (besides being the provincial bird of British Columbia-which is just up the way) but I think they are so pretty!

*Side note: yes our fence is only half painted, I don't know why but it bugs me and we do get moss growing on the roofs around here, but since it's not my house and I'm only renting I'm not too worried about it. Aren't I such a good tenant?

2010-05-25T10:40:00.000-07:00

He is talking about Dustin's unit and the Lt. Colonel that leads them. Isn't this so rad? I love it!

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-09T17:48:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to wish the phenomenal mothers in both Dustin and I's lives a wonderful Mother's Day! Sorry no cards this year it's been a little busy but just know we think you are incredible examples of strong, caring, sacrificing women and we love you!

I have been busy getting the house ready but today has been a good day for me as well! Dustin called me from Iraq to wish me a happy Mother's Day! He is a sweet and thoughtful man. Our ward gave out candy too which was so nice! Don't get me wrong plants are very pretty but english toffee is tastier. It's good to have a place and be somewhat settled and to know that my husband will be home so SOON!

Happy Mother's Day to all of you women reading this! Today is for you so I hope it's been a good one!

Our new Washington home

2010-05-05T17:35:00.000-07:00

We made it back to Washington despite the bad weather and wind we dealt with the entire drive! The trip was 40+ hours of driving! We are happy to be back and we already found a new place to live and started moving some of our things in. I just have a moment but I wanted to post a few pictures so you can see.

Here is the front view of the house, the side yard, and our British flag mail box (the owner is from London):

We are trying to get all moved in now but I had a moment to post a few pictures and sorry about the weird format-not used to their new uploader and such. Will post more pictures later but yay for finding a place so quickly!

Wayne County Historical Museum

2010-04-29T06:17:00.000-07:00

I took Dustin to one of our local museums in Richmond, the Wayne County Historical Museum. It's actually a pretty nice museum, and surprisingly enough has quite a bit to see. A lady named Julia Meek Gaar actually bought most of the items in this museum years ago before she passed away, she would travel all over and bring back treasures to put in this place.. This was back when you could buy a mummy from a shop in Egypt and it wasn't a big deal, I don't think that happens anymore.

This is made of ebony and ivory, it was immaculate and probably weighed a lot too. It is an armoire.

Old school bus, it had a fireplace in it

Old fire engine

Dustin in the pokey

Me in front of the old school house

Dunce-stin

Shop replicas, one is the local bakery the other the newspaper

A log cabin home

Hope you liked the pictures and side note-we are leaving here tomorrow to drive back to Washington!

Jungle Jim's take 2

2010-04-26T08:02:00.000-07:00

We took Dustin to Jungle Jim's since he hadn't been before. It was a lot of fun the second time around too :)

D showing his moves to Elvis

For classy juggalos

Yep, not sure what that has to do with anything but there it is. One of the more mild hot sauce names.

Dustin in their little movie theater that shows how Jungle Jim's got started.

Cholula

Gross

I <3 those little pineapples.

Dustin wanting to sample the pig head.

The infamous privy chamber. I think it's supposed to be like Henry the 8th's or something, I don't remember what the plaque next to it says but if you click to enlarge the pic you will laugh and Dustin's face.

I got a pic of my Dad...so it's not the best...

..but it's why they are laughing here

Here we are with the talking Campbell's soup can!

It's so much more fun to grocery shop in this store. We got all kinds of fun stuff and had a blast with the family and we're glad Dustin got to go this time!

checked out Rhiannon @Glee

2010-04-25T20:49:00.000-07:00

checked out Rhiannon @Glee

This is my little sister's Glee audition! Check her out and give her a gold star, please! She would really appreciate it! Thanks so much!

259 days later...

2010-04-22T20:03:00.000-07:00

and we're back in each others arms! I seriously wanted to cry from happiness pretty much all day that day. I wish it didn't have to end again!

No I am not neglecting him, he is sick and asleep. Hopefully I will not catch it next, but either way we're together and that's all that matters!

P&P&Z

2010-04-18T12:31:00.000-07:00

Before I forget yet again, I just want to say that Pride and Prejudice and Zombies was rad. I read it last year and they just came out with the prequel about 2 1/2 weeks ago called Dawn of the Dreadfuls and I bought it yesterday. If I remember I will let you guys know if it's good or not. But P&P&Z rocks and if you like Jane Austen and you also like zombies and ninjas you will love it! Rumor has it that Natalie Portman will be producing and starring in the movie adaptation. I don't know if that's true but NP is my fave actress and think that she would be perfect for the role! So if you need something to read and you haven't read it yet, there's my suggestion.

