tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60299636971342307652024-03-21T14:49:01.957-07:00Down with the Dut'sLaugh until you cry, Cry until you laughkayyay87http://www.blogger.com/profile/00333452615884987496noreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6029963697134230765.post-50644376062196980572014-06-01T17:46:00.001-07:002014-06-01T18:19:09.551-07:00High Needs<div style="text-align: center;">
So, I'm just going to throw this out there! A woman in my moms group has SAVED my life!!!!!! </div>
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I feel like you think I'm being dramatic, but the emotions that I have experienced in the past year of my sweet Daughter's life are such that she has SAVED my life. </div>
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High Needs Baby/Child.... Never heard of it.</div>
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My sweet Mollie to a T!!!!!</div>
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I have done nothing but research and read and cry and laugh because it describes me and my family's journey of learning about our sweet Mollie. </div>
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I mean common we've been calling her a sour patch kid for heaven's sake </div>
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(First they're sour then they're sweet)</div>
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I literally laughed, through the tears of being run down, sleep deprived, and at the end of my rope with her screaming, while reading this Pop Quiz.</div>
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Do any of the following sound familiar?</div>
<ul style="list-style: square; margin: 15px 0px 1.571em 40px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;">
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;">Your baby would rather observe the world around her from the vantage point of your arms (While in a sling. Bouncing. And nursing.).</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;">When he’s hungry, wet, irritated, overwhelmed, or bored, he isn’t shy about letting you know, long and loud.</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;">Sleeping through the night is a term you think you’ve heard before, but certainly haven’t experienced anytime recently.</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;">His nicknames all include the words fuss, cranky, or grumpy in some way, shape or form.</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;">At any given playgroup, your child will be the one clinging desperately to your leg and/or verbally or non-verbally insisting on going home.</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;">The food she loved yesterday makes her gag oh-so-cutely today. Oh, and tomorrow she can’t get enough of it.</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;">You don’t understand the phrase “Enjoy the newborn stage, it’s passes so quickly”. To you that’s like saying “Enjoy having your appendix removed, the recovery period passes so quickly”.</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;">The soothing techniques you’ve tried include but are not limited to bouncing like a maniac on an exercise ball, swinging the car seat to a height just short of dangerous, and frantically hissing in your baby’s ear.</li>
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If you can relate to any of the above, congratulations! You probably have a high need baby!</div>
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http://www.5minutesformom.com/50381/could-you-have-a-high-need-baby/</div>
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I have also been reading so much literature from Dr. Sears. </div>
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I have a lot to learn about how to love and survive and to better myself and my Mollie's day but I feel at least I'm not a lost, frantic, hysterical Mommy any more.</div>
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At least I can hope :)</div>
kayyay87http://www.blogger.com/profile/00333452615884987496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6029963697134230765.post-57560153182138196412014-04-24T18:15:00.003-07:002014-04-24T18:15:25.285-07:00First Birthday<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidJkttwWdBvIKyD436uvptV9-9-_o1vndtCDTzVFEEYDyuNgHBlQtv-FDqPewN-Q8gDfqkFeQDSq1pkm1ltlvV2rNgt1PnrzXMRrl0ogvOmAmw0S7idqFsq8sbHiPrbDZmONrRIoqex7U/s1600/1st+Birthday+solo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidJkttwWdBvIKyD436uvptV9-9-_o1vndtCDTzVFEEYDyuNgHBlQtv-FDqPewN-Q8gDfqkFeQDSq1pkm1ltlvV2rNgt1PnrzXMRrl0ogvOmAmw0S7idqFsq8sbHiPrbDZmONrRIoqex7U/s1600/1st+Birthday+solo.jpg" height="200" width="111" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Sweet Mollie on her 1st Birthday!<br />April 23rd Marks the end of our sweet girls 1st year of life!<br />What a crazy, fast, fun, challenging year it has been.<br />If you follow me on facebook or Instagram you know of the craziness that has ensued since this girl was born.<br /><br />My sister was in town as we waited for this girl to make her entrance into the world. I was soooo uncomfortable the last 2 week or so, and since we didn't know anyone who could take care of Jameson over night, we had my sister come and join us and kept our fingers crossed that Mollie would arrive while she was still there.<br /><br />Going into to the final weeks with Molls, I had some consistently unconsistant contractions. The Dr saw me at 37 weeks and swore that she wouldn't see me for my next appointment because I wouldn't make it that far. Totally jinxed it and I showed up to my next appt. The Dr. said that because my baby was soooooooooo big they wanted to induce me at 39 weeks. I was totally game. I had been induced with Jameson and was fine with that, exceeeept, the date of my induction would have been April 28th. This is the day my husband was shot. I really felt like it would be such a weird and conflicting mix of emotions to have our daughter born on that miserable day. My sister and I decided to look up ways to naturally induce labor in hopes of not making it to April 28th. These included getting on all fours and having my 2 year old jump on my back and swing my hips back and forth. Bhahah you can just imagine a beached whale swinging their hips with their baby on their back. Then we decided that maybe squats was the way to go. I decided it would be prudent of me to drop like it was hot in the kitchen for easier clean up. I showed up to my appt and the Dr was sure I was not making it past that day. She suggested we take a long walk. My sister and I loaded up and headed to the Mall. We walked quite a few laps and then I needed to call it. I was not feeling great and we were headed for lunch and nap time for Jameson. We made lunch and I was feeling some major contractions. I decided they were from being dehydrated and put Jameson down for nap. All through nap time I had those contractions coming but I could still function so they had to be false. About 4 hours later I decided to mention the contractions to Jill. She looked at me like I was the dumbest person alive for waiting that long and We better just go to the hospital to make sure.<br /><br />Of course, this would be the day that my husband had his first day of Captain Career Course.<br /><br />I arrived at the ghetto hospital that I was delivering in and showed up to Labor and Delivery. They asked If I was in Labor and I told them I thought I was. Well, apparently they don't believe you unless your dr sends you in labor or your water has broken. So there I wait. I finally got back to triage and they hook me up to monitors and explain that I "thought" I was in labor so they were going to go check on everyone else. When they came back they had to apologize because they left me sitting there for a looooong time while the contractions registered every minute. Yes, they were coming every minute with no breaks in between. At this point I figured I should call Jimmy and let him know.<br /><br />I'm going to skip over some details of waiting and listening to rap music to make it through contractions before the epidural. Let's just say... thank you to Pitbull and Luda.<br /><br />Miss Mollie arrived into the world at 2:30am and wiggled her way in. They told me to push once and then yelled to stop immediately. The nurses and Drs were laughing too hard to tell me what was happening but when they all wiped the tears from their eyes they told me that she wiggled her way into the world cheeks down.<br /><br />I should have known her personality from the start ;)<br /></td></tr>
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Also, for those of you wondering here is the tutorial for the cake :)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHKVJJTnr7CNwwxLup3kuOv7oIR-xPtZNIpGwN8rbL4NwLH14i1wzKi3JfE2WPsd5_7hc5SER8_NcWzLym20Rnlk4PyxmFQTu9U-UI8_hL7KTvh7WAM7dmwAyxZEWW6Z7ddclts8s5LOU/s1600/IMG_3156.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHKVJJTnr7CNwwxLup3kuOv7oIR-xPtZNIpGwN8rbL4NwLH14i1wzKi3JfE2WPsd5_7hc5SER8_NcWzLym20Rnlk4PyxmFQTu9U-UI8_hL7KTvh7WAM7dmwAyxZEWW6Z7ddclts8s5LOU/s1600/IMG_3156.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://iambaker.net/rose-cake-tutorial">Rose Cake Tutorial</a></div>
