We made it!

That I must say was an interesting trip. It should have taken us maybe 10 hours (we were pulling a 28 foot trailer and a 3 car "convoy"), but it took us more like 14 hours. That story will be posted later.

We finally have internet and cable yesterday.

We got Gabriel's room painted yesterday. He wanted his room Army green. Well, he wanted camo walls, but he settled for Army green and we are going to put camo curtains and maybe a rug if we can find one.

We will hopefully move his furniture in today and then Monday paint the girls room (purple). Katheryn picked it out and she loves tinkerbell so I will probably put tinkerbell curtains up in there.

Tom is sick. He is hopeing it isn't bronchitis. He's going in to the ER today (sucks that they don't have sick call because it's the exodus).

My to-do list has officially ran out of room. LOL

Well, off to catch up on everything else before Victoria becons me. Oh, I had to take her to the doc before we left because of a horrible diaper rash. She already weighed 11 lbs and 4 ozs. It will be interesting to see how much she weighs at her 2 month check up when I get one (a lil late though because of the move).

In the Spirit of the Holidays

A good friend showed me this and thought I'd share it.

Achmed the Dead Terrorist sings Carols:



And you can follow that up with this one:

Dr Laura and Operation Family Fund

Well, I was listening to Dr Laura today and I just wanted to pass on this information. All week long she is going to be giving all money raised from the jewelery sold goes straight to Operation Family Fund! If you haven't heard of it, it is an organization that gives ALL money donated (no overhead). Here is Dr Laura talking about the organization:



Here is a link to the jewelery on her site that she makes herself. It is very expensive though. Dr Laura's Jewelery Link


Here is a link to Operation Family Fund if you would like to know more about it.

Recent Movies I've Watched

The Legend of Bagger Vance



So I finally got around to watching this after a while of trying. Wow. I'm probably one of the weirdest people, but when they pulled the cars onto the 18th hole to light it up I got all teary eyed. Maybe it is because the movie reminded me of my grandfather. He loved to golf and was from southern GA. It was a good "life lesson" though and talked about how you need to work through your problems to ever let go of the burden. The movie left me with a greater appreciation (and understanding of what my grandfather tried to teach us) about the game of golf. I miss my grandfather!





Tinkerbell



I must say that I was pleasantly surprised by this movie. It has a good message for girls. There are soooo many little girls (and big ones) trying to be their favorite singer, actor, etc that they forget to be who they are. The movie is about being who you are and not trying to be something you're not and it is about friends helping each other out.

Not Too Much Longer

Well, moving day is getting closer and closer. For those of you wondering, I think it was easier when I was pregnant than with a newborn (have to take into consideration feeding times and all that incurs). Oh well, I am hoping *fingers crossed* to get almost all of it packed except for essentials within the next two weeks. That way I have a week to do odds and ends and clean. So we'll see how that goes.

I'm a bit excited to get back around family and friends. Mainly family (babysitters). I can't wait to have a "date night" without the kids. Although I'm sure "date night" will entail dinner, renting a movie, and falling asleep before/during the movie. LOL

Thanksgiving Lunch

Well, I must say my second Thanksgiving doing it all by myself went better than the first! I didn't really plan too much and did as much as possible (or should I say as much as the kids let me) the day before. I was a little stressed because we had one of Tom's classmates from Slovakia there (the foreign students have to learn as much of our culture and traditions as they can while they are here). Everyone liked it, which was a relief! lol Tom told me that it made Rene a bit homesick, but enjoyed it.

Doc Appt Results

Katheryn's ears aren't red anymore, but her right ear is still bulging a little bit. I wonder when that will go away?

Victoria has in fact caught the cold that everyone had. Poor girl is very congested. The good thing is it's not in her chest! She has also gained another 1 lb and oz. She is now 9lbs 6ozs! They didn't measure to see how long she is (I'm gonna do that later), but she fits lengthwise in some of Katheryn's old 3 - 6 month footed outfits!

Little Helper?

Ok so I was noticing yesterday that Katheryn's cups were running short in the cabinet. So I started searching around the house (in her favorite hiding places...one being the refrigerator on their play kitchen). I couldn't find the cups. So I asked her to put her dishes in the kitchen when she was done with lunch. We put her to bed and I walk into the kitchen only to notice her cup in the trashcan. Now, she had a habit of throwing her dishes away (which I thought we had stopped a couple months ago). Well, apparently, she has started that bad habit up and I'm sure that is where the missing cups have gone without me noticeing them. Ugh...the joys of having children!