Dear Eyjafiallajokull

2010-04-16T06:46:00.001-07:00

Thanks for erupting in Iceland. You look really amazing but you're totally ruining our plans for actually having an R&R. Also your name seems like a curse word to me (but since you are kind of a curse it only seems fair). Next time you feel like erupting, do us all a favor and DON'T.

-Aimee

bad news bears

2010-04-10T15:59:00.000-07:00

Today I was chatting with hubster online and one of the first things he says is "I have bad news and I have good news, which do you want to hear first". Immediately I reminisce of last R&R when he was 3 days from leaving and said the same thing. Followed up with the good news that he was already out of Iraq which left me scrambling to finalize plans pretty much right that instant since he arrived back in the states less than 24 hours later. So here I am thinking he is in some USO in Europe and is totally about to drop this huge bomb on me when he actually tells me the opposite, that his R&R is pushed back by several days. To be honest I would've preferred that, but not under the circumstances it comes with. Maybe it's just my over active imagination running wild with me again, but these next two or three days are definitely going to keep me on edge.

My answer was of course: bad news then good. Which way do you prefer it?

Oh and also, if you are the praying type, pray for his continual safety these next few days (and maybe my sanity ^.^), and if you aren't, put some good vibes out there for us.

2010-04-09T14:01:00.000-07:00

So today it hit me hard! I have less than a week to find and secure us a place to live, get the pets ready for travel whether it be flying or driving, get the rest of my crap packed, reserve a uhaul, reserve a hotel for whenever D gets back which I'm still not sure of the date, make sure all my friends here have their books or whatever I've borrowed from them and vice versa, spend time with my friends here before I leave, spend time with family before I leave, get a new ID card, get our taxes done, and like a million other things! It is crazy over here! I need a nap!

You are so strong.

2010-04-07T11:40:00.000-07:00

You are so strong.
How do you do it?
What is the hardest thing about being apart?
I could never do that.

These are all things I hear on a regular basis. It doesn't matter what they are pertaining to, I usually don't know what to say. Sure I might have gone through an awful lot at such a young age but I didn't ask for the strength to get me through, it just came with faith and getting from despair to faith is sometimes a hard feat to tackle. Trust me on this one.

On Monday I watched the Emma Smith story. Parts of it really hit home for me. At one point in the movie I don't remember who said it, I think it was Joseph's mom Lucy Mack Smith maybe but anyway whoever it was said something like "she is so strong" and Joseph replied "Being strong can be a lonely thing". And it is true. Going through a deployment gives you strength if you make it to the other side, sure, but is it not a lonely path? Losing children gives you strength, but does it not leave you empty and alone? At times, yes. Not knowing where you will be in a year or picking up and leaving your home at the drop of a dime is hard, and it can leave one very lonely. For a time at least. Don't get me wrong, I know I am loved by Heavenly Father, I know my husband loves me, and my friends and family too. I am very happy and very blessed. But I could definitely relate to that statement, and it made me realize that other people whom I look up to, whom I think are very strong individuals have probably been through much loneliness as well, quite possibly even more than I. All we can really do is have faith, trust the process, and know that our time isn't necessarily His time, right? That's when the strength comes, I think....or at least the illusion of strength. Maybe we should all take comfort in knowing that the best things in life come from suffering. What is born from the pain often becomes something beautiful. But the path to uncovering that beauty is paved in loneliness and being social creatures we often try to take a different route on our own pursuits of happiness, and most times that only leaves us with more pain we could've avoided by keeping the faith, trusting our instincts or our Heavenly Father. I've been resistant many times in my own trials. All I had to do was have the faith, but I couldn't always find it. There are always going to be could've, should've, would'ves in my life I am sure, but from now on I am officially adopting this as one of my mantras:

"The place you are called to be is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep need meet."

Do you think it applies to duty stations too? I like to think of it as written for Army wives, but maybe I'm just being selfish.

Spring Break in Florida

2010-04-04T19:01:00.000-07:00

Some of my favorite pictures from our Spring Break in Florida a couple weeks ago taken by my Mama:

Rhiannon and I leaving the beach in Gulf Shores, AL

A cloudy day on Pensacola Beach

This has always been all of our favorite beach house in Pensacola.

Jumping for joy!

2010-04-02T08:31:00.000-07:00

My days as a cheerleader finally paid off!

To be continued.....