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Here is a sneak peek from her big girl room </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTdghIhyiSR9CPBI-7cIhwZWqQlFz5yEMOi4TcmemSQc2V3ESnJn-88lGS_4G2DReWIQjPeb9x0TiSjwW3efK8IUcxZM9AQyk95Bq52IJNZOzzLwN4JEVi83b4FjGsEBAy_GJ4gIcchyphenhyphenE/s1600/Mollies+room+Changing+table.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTdghIhyiSR9CPBI-7cIhwZWqQlFz5yEMOi4TcmemSQc2V3ESnJn-88lGS_4G2DReWIQjPeb9x0TiSjwW3efK8IUcxZM9AQyk95Bq52IJNZOzzLwN4JEVi83b4FjGsEBAy_GJ4gIcchyphenhyphenE/s1600/Mollies+room+Changing+table.jpg" height="200" width="133" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIEVI8jtJLTmNpZDgKGp2eYYkq90wrctz9OD2jCI9T9tCoxZ-ucsfeOIrvcNGxSvQcQxkUekbUWRX4Go9Q13e4cXzlPCQP0yL5pLST4js6OwiUovQOBC_9Vt3Oj2fTaMPb6F30Zxsx9XA/s1600/mollies+room+M.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIEVI8jtJLTmNpZDgKGp2eYYkq90wrctz9OD2jCI9T9tCoxZ-ucsfeOIrvcNGxSvQcQxkUekbUWRX4Go9Q13e4cXzlPCQP0yL5pLST4js6OwiUovQOBC_9Vt3Oj2fTaMPb6F30Zxsx9XA/s1600/mollies+room+M.jpg" height="200" width="63" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOoEIUANBcygj14FKnS6FsfZBqRN3So0PjX4DIkcqO13yn6hUzerSY8aoNHUfa4y6MKZL78SUrgT0z5MYhatpTCmN1Vo_Ed3YUAuoaOm2B1q0HII8n2hxnllDNz4z9XfY8RjofsUud3Cs/s1600/mollies+room+crib.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOoEIUANBcygj14FKnS6FsfZBqRN3So0PjX4DIkcqO13yn6hUzerSY8aoNHUfa4y6MKZL78SUrgT0z5MYhatpTCmN1Vo_Ed3YUAuoaOm2B1q0HII8n2hxnllDNz4z9XfY8RjofsUud3Cs/s1600/mollies+room+crib.jpg" height="114" width="200" /></a><br />
<br />kayyay87http://www.blogger.com/profile/00333452615884987496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6029963697134230765.post-71764243679826678572014-04-12T12:16:00.000-07:002014-04-12T12:16:09.392-07:00Psych Ward<br />
The casualty assistance hotline calls you every 8 hours to update you on your soldiers status. They will call no matter what. If there is no change they will let you know and if there is change they will let you know any steps you need to take or what to expect next. They will call on the dot! Not before not after but on the dot every 8 hours.<br />
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They had called to let me know that they were working on the tarmac on keeping Jimmy's blood pressure stable enough to fly from Germany to the States. As long as he gets on that flight he will Land at Andrew's Air Force base and will be transported to Walter Reed (D.C). They told me he would be going to ward 64 and I could call them to find out when they accept people to visit ect.<br />
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As a panicked wife who was less scared now, and more excited I called over to Walter Reed. I got the operator and requested Ward 64. They transferred me. The man picked up and as my voice was shaking I said "My husband is on a flight from Germany and I was wondering if I could come as soon as he landed to see him. Where should I go? Do you accept visitors?" He paused a moment and said " Ma'am, is your Husband being committed?" I said "Say that again" He replied with "Ma'am this is the psych ward, is your husband being committed?"<br />
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I replied "I don't know, it's a really long flight from Germany, soooo maybe?!? I don't know they just told me this was the ward he was going to" The poor man asked me some questions and about 3 questions in he realized they told me the wrong ward and he'd be going to the Orthopedic Ward which was ward 54. He happily transferred me over to the Orthopedic ward.<br />
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They had a whoooooole lot more information for me. I was able to see him as soon as he was admitted :)kayyay87http://www.blogger.com/profile/00333452615884987496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6029963697134230765.post-40276937829438772332014-04-10T13:24:00.003-07:002014-04-10T13:25:02.985-07:00M.O.HRecently we had the privilege of taking off to the East coast for a 2 week vacation. It was lovely. I will recap our vacation a little later.<br />
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During our Vacation we got to hang out with dear friends. I left home when I got married to follow my husbands career and love doing that. However, I left behind the most amazing friends a girl could ask for. I have known all of these friends since elementary/middle/high school. They are the best.<br />
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This particular friend, though, I didn't know at all!<br />
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I'm not really sure how it all happened but it happened FAST! We went from not knowing each<br />
other to me being her Maid of Honor in .02 seconds.<br />
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I had seen her at a few young woman's retreats I had been too and I knew that we had mutual friends, but other than that I had never talked to the girl. (Now I know where Jameson gets his lack of stranger danger ;)) I also knew that my brother knew her boyfriend and I had met him once.<br />
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Fast forward to when they got Engaged (don't really have to fast forward it was less than a year from when they met) I had met her for the first time and hung out with her fiancé for the 2nd/3rd time.<br />
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Obviously, this is the point that I decided that since she didn't have family that lived in the area I would take on throwing her a bridal shower! (riiiight, don't know her at all but am throwing a shower and playing games like - "How well do you know the bride?") It went smooth. I was pretty proud of throwing my first shower for a stranger.<br />
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Fast forward to planning the wedding time. She cornered me at the Navy/Notre Dame football game to ask me to be her Maid of Honor. She obviously did this for three reasons 1. All of her friends were in the Navy and stationed around the country, 2. I can't back out in person and 3. She clearly thought I had fantastic planning skills (Wedding Shower = top notch wedding planner)<br />
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I kid, I kid. I was happy to take on this roll and help this <strike>poor</strike> Naval Academy grad who had been surrounded by Men for the past 5 years :)<br />
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We had a short time frame to plan the wedding so naturally, we decided best we would just do sleepovers like middle school 3 times and the wedding would be planned. Mission Accomplished!<br />
I did find it prudent to opt out of a Maid of honor speech of how long and sappy we were as friends seeing as we had 4 memories as friends thus far.<br />
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People would ask me how I knew her at the wedding and it would go a little something like this "Well, I met pat once, I didn't know Kate, but my brother definitely knew pat"<br />
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Moral of Story. Doesn't really matter how long you've known a person but the memories you cultivate and that you keep in touch regularly if you are not close :)<br />
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We all have become fabulous friends and they are the best people EVER! We sooo loved catching up with you and Jameson loved playing with friends.kayyay87http://www.blogger.com/profile/00333452615884987496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6029963697134230765.post-40638558155602076102014-03-25T11:44:00.000-07:002014-03-25T11:44:00.403-07:00Road Trips!I like to think that I've grown in my road trip abilities.<br />
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While in college it started with a prompt leave time - no later than 7am. EVER! No stoping unless someone was barfing, bleeding, or dying. Orrrrrrr you need gas! The game of the road trip was to see how far you could get without stopping and can you beat the time of arrival given on your GPS. I could have gotten many a gold medals for those games and could definitely tell you how long you have after your gas light goes off until you needed gas.<br />
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Road trips more than 7-8 were always something that I needed to pump myself up for. I needed to get some good snacks, some quality caffeine, and a good mixed Cd. I still played the same games but occasionally would make a pit stop for the night at my Aunts house for some down time and let's be honest, who doesn't love stopping at Aunt Mons.<br />