On a side note, I am taking the girls to the doctor today. Victoria seems to have caught the cold everyone had and I want to make sure it's not worse than what I think it is. She has started coughing and seems to have more congestion. Even with me elevating one end of the mattress so she doesn't sleep flat. Katheryn also seems to be messing with her ear again (the one that had the bulging eardrum). She is still taking her antibiotics that end Sunday, but I want to make sure it is working and not getting worse. I can't wait until everyone is well again!

LEAP Assessment Test

Ok I have to brag a little!

Well, I dropped Gabriel off today for the LEAP (Learning Enrichment and Acceleration Program) Assessment Test. I'm proud and excited for him. Only 18 out of the 400 Kindergartners in the school district (which is both on and off post...it's strange here) were chosen to be tested today. We will find out sometime in the next two weeks if he scored high enough to go on to have an IQ test done and then if he scores high enough on that then he will be accepted into the program. She said that some of the Kindergartners have trouble with tests (who doesn't) and when they get more accustomed to school and taking tests then they are accepted, but that they usually get in the program when they get to the 1st grade. Either way if he makes it or not I am still extremely proud of him. Being one of the 18 chosen says alot for me!

Music Day

Ok so I am still trying to think of a catchy name for my music posts on Thursdays. Any suggestions?

I tend to have an "odd" taste in music and I like alot of not so well known out of certain groups of people type bands. I thought I would help to possibly bring those groups here so that if you hadn't heard of them you might find out you like them.

Today I'll do two groups. The first will be The Eels "Beautiful Freak" (the song I put down in my survey below) and the second will be Frou Frou "Let Go".




The Eels "Beautiful Freak" is in the movie Hellboy 2. I just found this band and havn't really listened to much of their other stuff, but I really like this song.








Frou Frou "Let Go" was in the movie Garden State. Which if you haven't seen that movie I think it is pretty good. Loosely put, it's about the journey of finally finding oneself and inevitably a strange love story. If anyone wants to borrow it, I have the movie. It has Natalie Portman and Zach Braff (from the TV show Scrubs).

2008 - Getting to know your friends and family

Welcome to the new 2008 edition of getting to know your family and friends. Here is what you are supposed to do, and try not to be lame and spoil the fun. Change all the answers so that they apply to you.

1. What is your occupation right now ?
I seem to spend my days herding cats. OK I'm a stay-at-home mom of 3 (5 yrs, 23 months, and 3 weeks old). It really does feel like I am herding cats though most of the time.

2. What color are your socks right now?
I'm not wearing socks right now (barefoot), but when I do later they'll be white and pink.

3. What are you listening to right now?
The Eels "Beautiful Freak"

4. What was the last thing that you ate?
A fatty cake AKA Little Debbie Zebra Cake

5. Can you drive a stick shift?
No, the closest I've come is driving Tom's VW Van out of the garage years ago in 1st gear and practicing shifting in his VW Karmann Ghia.

6. Last person you spoke to on the phone?
Gabriel's school


7. Do you like the person who sent this to you?
sure do

8. How old are you today?
28

9. What is your favorite sport to watch on TV?
When I get the chance, soccer or college football.

10. What is your favorite drink?
Orange soda, Mt Dew (which is few and far between lately), Cherry Pepsi, Koolaid, Lemonade....I like to drink alot. LOL

11. Have you ever dyed your hair
many times, but I'm actually letting it grow out now.

12. favorite food?
Salads, Steak, or Mexican

13. What is the last movie you watched?
Kung fu Panda, the new Hulk, and Get Smart

14. favorite day of the year?
Don't really have a favorite.

15. How do you vent anger?
Listen to music or clean.

16. What was your favorite toy as a child?


17. What is your favorite season?
Spring or Fall


18. Cherries or Blueberries?
Fresh Sweet Cherries

19. Do you want your friends respond?
Yes

20. Who is the most likely to respond?
Those who have the time

21. Who is least likely to respond?
Those who don't have the time.

22. Living arrangements?
Myself, Thomas, Gabriel, Katheryn, and Victoria (we're gonna get a dog or cat when we move into our new house in December)

23. When was the last time you cried?
yesterday...was in pain

24. What is on the floor of your closet?
shoes and boxes (packing stuff up)

25. Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are sending to?