Couple Nicknames

2010-03-30T20:42:00.000-07:00

So Dustin and I had this talk a while back. You know how they have Brangelina, Spiedi, Bennifer, etc? Well we discussed our nickname:

Aimstin

Don't you love it?

The truth, you know love is all we need.

2010-03-28T10:07:00.000-07:00

On this day in 1986 more than 6,000 radio stations of all format varieties (even Muzak) played "We are the World" simultaneously at 10:15 a.m. EST. The promotion became part of the biggest participatory event in history by linking a human chain of millions of people from sea to sea. Ken Kragen was the promotion genius behind the plan that raised millions of dollars and created awareness for the African famine relief project.

That's so rad.

And Bruce Springsteen is HOT. Just sayin'.

Positivity

2010-03-19T19:50:00.000-07:00

So I got some bummer news today about Dustin's R&R....and although it sucks I'm finding the good in it. Today was the day I allowed myself to gripe about it though. I will TRY not to anymore after today. But since I'd seen this on another blog I wanted to do it on mine. Leave me a positive comment on here. Whatever positive thought you want: a quote, a scripture, a mantra, whatevs! I just wanna hear your positive vibe-age! I'm leaving for Florida with the family in the morning so I want to come back to some love!

I did what on Ambien?

2010-03-18T15:20:00.000-07:00

A while back I got addicted to my Ambien because I had bronchitis and was just having an awful time sleeping so I took it every night for too long and then I couldn't sleep without it. Yeah, you're not supposed to do that but I did, and weaning myself off was awful because I just did it cold turkey. Flash forward about 3 months and I felt it had been long enough since I'd taken one so the other night to ensure I'd get enough sleep I took one. Here's where the fun comes in. I know for sure I FaceBooked while I was on it, and I'm pretty sure I looked back and saw that I did nothing to incriminate myself (Hooray!). Texting on Ambien is a different story but I'm pretty sure the few friends I text on Ambien know when I'm texting on it and find it hilarious, and possibly a little entertaining. I like to keep a journal or something nearby to write down thoughts/ideas/inspiration. Sometimes if I'm out I'll write it on my notepad on my iPhone. This is what I did on Ambien the other night. I am not sure what inspired this random outburst of words (I won't even say thoughts because it's not even completely coherent). It's pretty hilarious and also a little embarrassing, but mostly, hilarious. Here it is:

Sci soul light vs dark but we give all darks flow sticks so at the end we say light wins because lught is in all ofu.

Yep. That's my version of a tfln. Laugh it up.

One day without shoes

2010-03-16T14:08:00.000-07:00

I hope all of you will join me and go one day without shoes on April 8, 2010! If any of you know me really well, you know that I HATE the feeling of dirty feet and do not like walking around without shoes; well, I'm still going to do it! I hope the weather is nice! You can register here. Even if you can only go part of the day, I still think it's a wonderful idea and a great way to raise awareness!

Oh and if you register to spend your day without shoes you will be entered to go on a Tom's shoe drop all expenses paid. How inspiring would that trip be?

A special day

2010-03-16T07:51:00.000-07:00

The Rubik's cube turns 30 this year. So did someone else {today}. I love that someone.

Something worth acknowledging

2010-03-15T17:54:00.000-07:00

So I just want to go ahead and make an official announcement on here that besides our house and my school loans (which isn't much and also not something I'm in a particular hurry to pay off) we are DEBT FREE! Hooray us! And if things continue as planned and we can keep it rented out it won't take too much longer to pay the house off too!

Pacers game

2010-03-11T16:57:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday I went to the Pacers/Sixers game at Conseco Field house. I'd never been to a Pacers game let alone Conseco field house so it was nice to look around a little bit and spend some time with my family. It was just my parents and I and my Grandpa and I had gotten a really good deal on some club level seats so the seats were pretty good too! The game also gave me a chance to really try out my new Nikon I got for Christmas.

Some of the memorabilia in the fieldhouse:

My Grandpa and I

Parents and Grandpa

One of the viewing suites. They were all over on the club level where we were sitting so I snuck and took a picture.

After the team ran out

Announcing the starters

Tip off

The Pace Mates again who I think should be called the Pace Makers

The Purdue University dance team. I felt pretty accomplished that I managed to take such a good action shot.

So here is Boomer the mascot for the Pacers doing his little Michael Jackson montage while he was doing the dunk contest which was awesome!

Here he is doing his triple lutz double backflip dunk, LOL. I don't know how he does it with that thing on his head.