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My sweet Car has over 90,000 miles on it. Purely from Road trips. It has made more trips to North Carolina and Ft. Benning then I can count. It has made round trip trips to Louisiana. It has moved us from MD to LA, LA to DC, DC to LA, LA to GA, and GA to IN. It has now made quite a few round trips back and forth from IN to MD.<br />
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On the trips from IN to MD (If I am riding solo with the littles) I will pitt stop for the Night in PA. Its just the right amount of time in the car for the littles and just enough of Raffi that I can take.<br />
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Well, we decided to make the full road trip from IN to MD yesterday. With the husband coming with us I was totally down since I knew I wasn't the one who would be driving. And really, what is 10 hours in the car with the littles?!?! BHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA<br />
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The trip started much later than my normal 7am. We got on the road around 12:30pm. By 3 I knew my chances of having Jameson nap was ZERO. Mollie luckily napped for about 2 1/2 hours. That is the nap that counts for sleeping at night anyway. I knew things were going to get interesting when we ended up in a dead stop traffic jam. While my husband was getting frustrated and said "Sweet Jesus", as we saw all of the miles of back up, Jameson decided to shout "No Jesus, Jesus loves us". Cue the side eye from mommy to daddy and then the instant laughter. As we found an Alt route and went right around the mess we decided to stop. I got Mollie out so she could stretch a little and she let out 7 of the loudest, manliest burps of her life. Now, usually I'm not one to talk about my sweet daughter burping like a man, however, this indicates that Mollie's having some stomach issues and things could get a bit dicey later. It could include, constant high pitch screaming that can only be stopped by getting her out, screaming every time she tries to fall asleep because it hurts her but she passes out from crying, or PROJECTILE VOMIT (and lots of it).<br />
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Oh yes, about 2 hours after we had stopped I hear a strange noise coming from Mollie. I thought maybe her and Jameson were making faces at each other. I loosened my seatbelt, lifted myself, and wiggled up in the seat enough to turn around and see over the edge of her seat. As I looked down all I see is violent throw up launching to Jameson's car seat. It. just. keeps. coming!!!! She then starts to choke on said throw up. (Thank goodness for the weight I have lost). I threw off my seat belt and wiggled myself to the back seat. (No one can fit between the two carseats- no matter how skinny you are- so I am sideways with my head touching the dealing and my one leg over top of jameson's lap) Jameson decides this is the perfect time to play and comment on my shoes "Mom, your shoe is on my leg. Mom, your shoe is dirty"I got back there just in time for her to look at me and continue to violently throw up all over me (and her carseat that I had washed 2 days before :))<br />
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I was pretty confident that Jimmy was going to throw up by the time he could stop the car. The smell was foul. I also found it necessary to identify all of the food that she had eaten that day. "OMG jimmy it just keeps coming. I don't think she's breathing. No, she's breathing but that was a WHOLE blueberry, Ahhhhhh she ate a whole lot of corn at lunch. Can you believe full corn kernels. OMG Whole black beans! Oh Jimmy this is gross. Oh gosh, it just keeps coming." I'm not really sure why the poor guy was gagging. We got to a gas station and got mollie out. Jimmy starts to gag and has to walk away. (Not to mention 2 older women standing across from the car whispering- I was pretty sure child services was going to be called) I have mollie in the turnk, taking her clothes off in 30 degree weather to put her into warm, dry, and clean clothes. Jimmy is gagging and scrapping the lunch and breakfast out of the carseat. Jameson was singing to Raffi, unfazed by the whole episode. We let mollie chill for a few minutes and then decide to get back on the road. Luckily, that was the height of the excitement and they both fell asleep promptly at 8pm.<br />
<br />
I still beat the GPS's ETA!<br />
<br />kayyay87http://www.blogger.com/profile/00333452615884987496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6029963697134230765.post-72337380388079104872014-03-05T11:43:00.001-08:002014-03-05T11:43:10.462-08:00Ash WednesdayI really looove Lent. I also loooove Easter. I love everything lent and Easter stand for. I find it much easier for me to really reflect and prepare my heart for Easter. I tend to think its' because all through lent you do not have the constant run around and craziness that comes with Advent and Christmas.<br />
<br />
This year I decided that I was going to delete social media from my phone. I generally use it during down times and times when I need a "brain break". I really think deleting it will help me be present with my kids and husband.<br />
<br />
As you all(probably) know, Mollie has proven to really be my sandpaper smoothing out my rough edges that need working on. The sleepless nights and unpredictable crying spells really has helped me work in my patience and survive off of little sleep. I DID NOT realize how often in the middle of the night I surf Facebook and Instagram while i'm rocking her so she will sleep, rocking her so she does not wake up the rest of the house, or wide awake after I have been up trying to comfort her for hours and now that she's asleep I'm wide awake.<br />
<br />
I realized how often last night. I started my lenten scarifies at approximately. 12:01 am this morning. I was up rocking mollie and went to grab my phone to keep me awake and realized I had deleted all of the social media off my phone before I fell asleep. I then realized that it was the perfect time to start praying and planning and figuring out ways to make our days much brighter, our house more organized and tidy, prayers for all my dear friends and families going through things or just because. It really did become a peaceful time. (Not to mention Mollie was asleep :)) I fell asleep around 3 am and Mollie woke up to PARTY at 4:30am. Again, dying while having her play downstairs I went to flip through my phone to stay awake and dissapointed again. Now I had to be present. Although she started crying and continued for a good 3 hours I was able to be present with her and get her and Jameson dressed to get our ashes at 7:30 this morning.<br />
<br />
We will not talk about how mass went.<br />
<br />
Jameson cried all morning at the drop of a hat, ate me out of the house, and yawned while demanding "NO NAP!!!" ( No one had told him to take a nap) Here are the top 5 reasons my son was crying this morning.<br />
1. he could not eat raw ground beef for a "nack"<br />
2.He pooped and it smelled "yuck"<br />
3. Mommy turned off the TV and he wanted to<br />
4. Mollie touched him<br />
5. Mommy put his jacket on "but moooooom, it not brrrr in here it warm"<br />
<br />
Thank you children for making sure I can try my hardest to get to heaven today :)<br />
<br />
Time for a weekend away! We all need a little change of scenery :)kayyay87http://www.blogger.com/profile/00333452615884987496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6029963697134230765.post-26696406214614150862014-03-03T17:21:00.002-08:002014-03-03T17:38:55.593-08:00Haters, gonna hateMaybe someone can explain it to me? Maybe I just don't understand?<br />
<br />
Why? Why the the constant war? Why all the bashing, judging, and comparing?<br />
<br />
Why the war against ourselves? Why the war of Women vs. Women?<br />
<br />
I am a huge participant of the hate speech to myself. It needs to stop. NOW! I'm not making excuses but it has finally eaten me alive. Why do I have such hate speech to my self about the way I look or my weight, or how good of a wife or mother I am?<br />
<br />
Today in particular was a hard day. Mollie was up last night screaming for a few hours, Jameson was up at the crack of dawn, Mollie refused naps, Jameson had accidents, my kitchen floor has food constantly ground into it, I'm exhausted for almost an entire YEAR of not sleeping through the night, and I have been doing two a day workouts and dieting to lose weight. I wasn't drowning today, I was just flat out laying on the bottom.<br />
<br />
Then I saw a whole article on how all of these magazines and pictures are all airbrushed. Why are they freaking airbrushed? Why do you have to portray something that it's not? It made me mad. It made me mad that things like this put these terribly unrealistic ideas into women(and men) heads.<br />
<br />
Please believe me when I say, I am not saying it is ok to be unhealthy and it is not ok to be killing yourself by being so healthy. But why can't society focus on being healthy. Why can't we have celebrities look like they look in magazines and pictures as long as they're living a healthy life style.<br />