26. What did you do last night
tried to sleep, but Victoria was congested so I was up most the night with her.

27. What are you most afraid of?
being alone

28. Plain, cheese, or spicy hamburgers?
Cheese and/or spicy

29. favorite dog breed?
Boxer or Italian Spinone

30. favorite day of the week?
Saturday

31. How many states have you lived in?
2 (Kentucky and Missouri)

32. Diamonds or pearls?
pearls

33. What is your favorite flower?
roses and black-eyed susans

I really HATE military doctors sometimes!

So we all caught what Gabriel brought home from school (upper respiratory infection) except Victoria. Well, I'll start out on Friday we took Victoria to her 2 week appt and when they were done looking at her I asked the guy to look at Katheryn's ears. One in particular because it had a bunch of wax in it. He says she has a little bit of fluid behind her right ear and the left (the one with wax) was a little red, but they aren't infected and it's nothing to worry about. So we let her soak her head in water when she took her bath and a little wax came out. Well, Monday Gabriel was getting worse and Katheryn was complaining about her ear (it had a bug in it...so she said). So we take them both to the ER to have them checked out. They gave Gabriel medicine and the same guy that did Victoria's appt was the one that saw them in the ER. Again he says that the right ear has fluid, but is ok and he could see the left ear drum and it looked ok. Nothing to worry about right? Well, about 10pm last night Katheryn woke up with a 103' temp and was hallucinating. So Tom takes her to the ER (which was taking forever and after 2+hours there were still 10 or so people ahead of them. So Tom comes home and the ER calls about 5:45am and asks about Katheryn. Apparently they didn't tell them her heartbeat was really fast and they were a little worried. So they get us an appt today with the clinic. Come to find out, she has an ear infection in BOTH ears and the right eardrum is bulging (enough that the doc said that we need to start her on antibiotics before it ruptures)! Ok how can it get that bad in a day?????

I really hate military doctors sometimes!

Victoria's 2 Week Appt

Victoria had her Well baby appt this past Friday. She weighed 8 lbs 5 ozs and 21 inches long! She is in the 75th percentile for height and weight! She's getting to be a big girl! :-) On a side note, I forgot how much a breastfed baby poops! Ew... lol She has a beautiful smile too!

Can't talk politics!

Well, as we were leaving post to go get dinner, Tom told me that his BN was not allowed to talk politics (specifically related to this election) during duty hours or in duty uniform. Why do you ask? Well, apparently two CPTs in a class behind his got into a fist fight during school over the Presidential candidates. Yes, you heard me right...a fist fight. Talk about setting a good example! Maybe they need to go back and take Officer 101 classes. LOL

Promotion Day!

Thomas is getting promoted to CPT today! I'm excited for him and proud of him! They are planning to do a "ceremony" type thing today so I'm hoping to be able to make it. It's calling for thunderstorms starting when the ceremony will begin. I'll get pictures up later. Funny that it's on Halloween (but I'm sure Tom loves that!).


She didn't quite know what was going on, but she likes to pull his patches off. Everyone in the room went "Awww How cute". :-D

Gabriel and I put his 2LT rank on when he was commissioned after OCS Graduation, so this was Katheryn's turn.

One Week Old

Victoria is one week old today. I have to say she is a great baby and I am lucky. Nursing is going good! She took to it alot better than Katheryn did (we had to work at it).

Katheryn is my helper. She is always looking to see what Victoria is doing and always lets me know when she starts crying (even when I'm in the same room) and gets upset herself. She always says that "baby" is hers. lol She helps me change "baby's" diaper. Gets the diapers, wipes, and throws it away,except the poopy ones. She makes the yuck face while saying yuck. It's so cute.

Gabriel is doing ok. I think he feels "left out", but I think that some of it is the attention the others give to Katheryn. I took him aside and reinforced that I still love him and it will take a little time for me to get to feeling better and then we'd be able to do more stuff.

B-Day

Ok so those of you who have been keeping track of the excitement of my latest pregnancy with Victoria, she finally made her appearance Oct 24th at 12:26pm. She weighed 7 lbs 10 ozs and 19-3/4 inches long.

Well to catch everyone up, I had went to my appt last Wed and was 5cms and 70% and the midwife stripped my membranes. She also set up with L&D for me to be induced Fri if they had a bed. Well, I apparently became famous! I was the lady everyone talked about, how I was walking around at 5cms and not in "active" labor! Every L&D nurse that came in there told me how they couldn't believe I had been walking around at 5 cms and not gone into labor.