So this guy was sitting across from us and they kept showing him on the big screen and he was quite the character.

Here he is on the big screen blowing a kiss.

The Pacers won!! 107-96

International Women's Day 2010

2010-03-08T14:48:00.001-08:00

Today is a day to honor all the amazing and talented women of the world! I hope all of the lovely ladies in my life have been enjoying their day! You deserve it!

There are too many hateful and catty women out there, so let's (at least for today) be kind to each other and show the world that there is nothing more powerful than the love of a WOMAN! So many great women have paved the way for us to have the privileges that we have been fortunate enough to have in this great country (especially) so lets not let it go to waste! I feel so blessed! Be excellent to each other and party on dude! Love you girls!

Rockin'

2010-03-06T13:07:00.000-08:00

It's been 213 days since I've felt the beautiful touch of my love. The countdown is on for R&R, and I am hoping it's really down to less than a month. I'm getting antsy!

Danielle and I went to the rock and gem fair today and spent 3 1/2 hours looking at, you guessed it: ROCKS! Hahaha, we had so much fun! While we were there we couldn't pass up the chance to get some geodes and have them cracked open. It is kind of addicting actually! It's fun to be the first person to ever see what the inside of your geode you picked out looks like! I waited around to see some other ones cracked open just because it excites me. Yes, I am easily amused, but hey, my husband has been gone for 213 days so what did you expect? Here are a few pics from the excitement. Now you can see what our geodes look like too!

Mine getting cracked open!

Here it is! It's a dark smoky color and actually looks like it has some amethyst in it, I'll have to check it out better after I clean it. I am very proud of it though!

Danielle's getting cracked open!

Hers was a lighter colored one, like most are, but it is still pretty cool looking. We were hoping for a few different colors though because of the shape. Ah, better luck next time. It was still a lot of fun.

I also won a few things on silent auction which was addicting. All the bids start at $.25 so some things you could come out with really cheap. I got 3 geodes for 3 dollars but they aren't hollow ones. Still pretty cool though, and would look cool in a garden or something once they are cracked open, or could be polished up and used for jewelry or something. I also got two opals for $1.50 which was a great deal. We got a little crazy with it for a little while, haha but it was a good time. I got a few other cool things and just had a great day looking at all the cool rocks and gems! I hadn't been to one in so long. It was smaller than any one I've ever been to but we still managed to spend way too much time getting lost in the rocks!

Are hair websites located on mane frames?

2010-03-03T18:36:00.000-08:00

So I'm sure you all have noticed already that I chopped all my hair off, but I'm going to officially acknowledge that and say sayonara to this:

It's definitely different to have such short hair, but it's also so liberating! Now it just needs to warm up!

Black Magic Sanction Tour 2010

2010-02-26T08:56:00.000-08:00

My friends Danielle, Krystal, and I all went to a Kim Harrison book signing last night in Dayton, OH. We had a little "girls night out". Her newest book, Black Magic Sanction in the hollows series was just released on the 23rd of this month. I don't know if you have read any of her books but they are VERY good and they are set in Cincinnati, OH which is very close to where my parents live. If you like Sci-fi/fantasy books with witches, vamps, pixies, fairies, demons, etc. then check out this series! The cool thing about Kim, besides the fact that she writes awesome books and is very sweet is that she does her own website and interacts with her fans on social networking sites. In fact, during the signing she passed around what is called the "bunny cam" where fans take pictures of whatever they want, or make short videos and she posts them to her site. We got our books signed and we got to meet her too, and here's our proof:

Thanks for the fun girls! And thanks Kim for writing such wonderful books!

Heelys

2010-02-23T09:52:00.000-08:00

They aren't just for kids! Dustin has been wanting some for a long time so today I got some for the both of us. Now we can look like the funnest couple ever ('cause we totally are). The best part is that I got them for over 75% off! Hooray for good deals!

Sacrifices

2010-02-20T07:34:00.000-08:00

Ever eaten cereal that cuts your mouth up but you love it so much you don't care? I make the sacrifice for Lucky Charms. How about you?

On me:

2010-02-17T10:28:00.000-08:00

This is totally happening.

Giveaway

2010-02-16T17:20:00.000-08:00

Well I told you to stay tuned for another giveaway and we are having another one starting NOW on my other blog! Check it out here.

Tell your friends!

Happy Valentines Day!