<br />
If I wasn't already upset here is the jist of a facebook post of an acquaintance(not speaking to me directly)- REAL Army wives are 200lbs. Eat a carrot and go for a walk for cryin' out loud. Do it for your families at least. If you are fat you probably have high blood pressure, cholesterol, ect.<br />
<br />
Whoa buddy! First of all, I have not had ONE Army wife/Military spouse friend who was grossly overweight. In fact, I was the only one who was grossly over weight. My issue with the post is, Why do you need to judge or comment on someone's weight? Why do you feel that it's as easy as eating a carrot and taking a frickin' walk? Let me just tell you, I have eaten a carrot and taken a frickin' walk and I was still 300lbs. Thank you very much! I know it was unhealthy, I understand I was putting myself at great risk for other health concerns. However, you tell me exactly how you would have reacted and done things in a situation like mine. The first thing I have done when I have been out of said situation is get my health back on track, but honestly, that's none of your business. You don't know what anyone is going through or has gone through. So why tear people down?<br />
<br />
I just don't get why we can't build each other up. I just don't get why we can't have a community of women who are supporting each other and encouraging one another. It may have to do with the fact that while you are working to get healthy you feel alone or isolated sometimes but lets join together and encourage and support and share what we know of how to get healthy and where to start and continue.<br />
<br />
I'm thinking of starting a # on IG. To encourage, support, and bring together women. What do you think?kayyay87http://www.blogger.com/profile/00333452615884987496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6029963697134230765.post-45830669635718547202014-02-25T08:54:00.000-08:002014-02-25T08:54:35.516-08:00Dear WashingtonDear Washington,<br />
<br />
I am a spouse to a wounded worrier who has been apart of the fight in Operation Enduring freedom. He is still on active duty after having a titanium femur and hip. He is still in the fight because he believes in keeping America safe and fighting for freedoms of all.<br />
<br />
Your choice to shrink the military to the smallest it has been in decades makes me infuriated and sad. I am infuriated and sad to think that the men and woman who choose, I say choose because we are not in a draft, to protect America's freedoms are getting cut. They are getting cut from something they love, believe in, and put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into. They are no where near compensated for their time of service or dedication.<br />
<br />
You are choosing to cut the size of the military to work on "technological advancement". Who is going to run all of the technology? Who is going to update all of the technology? Who are going fix the technology when it's not working? Who is going to fight a war? Don't tell me you think that a computer is going to fight a war. Who is going to protect our own land? Is technology going to protect the United States from being attacked? Is technology going to make the other countries feel safe? Is technology going to stand up to Terrorists?<br />
<br />
I am sad for my family. My family bleeds Military. We love having our hero wear camo. We have made scarifies in regards to my career, my children not having a "hometown", my son moving 5 times by the time he is 3, having to make friends every 2 years, having to attend new schools every few years, having to pack all of our belongings regularly. We wouldn't have it any other way!<br />
<br />
As a wife, I have seen my spouse go through things no spouse wishes to see. He was shot when I was 8 months pregnant. I had to see him go through surgery, trying to manage pain, side effect of drugs to help his pain, nightmares, PTSD, survivors guilt, feeling of being unappreciated, learning to walk, bearing weight on his "new hardware", PT everyday, pschy appointments regularly, having to relive what happened that day every time someone asks, not being able to remember our sons infant stage because he was on so many prescriptions to manage the pain. I saw him fight, I saw him never give up, I saw him rehab in order to be able to get back in the fight. The military runs in his veins and he was willing to do anything he could to return to the fight. He has returned to the fight and is trying harder than ever to do his job and to be the best soldier he can be, just so you can say, thanks but no thanks. So you can tell all of the soldiers in his position that while we appreciate you and your brothers, some giving the ultimate sacrifice, we're going to go in a different direction.<br />
<br />
You are going to cut him? You are going to cut thousands of soldiers who have this same fight? You are going to leave our security up to what? Technology that has no love or fight for this country.<br />
<br />
I wish your heart was in the fight like all of our American Soldiers!<br />
<br />
Thanks for nothing, Washington!kayyay87http://www.blogger.com/profile/00333452615884987496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6029963697134230765.post-52055210208931128912014-02-21T18:18:00.001-08:002014-02-21T18:18:16.501-08:00bloglovin<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/6792267/?claim=v9eeyv7x5hh">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>kayyay87http://www.blogger.com/profile/00333452615884987496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6029963697134230765.post-20140523922365125402014-02-21T11:08:00.003-08:002014-02-21T11:08:37.593-08:00Girl, Look at that bodySoooo.... the no sugar/carbs thing has gone well. There was just 3 days that I had coffee with sugar or 1 soda to deal with Mollie's all nighters ;) I haven't touched bread/carbs since I started!<br />
<br />
As for my workouts! Dang! I have been hitting it hard with cardio and the Bikini Body Mommy Challenge. For cardio I started with the regulars (elliptical and bike) to get me going and my body back used to doing cardio. I have now transitioned into running. I have never experienced a "runner's high" and I believe that's why I've quit so fast and gotten so frustrated. I also think that the first day I should be banging out 3 miles.... bhahahaha. The games I play with my mind are ridiculous. I eased myself into it with the couch25K program and the days in between just listen to my body and run how ever far or long I can that day. I'm pretty proud of myself to sticking with this. I tend to set unrealistic goals and get really discouraged. It helps to have the best cheerleader in the world as a husband :)<br />
<br />
I have lost my tape measure and my scale is broken so stay tuned for an actual measurement/weight update to show some results!<br />
<br />
I also have decided to sign up for a 5k on my birthday. It happens to be a beer run for St. Patty's day- Might make the run a tad bit bearable ;)kayyay87http://www.blogger.com/profile/00333452615884987496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6029963697134230765.post-90053805259328761442014-02-12T13:30:00.001-08:002014-02-12T13:30:28.589-08:00Day of Love!Valentine's day. I'm not quite into it however, since having children I am trying hard to be into every holiday and create our own family traditions. I also like setting standards for things. For instance, Christmas we set a present limit to ourselves children and from others.<br />
<br />
Jimmy and I have been together for 9 years this year and thought I'd put forth some effort. For Valentines day, I really wanted to hone in on our Love languages. My mom had recently given me a book about love languages and the military. Very interesting read! My husband's love language is words of affirmation and so I've been all over Pinterest trying to find the perfect thing for him. I found that perfect thing. It's the <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=open%20when">open when.... cards</a>. All this week I have been writing special things to go in each one and to make them my own with things he'd appreciate. Here are my open when envelopes.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhPW_69wOxKlXB9Lz50h0jCYivQKsBOGYmOrc4-be-PRFfrpBAhdrN1SePKxn-tOdg-GKWTW8LsM1coo-keU8wKwO3zU8OAXJ2A_pQZbbYOT_-sUf7pJ6XqWuPZD9ctN8R_z8ujXWQtzc/s1600/IMG_3492.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhPW_69wOxKlXB9Lz50h0jCYivQKsBOGYmOrc4-be-PRFfrpBAhdrN1SePKxn-tOdg-GKWTW8LsM1coo-keU8wKwO3zU8OAXJ2A_pQZbbYOT_-sUf7pJ6XqWuPZD9ctN8R_z8ujXWQtzc/s1600/IMG_3492.jpg" height="320" width="225" /></a></div>
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want to know my dreams for the future</div>
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need a reminder of what makes you a great dad</div>
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need a reminder of why you love me</div>
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need a reminder of why I love you</div>
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need a reminder of why you joined the Army (if you're a military spouse you know why this one is included)</div>
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You are feeling insecure</div>
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You are missing me</div>
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You are missing the kids</div>
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you need a laugh</div>
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You've had a bad day</div>
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You can't make a decision about something</div>
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You need motivation</div>
Now, I'm not a lovey dovey writer nor am I a feelings kind of person sooooo this proved to be a little hard to start but I love the way they came out. A confession: all them have humor in them. I tried hard to be serious but sometimes I couldn't help it ;)<br />
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a little #tbt for you </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7QeA5RU_S1_yyMc4yEpjTmNC5rpxM2Uj_ISlv7y0G6MbhC3SnLKjB1ustceLrZREKwHi_X2piHmF-4IA3EemO5_yjLbK8JQ8FeHn5n6JFjuKT5iCFqXPkRar_IlHcu3gEK_3kjH4nDXA/s1600/549206_560753743597_1924127459_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7QeA5RU_S1_yyMc4yEpjTmNC5rpxM2Uj_ISlv7y0G6MbhC3SnLKjB1ustceLrZREKwHi_X2piHmF-4IA3EemO5_yjLbK8JQ8FeHn5n6JFjuKT5iCFqXPkRar_IlHcu3gEK_3kjH4nDXA/s1600/549206_560753743597_1924127459_n.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />kayyay87http://www.blogger.com/profile/00333452615884987496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6029963697134230765.post-45476824512838687252014-02-07T09:48:00.003-08:002014-02-07T09:48:28.648-08:00Weekend awayMy husband calls one day and says "Cait, there is a weekend at a Great Wolf Lodge- I don't know what that is- anyway, do you want to go? Oh never mind, its only for people who have come home from deployment- Oh, never mind, we can still go. Do you want to go?"<br />
<br />
Clearly my sweet husband was reading the email while on the phone with me. I obviously had quite a few questions.....<br />
<br />
What is the weekend for? Whose paying? ect.<br />
<br />
Turns out the weekend is a Marriage retreat hosted by the Army. And yes, they are paying. They also will provide child care. Sounds like a deal to me. When you live away from anyone you know, you don't tend to have date nights/dates ever!<br />
<br />
I was reading the original information sheet and get this, there is a dress code. You heard me! A dress code. I by no means was going to look like I just woke up, but a dress code? Oh dear!<br />
<br />
Business Casual. I am NOT ready to have to have make up, hair did, and real clothes on for 4 whole days. I just don't think I have it in me. ;) Also, I just don't have clothes.<br />
<br />
Remember the two times I've worked since getting married(and fat). Right I was pregnant those two times and definitely do not fit into my pre marriage work clothes. Boooooo! That means shopping this weekend. Booooo! Look for my Instagram next weekend for my actually dressed like a real person!kayyay87http://www.blogger.com/profile/00333452615884987496noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6029963697134230765.post-43531952296224784922014-01-24T11:12:00.000-08:002014-01-26T18:17:28.494-08:00Oh, MarinesWhile we were at Walter Reed we had some hilarious times. I am going to share the first laugh until you cry moment.<br />
<br />
Every friday night a different corporation, business, group sponsor a free dinner for the wounded soldiers. They bring handicap accessible buses to, at first the Malone house (old Walter reed), Building 62(new Walter reed, Bethesda) and take the ww and their caretakers/ families to a special dinner.<br />
<br />
Our first one was to Morton's stake house. It was lovely and they served all of the best things off the menu. We were getting ready to leave and had to take an elevator. We got on the elevator and these marines were going around the outside of the restaurant racing in their wheelchairs. The first one was a motorized wheelchair and he had about 3 manual wheelchairs all holding on to each other. The motorized one would speed up, slow down, or whip around the corner to have them fly off. Imagine a boat with one of those tubes on the pack whipping around to try and make the people fly off.<br />
<br />
We got on the elevator and they yelled to hold it for them. So they come full speed ahead into the elevator and slam into the wall at the back of the elevator. All you hear from the guy in the motorized wheel chair was "Damn, forgot I had my legs on" as he crashed his legs into the wall.<br />
<br />
I laughed until I cried. Maybe not appropriate but those Marines had the best sense of humor.kayyay87http://www.blogger.com/profile/00333452615884987496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6029963697134230765.post-71049794704912573012014-01-23T13:56:00.000-08:002014-01-23T13:56:42.036-08:00Girl, Look at that bodyOh working out. Should be about being toned and fitness and right now it's all about getting this jiggle to gooooo away. No one wants you here! I am here to share some things i've been doing.<br />
<br />
1. water, water, water<br />
2. <a href="http://bikinibodymommy.com/">Bikini Body mommy workout challenge</a><br />
3. cardio at the gym every day<br />
4. Salads every day for lunch<br />
5. Clean eating for breakfast, lunch and dinner<br />
<br />
Starting Tomorrow, I will be cold turkey quitting sugar. I say quitting because I'm addicted. When Mollie doesn't sleep I OD on sugar the next day to stay awake and keep up with the littles.<br />
<br />
If I don't die, I will let you know how the sugar detox goes ;)kayyay87http://www.blogger.com/profile/00333452615884987496noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6029963697134230765.post-23311771724664816052014-01-22T10:52:00.003-08:002014-01-22T10:52:38.832-08:00Moms....So, I watched this lovely link posted on Facebook this morning and it paired with some conversations lately, got me thinking... <a href="http://herscoop.com/posts/empowering-photo-series/gallery/15/">Stop the Mommy Wars</a><br />
<br />
I was referred to as a "Super Mom" the past few weeks in a condescending way and want to clear things up. I'm far from a "Super Mom" and I am a bit offended that someone would say that in order to put themselves down. I am a "Mom". I am being a mom the best way I can and somedays I fail terribly and some days all of us are crying when my husband walks in the door and some days I rock and some days I rock until I fail or fail until I rock. Please don't refer to moms as super moms but perhaps a mom that you look up to, or a mom that fails with so much class that when you fail you wish you had that much class. But really, stop wishing you were someone else. Just wish you were the best mom you could be that day and that's pretty much all we can ask for. Most days we need to get on our knees and beg to be the best mom we can be that day :) Here are some confessions:<br />
<br />
1. I HATE breastfeeding. The first time was such a stressful scenario and unfortunately it was tears and "i'm a terrible mom and I can't provide for my child" and drs apts with infections, ect that twisted my arm to switch to formula. I tried it again the 2nd time and, lets just say... it hasn't worked for my family. I'm not against and every other day wish it would have been easy and perfect for our family. Reality check: It wasn't. Doesn't mean it won't be.<br />
3. My kids watch TV<br />
4. They have eaten processed foods.<br />
5. I bribe them<br />
6. I cry *sometimes :)<br />
7. I get frustrated<br />
8. Jameson already walks to the steps to sit on them before I say something when I give him "the look"<br />
9. My house generally looks like a tornado came through<br />
10. We stay in pjs all day sometimes<br />
11. Occasionally we all take naps in mommy's bed<br />
12. I cherish the days I am home with my kids<br />
13. I think they are adorable<br />
14. My kids are smart<br />
15. My kids are my world<br />
16. They make me want to be a better person and fix the world<br />
17. We have dance parties<br />
18. to rap music<br />
19. I think all of my dear friends are the best Mommies and I wish we were closer to go through these stages together. To laugh and to cry.<br />
<br />
I love being a Trophy Wife aka Stay at home Mom because that is where God has me at this season in my life. I love having a messy house if that means my kids had a blast that day. I love crawling around in forts and roaring (until someone gets scared :)). I love being me as a Mom.kayyay87http://www.blogger.com/profile/00333452615884987496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6029963697134230765.post-89092789792985734282014-01-14T15:00:00.000-08:002014-01-14T15:00:04.802-08:00Walter ReedI have to apologize in advanced. Something about moving through January towards April brings up a lot of memories and thinking about Walter Reed and everything involved with Jimmy's injury. Some days I think about the funniest things in the world that happened. Of course, looking back my mantra for that whole situation was Laugh until you cry, cry until you laugh. I think that runs deep in pretty much everyone there.<br />