2010-02-14T10:08:00.001-08:00

Today in church both of the sacrament meeting talks were on charity/service and it was just the perfect subject for the day. I've never been big on Valentine's Day. I'm not cynical about it I just have always had the mind set that it's a holiday made up simply to make money, and I whole heartedly believe that. Mostly the day to me is about just being with the people I love the most, and showing them that, but I wanted to make it more meaningful this year. I wanted to use this day to let people know how much I love them with charitable acts (this year, and in years to come). I feel like I have been blessed with enough love in my life that I can spare some for others. All I asked my dear, wonderful husband for this year was a love letter (and maybe to address me as goddess-divine for the rest of our lives....maybe?), so I took some of the money that could've been used for flowers or something of that nature, and I helped someone on kiva.org, I did the dishes for my sister, I cuddled Pepe, I daydreamed with my husband about our future, and told him how much he means to me, I baked cookies, spent time with my family. I embraced the weekend, and I did it with a heart full of love.

This year our relief society has been working on service projects throughout the community, and they have really been wanting to do one for Dustin, so I told them they could. I was pretty excited because I didn't want his package to be just the regular treats kind of thing this year, I wanted it to mean something! So I worked out the logistics of what I wanted them to do for a while before I posed the idea to the women, and they fully embraced it with all the love I could've hoped for. I told them I'd bring the hearts or they could make their own, and then they could write whatever they wanted on them and decorate them however they wanted, and I'd make them into a bouquet with suckers on the back. Some of them wrote him poems, some of them just said thank you, one little girl in the branch simply said "hi I don't know you but my name is Alyssa, and I'm 7." I thought that was adorable, but really, it was just perfect.

If you got flowers, or chocolates, or jewelry this year, enjoy it! Embrace this day of love and show others how much love you have to give them! Love truly is the thing that unites us all, each and every one. Wouldn't it be amazing if we loved so much on Valentine's Day that nothing bad ever happened, at least for a day? That is a Valentine's Day that I pray for.

Charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever. Moroni 7:47

Just in case you haven't seen it already, because this kid is so adorable, and because I blabbed on for so long here's some sappy cuteness:

I seriously love each and every one of you!

Wrong number

2010-02-13T14:28:00.000-08:00

So this evening I was trying to decide whether or not I wanted to attend this birth doula training at the beginning of next month here or go to one on the west coast. I feel like the one here is a little pricey and I was just trying to decide if I want to go to one with a more well known educator teaching me. Anyway, I was looking up workshops in Washington because I figured I could catch one before D comes home and I found one in Seattle at the Simkin Center for Allied Birth Vocations run by Penny Simkin (herself) and Teri Shilling which is awesome because they are both well known in natural birthing community. All stoked they were offering one within my time frame I call the first number listed, an 800 number.

Ring, Ring...

"This is the nation's master directory for every type of phone sex known to man."

Wait Whaaaaa?!

Hang up. Did that really just happen?! Check that I dialed correctly.

Call back.

Yep, that DID just happen!!

I don't think that directory will help me much. LOL. It was one of the most hilarious wrong numbers I've ever dialed though.

New journey

2010-02-09T17:22:00.000-08:00

I don't know why I haven't already done this because I wanted to do it from pretty much the first day I started massage school back in 2006, but I am starting my birth doula certification! I ultimately want to be a midwife, but I am not sure about getting through nursing school, and I know that you can be a licensed midwife and not a certified nurse midwife, but different states don't acknowledge licensed midwives while others do so until we know where we will be and what needs to be done I will most likely hold off on that (baby steps anyway, right?). However, for now I'm doing what I've been wanting to do for a very long time, become a doula! I'm just doing birth doula certification for the moment but I may start post-partum soon as well. I know I want to do both though. I've been thinking about it really seriously lately so today I decided to take the plunge, and I couldn't be more stoked!! Educating and empowering women about the blessing of childbirth is something I am very passionate about. Those of you who know me well know that I have been day dreaming of a holistic center for pregnant women and natural childbirth for quite some time. I even did a project on it while I was in massage school, so this is a perfect fit for me.

Dustin's celeb twin

2010-02-06T19:03:00.000-08:00

Since Dustin never posted his doppelganger on facebook I thought I would post it on here and let you be the judge.

So what do you think? Does Dustin have a future as Sean Astin's double?

P.S. Dustin is WAY HOTTER of course! <3 Just sayin'

Half way to heaven!

2010-02-02T16:25:00.000-08:00

We are 6 months into this deployment which means 6 months closer to being together!! Here is what Dustin has been up to:

We are 6 months closer to being together again! Yay!