<br />
There were certainly hilarious stories that I want to write about to have them down as part of my memory and some terribly sad things that I also want to write about to have them as part of my memory.<br />
<br />
I 5% regret not writing all of it down during the process but then again I can remember it how I want to remember it and only think of the things that stick with me instead of remembering everything. A bit of protection for myself I'm sure. I also will leave some things to the privacy of our family and people who experienced this with us.<br />
<br />
Stay tuned for some memory lane.kayyay87http://www.blogger.com/profile/00333452615884987496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6029963697134230765.post-42453399927557975212014-01-13T10:46:00.003-08:002014-01-13T10:46:55.427-08:00Time zoneOne time, we were moving from Georgia to Indiana. We made a stop in Nashville for the night. We crossed from east coast time zone to Central time zone. Central Time zone is my favorite because all the shows I like to watch come on earlier so I don't have to go to bed and DVR everything. :)<br />
<br />
We had told the Land Lord and the moving company to please be punctual at our arrival time so we could move everything along quickly. We had told them to arrive no later than 2 pm, we thought central time. We were coming into the surrounding area and thought we were doing great on time, We then received, very impatient and a bit rude, phone calls from both the moving company and Land Lord.<br />
<br />
Turns out we don't live in the central time zone!<br />
<br />
Word to wise when moving, always double check what time zone you are moving to!<br />
<br />kayyay87http://www.blogger.com/profile/00333452615884987496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6029963697134230765.post-56538071808626075692013-11-21T11:46:00.003-08:002013-11-21T11:46:40.539-08:00Sometimes...You wanna go, where everybody knows your name!<br />
<br />
In the Army life you move. A lot. That causes you to have to restart your social circle constantly. Hopefully as the years go on you go to a base where you know some people from previous bases.<br />
<br />
I am blessed to have the best of girlfriends from Home. The 410. I have my dear friends there and I have known them all for several years if not all of my life. I miss them. This is the hard part of this life. My girls back home know me in and out and I am just a little more goofy and myself with them.<br />
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In my army life time I have met wonderful people. I tell you, WONDERFUL. But very few know me on a deeper level. Part of that is not having time to open up or not having the energy to open up since you just did that a short 6 months, year, or two years ago.<br />
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I love the ladies I have met and specifically at the great 'ol Fort polk.<br />
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Most of you know my injury list and mishaps. There are too many to speak of, however, I am going to speak of a few after I was married. Too many before I was married ;)<br />
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One situation came when I started working at a local elementary school. I started working in the fourth grade and Jimmy deployed a few weeks later. As I mentioned before, I found out I was pregnant AFTER he left. As a newly married, never have lived on my own before, living in the strangest place I could have ever dreamed of, and newly pregnant I was nervous as to what would happen if I needed something.<br />
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One day I was at school teaching and realized I was beginning to what I thought would be a devastating nightmare. It was all I could do to not ball. I didn't know what to do. I walked in and told my para that I was going up to the office for a second. The principal and counselor were standing in the office and I couldn't help it. I just let the tears flow. The quickly assured me everything was going to be ok and offered to take me to the ER. I told them I was ok but did think the ER was necessary so I walked back down to my room passing so lovely ladies in the mean time. I explained I was leaving and why and they quickly told me they would take care of everything don't worry about a thing and a generous woman who didn't even know me offered to sub the rest of the day and told me to just leave. I left and spent the morning in the ER and the counselor called to see if she could come sit with me, bring me lunch, or drive me home when I was released.<br />
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Another situation came when I was enjoying a nice afternoon after work and heating up a meatball sub, when I caught my kitchen/stove on FIRE. I realized there were HUGE flames coming out of the oven and grabbed the phone to call 911. They told me they had to redirect me because they don't service base and there was another number I had to call. Are you kidding?!?!? So they told me to go outside. I grabbed the fire extinguisher and tried to put out the fire and thought I did, there was just too much smoke for my wheezy self so I needed to leave ASAP. I'm outside on my drive way, barefoot and pregnant with smoke billowing out of my doors and 5 neighbors drive past and don't stop. RUDE! So after the fire station showed up (not to mention the chief happened to be a students father who was coming the next day for parent visit day). I called my friend of a few months, told her what happened and she had a bed made up for me before I even showed up to her home.<br />
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The kindness of strangers (essentially) has always made me feel well taken care of and shows me that God always provides. However, I miss my heart to hearts and laughing until I cry. I miss my friends babies screaming in the ice cream shop and them insinuating that It was my kid instead of theirs. I miss clothing fashion shows in kitchens, I miss my dad coming to look for me because I told him I was leaving a friends place and 3 hours later realized I had never left (oops! We had things to talk about).<br />
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So, My babies and I will be going back to the place where everyone knows our name for the month of december to reconnect friendships and recharge a little.<br />
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It's hard work living in a place you have not met anyone and your husband is going to be traveling :)kayyay87http://www.blogger.com/profile/00333452615884987496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6029963697134230765.post-16944428096398910942013-11-20T04:36:00.002-08:002013-11-20T04:36:26.156-08:00Road tripWe are a gypsy family. I kind of like it that way. We are constantly on the go and I try to take advantage of not working and getting our travel on with the kids.<br />
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Jameson has been on the road more than 100 hours in his short little life and over 8 flights! He's my seasoned traveler for sure! He is the BEST travel buddy :)<br />
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Mollie has completed over 80 hours on the road and she's only 6 months ;)<br />
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I'm going to give you a little run down of our packing situation and how we organize for a couple different situations.<br />
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We will be hitting the road again in a week, for a month! We will be in a few different cities for a few different lengths of time.<br />
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<u>For a trip where you will NOT be stopping somewhere over night:</u><br />
<u>One week away</u><br />
- 1 pair of clothes for every child (I put the outfits in ziplock bags so I can throw a bag at any capable adult and it has their socks, pants, shirts, belts, bows, ect. for that specific outift)<br />
- For Jameson(2 years old) I usually get away with 2 sets of PJs but for Mollie(6 months- puker) I always bring 4<br />
- I put a pair of socks for everyday with the outfit in the bag<br />
- My Jameson just has one pair of tennis shoes so he wears them in the car<br />
- This winter we will be bringing his snow boots (Just in case)<br />
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<u>A month or more away</u><br />
My children do not have many outfits - just about a weeks worth- We end up bringing all of their outfits and Pjs<br />
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<u>For both types of trips </u><br />
- Bath seat for the babes<br />
- Johnson head to toe wash<br />
-wash cloth<br />
- 2 kiddie towels<br />
- sippy cups<br />
- kid utensils<br />
-baby wipes<br />
- diapers (about 5 a day)<br />
- baby medicine - Tylenol/syringe and any other meds they are on<br />
- baby food/puffs<br />
- bottles/formula/bottle brush<br />
-bibs/ burp cloths<br />
-small bottle of dawn<br />
- snacks for the toddler<br />
- personal dvd player<br />
-dvds<br />
- a small basket of books<br />
-small basket of toys<br />
*- snow suits, boots, hats, gloves, mittens<br />
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(We will be staying with family for these trips so I will use their laundry detergent )<br />
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We pack all the kids clothes and bath things in one bag. All of our clothes in another bag.<br />
We pack all kitchen/food related items in a small carry bag<br />
we pack all diapers, medicines, ect in a bag<br />
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In the car (the trunk) we have a double stroller, a pack and play, a toddler cot, and out 2 clothes bags<br />
Under the infant carrier we usually store the bag of diapers/medicines<br />
In between the two seats on the floor we store the diaper bag(has everything you need like normal)<br />
Under the toddlers feet we store the bag with the kitchen/food items<br />
in between the two seats on the actual seat is where we store the basket of books and toys for toddlers easy access.<br />
We rest the dvd player on top of the diaper bag for easy access for Mom to change Mickeys annoying voice after a few hours<br />
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On our most recent road trip we had minimum crying and screaming from Mollie so we are hoping that as we jump into a few more road trips before the end of 2013 it will be smooth sailing.kayyay87http://www.blogger.com/profile/00333452615884987496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6029963697134230765.post-53174397214353467972013-11-18T10:42:00.001-08:002013-11-18T10:42:21.936-08:00Mollie guuuurrrrlllllOh my sweet Mollie! What a character we have.<br />
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I have been watching as her personality comes through as her medicine has changed her to a new baby and wow has it been fun.<br />
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My sweet Jameson came into this world fairly quite and smiley. He was a quite baby, never parroted as a baby or toddler. Just recently has he been talking up a storm. I am floored by what is actually up in that little head of his that he chooses to share and when he chooses to share it. But my Mollie, Oh how different.<br />
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Mollie is the loudest, screaming, squealing, laughing baby I've ever met.<br />
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When sweet Mollie came into this world we knew we would have our hands full. I pushed once and they screamed at me to stop. I thought something was wrong or that there was a complication. Oh no, not the case. Before I could even ask what was going on the nurses and Dr were laughing so hard they couldn't even tell me. They finally told Jimmy to look and he politely declined. Then the nurse started wiping tears from her eyes and said "no really, you have to look". Mollie had decided to wiggle.... yes, I just said wiggle, her way out. I didn't push any more and she literally came wiggling out. So either she is going to be down right crazy when she becomes mobile orrrr take after her mom on the dance floor as the "White Beyonce"(that's a story for a different time).<br />
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She immediately started screaming and screaming louuuuud. Since then she has perfected the high pitch, someone is stabbing me scream, when she wants some attention, she's hungry, her reflux is bothering her, or she wants to go to sleep.<br />
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She belly laughs at her brother's adorable attempts to make her laugh but yelling roar in her face or making animal noises at her.<br />
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She babbles and babbles non stop. This girl is going to need the unlimited plan.<br />
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She is pretty content to play on her own as long she can see me, her dad, or brother. She loooves her jumper-roo and get's quite frustrated when she tries to crawl but she can't.<br />
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This girl is a wild child already! oh, and she certainly has her daddy and brother wrapped around her chubby little fingers.kayyay87http://www.blogger.com/profile/00333452615884987496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6029963697134230765.post-46104412797696529782013-11-15T12:12:00.001-08:002013-11-15T12:12:20.448-08:00DeploymentNo, don't worry my husband is not deploying (although he'd love to). My dear friends husband deployed today. As we were texting back and forth, she was telling me how Actress like she was being, got me thinking.<br />
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I so quickly flashed back to the day jimmy deployed. I know many other military ladies have been through many more deployments than I have, you still feel those raw emotions when it is brought up.<br />
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I remember I had taken off the day from work and the day after. He was scheduled to leave on a Thursday and I thought that I wouldn't be any good to work the day after.<br />
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In true Army fashion on Wednesday night they pushed the leave date to Friday. Alright, we got one more night together! Deal.<br />
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Friday afternoon they move the date back to Saturday. Now the emotions are getting crazier as this is our first one and we are psyching ourselves up for him leaving so I'm not to pieces.<br />
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I drove him and his friend to the company area and waited around for them to walk over to the motor pool. I was feeling pretty proud of myself and I wasn't even tearing up. I said goodbye and drove myself to the PX to walk around until they actually loaded the buses thinking that I might get a call saying that they pushed back the leave time. I bought a bag of peanut M&M's and then left the px as soon as I knew they were on their way to the airport. I swung through the drive through at the Burger King on post and Headed home. All the while not even tearing up. Yes! I am a beast.<br />
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Oh, btw, nothing like eating your emotions. Am I right ?!? (a whole bag of M&Ms and Burger king- no wonder I got fat :))<br />
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I made it home, walked in the door... made it about 4 steps into the living room and LOST it. I was back up to the wall, slid down the wall like in the movies and refused to go any further into the living room. I sobbed for a good 20 min. Then I got mad that I was crying and told myself to suck it up and continued into the living room. I made a little nest on the sofa for myself of blankets and pillows with comfy clothes (thinking there was no way I was going to be able to go to our room and sleep by myself). I turned on chick flicks and sad moves so that I could cry about them because I was certainly not crying because MY HUSBAND LEFT FOR WAR. Dramatic enough?!? Probably.<br />
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I fell asleep somewhere in the middle of How to Lose a Guy in 10 days. Woke up the next morning on the sofa and felt hung over from the crying/drama fest the night before.<br />
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About 4 weeks later I found out I was pregnant. I blame all of the sobbing and drama on the hormones. Certainly wasn't because I had only been married a month a half when my husband left for WAR! Ok, drama done :)kayyay87http://www.blogger.com/profile/00333452615884987496noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6029963697134230765.post-67936321060583436652013-09-24T10:11:00.002-07:002013-09-24T10:11:47.531-07:00On The road again...We have been very busy in the midst of moving, packing, rearranging, and cuddling babies. I luckily have gotten the best deal of packing and organizing sandwiched by cuddling of my sweet babies. I have had some pretty wicked anxiety dreams lately though.<br />
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Our weekend started with having our house details on the other end finalized!!!! Yay, we have a home! One thing I have discovered while moving and this nomad type of life is to get the bedrooms together first thing. I'm totally stoked about doing the kids bedrooms on the other end. Just think: Coral, cream and Gold for Mollies; Beach theme for Jamo; and White, dark brown/black, and grey.blue for ours!<br />
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Stay tuned for the room details in about 4 years. Bha, just messing. Hopefully By November we will be completed with the rooms. I think it is so important to have the kids a little slice of their own peace as soon as we get there especially because Jimmy will start a crazy travel schedule that we are not used to. We have been sooo spoiled since January, Having him home all the time and most days before 3 :)<br />
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Our week as taken a bit of a dip as Jameson has an upper respiratory infection and I am starting with what he has! We have medicine galore and nebulizer treatments every 4 hours.... Whoa, like I had nothing else going on.<br />
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So today, instead of crazy packing and organizing, I'm just getting done what I can when I can and cuddling babies instead.<br />
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Tomorrow is Jimmy's Graduation for the MCCC course here at Fort Benning. So proud of him! His first day of school was the day I went into labor. I gave birth at 2 am and he was in class at 9am. He's such a hard worker and dedicated man. So glad to have him as mine!<br />
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Thursday and Friday the movers come and the weekend is for cleaning.<br />
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We will start our Journey off with our First stop as NASHVILLE!! Cannot wait to spend a few hours there!<br />
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Stay tuned for, I'm sure crazy, adventure stories of our trip!kayyay87http://www.blogger.com/profile/00333452615884987496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6029963697134230765.post-27711890974873560562013-09-16T09:18:00.001-07:002013-09-16T09:18:30.120-07:00Sweet HusbandOh Husbands! They crack all us up! Mine happens to have me laughing majority of my day! He is so thoughtful and helpful especially on the weekends when he is home.<br />
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My poor Mollie has some rough nights due to her severe reflux. Luckily it's not paired with screaming any more but there are still many a nights I have to sit up with her on my chest in order for her to sleep. The other particular night I sat on the sofa with her on my chest and I just couldn't fall back to sleep. I got a total of 2 hours of sleep that night. The next day my sweet husband felt terrible that I was so tired, he decided to try taking the kids out to let me take a nap.<br />
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He tells me he's going to Walmart just to make sure it's quite in the apt. I saw ok and promptly pass out.<br />
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He gets home and is beaming with pride that he successfully took the kids to Walmart and bought groceries and got them home in one piece. I proceed to ask him how it went and was it hard, ect. He tells me he happily pushed them around with a hand basket filled to the top.<br />
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I said oh, that's a good idea normally I just stuff the groceries around mollie instead of having to carry an extra basket. He then looks stunned at me and asks why I stuff cold bacon around mollies head.<br />
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As the good wife that I am, I bust out laughing. I said I don't stuff it around her head. Just around her. He was even more confused now. Apparently we shop differently with the kids<br />
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- I use a grocery cart and put mollies carseat in the back and stuff the groceries around her seat while Jameson sits in the front.<br />
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- Jimmy loads them up in the double stroller and carries a basket with him. Thus the confusion of why i stuff bacon around her head?!?! He thought I loaded the kids in the double stroller as well.<br />
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Bhahahahaha, Oh my goodness, I laughed for awhile.kayyay87http://www.blogger.com/profile/00333452615884987496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6029963697134230765.post-18998043127798928902013-09-11T09:39:00.000-07:002013-09-11T09:39:09.568-07:00Moving...the 1st listIn the military life we move. We happen to move ALOT. We will continue to move ALOT. We may only be in Indiana, tops a year. Whew! Gotta have my stuff together. Here is the first list I start with. Since having my beautiful children, I let the Army move us. They have packers come in and pack up my home and then the next day the movers come and load the truck. On the other end they take everything out of the truck and put it where I want it. I then have to unpack it. Pretty sweet set up. However, you never know when you're going to have all of your House Hold goods arrive. Here is my list of things I bring with us.<br />
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Some things are a duh! and some are essential because of the bambinos.<br />
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<u><b>Us</b></u><br />
wedding album (some times during moves things get damaged, we rather this go with us)<br />
Fire proof safe (has all documents, orders, birth certificates, marriage license, ss cards, shot records, medical records- I'd especially bring medical records if you're pregnant so if something happens you can walk into an er and they have everything they need)<br />
jewelry<br />
clothes for a week for each of us<br />
meds<br />
guns<br />
<br />
sheets/pillows<br />
pack and play<br />
our mattress<br />
jamos mattress<br />
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<b><u>Children</u></b><br />
Jameson's DVDs<br />
sippy cups<br />
bag of toys<br />
bag of books<br />
diapers<br />
wipes<br />
mollie's activity mat<br />
baby monitors<br />
bottles<br />
pump<br />
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<b><u>Kitchen</u></b><br />
zip lock bags<br />
paper plates/silver ware<br />
solo cups<br />
snacks for Jamo<br />
frying pan<br />
griddle<br />
spatula<br />
tongs<br />
whisk<br />
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<b><u>Bathroom</u></b><br />
bathroom/shower things<br />
towels<br />
bath seat for Mollie<br />
hair dryer/straightener<br />
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<b><u>Technology</u></b><br />
camera<br />
flip cam<br />
computer/chargers<br />
Portable DVD player<br />
kindles<br />
harddrive<br />
wireless router<br />
TV<br />
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<u><b>Cleaning</b></u><br />
vacuum<br />
toilet paper<br />
laundry detergent<br />
Broom/swiffer<br />
paper towels<br />
409<br />
hand soap<br />
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This seems like a lot, however, these are all essential to us. You never know what the house on the other side will look like, and once the movers move all of your things it's so much easier to clean fast and well.<br />
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Next list coming, things to clean and do before moving out of a rental ....<br />
<br />kayyay87http://www.blogger.com/profile/00333452615884987496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6029963697134230765.post-36905135639391421172013-09-03T10:31:00.001-07:002013-09-03T10:31:30.569-07:00I don't even knowPoor Mollie, I know a lot of you have been reading my pitiful updates on Facebook about her screaming episodes. I'm not a professional breastfeeder and have struggled and had to switch with Jameson. This has been quite a battle for me and I'm getting pretty worn down. Poor baby, we will figure it out. Quite possibly it is because of stress. We all know I had just a touch of stress with Jameson and while I was trying to feed him and this is falling in the same pattern.<br />
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So for the stress---- Moving has been put on hold. Kind of, maybe, maybe not ?!? See how the stress is. Originally it was because we didn't know where we were going. We found out. Then I couldn't find a house. Then we got word that Jimmy is having some leg complications, Maybe, Maybe not?!? We may not go to Indiana, we may. Jimmy may need surgery, he may not. We may have to go to Walter Reed. We may, we may not for said surgery. They could do it here, or they won't. We may just move somewhere new, we may not. He may get a new job, he may not.<br />
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My inner fat girl is dying to eat my weight in sugar and comfort food.<br />
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We will continue to chug along and pray and know that God has this plan and will go accordingly but you can't help my have stress and you just don't know how it affects you until you are trying to nourish another human being...... Looks like some craft and retail therapy are needed.kayyay87http://www.blogger.com/profile/00333452615884987496noreply@blogger.com0