Well, I call Friday at 5am and they told me to come in at 5:30. So we go, get hooked up to the monitors and do the normal pre-delivery paperwork (aside from the pre-admission paperwork) and questions. The midwife came in around 7:30 and checked me. I was 6 cms and 80%, but my contractions were sporatic. So she breaks my water. We wait an hour to see if that will be all to make me go into "active labor". An hour later, my contractions really hadn't changed except for getting a little stronger. So she decides to start me on a very low dose of pitocin (in total, they gave me maybe a tsp over the entire time). Well, they are getting really strong and I'm going as long as I can before getting the epidural (yes, I really dislike pain). Well, when the nurse checked me before they gave me the epidural and i was 7-8cms and the contractions were 2 - 3 mins apart. As I was getting the epidural, the shakes started (luckily he was almost finished). I started to get a bit anxious because I still hadn't gone numb in the same area that hadn't gone numb with Katheryn. The told me i might have a "hot spot" in my back that wasn't letting the medicine get that spot. So they rolled me onto my left side and after a while it worked. Not too much longer after I went numb that the nurse checked me and called the midwife. Well, she was in the middle of an exam and when she rushed through that and got there my nurse was in the bathroom. LOL Ten minutes of pushing and Victoria was born. This by far was my fastest "labor" (all of mine had started after my water broke or was broken...Gabriel's was 12 hours long and 45 mins of pushing and Katheryn was 17 hours long and about 30 mins of pushing) and time pushing. I have to say I felt alot better too after this short labor than I did the long ones. The only "bad" thing that happened is Victoria came with her hand up with her head. The midwife thinks that I wouldn't have tore if it wasn't for that. :-( Both of her Bili tests (for jaundice) came back in the normal range and even though she lost 5 ozs, she has already gained back 1 oz as of yesterday.

So far things have been good aside from the soreness.

Eggplant Parm.

Well, I decided not to make the recipe I posted below because I found a small single serving size at the Commissary today. Plus, I didn't want to waste all that money on something I might not even like. Well, I ate the "frozen eggplant parm" today for lunch and liked it. So, I'm sure I'll LOVE the fresh one when I decide to make it. The only problem (which I thought of a solution for) is that it will probably only be me and Katheryn eating it. So I figured I'd just buy some individual dishes that I can bake and freeze individual servings for later.

Oh well, so we'll see how it goes today. *fingers crossed*

Semi-rude Awakening

Ok so to start off, I have NO idea what I was dreaming about, but Tom thinks I might have been dreaming I was in labor. I woke up at about 5:30 this morning pushing (as in trying to push the baby out when the doc tells you to start pushing). I know I did at least twice. I felt the extreme pressure (which prolly woke me up) and I guess I was still half asleep because I remember feeling a second "push" then was like "OH S***" and just laid there. I checked to see if my water had broken (nope..ok), was I having contractions (nope...ok), and so I just laid there a little bit longer to make sure nothing was going on. LOL

Well, didn't think anything of it until after dropping Gabriel off at school and driving home from the Commissary and I started feeling a strange "down there". I get home, go pee, and when I'm walking into the living room look down and I swear I think the baby dropped some more (mom confirmed my suspicion). Sooooooo....Could today be the day? I hope so! Or at least tomorrow! Well really, any day before Wed (my next appt).

What Pregnant Ladies were they talking to????

Ok so, I got my weekly pregnancy e-mail (for week 39). This is what it said (I put what struck me as odd in bold and italics):

..in Week 39

Your Body

Although your tummy is larger than you could have imagined, you may actually feel more comfortable in your body than you have in a while. That's because your baby has dropped further down into your pelvis, relieving additional pressure. This change has also caused your center of gravity to shift suddenly, so you may lose your balance more easily or have difficulty standing upright, particularly when getting out of a chair. Take extra care of yourself – you have a baby to deliver very soon!


WHAT?!?! Hello! Who were they talking to? LOL Yes, you get rid of the discomforts of the baby being so high, but it is only replaced with the baby being so low. Having to run to the bathroom everytime I turn around because the baby is pushing on the bladder or the increased pelvic pressure from the baby getting lower. Ugh. I want to be one of those "pregnant ladies who don't have the discomforts". LOL I just hope I have the baby before my next appt. Having my membranes stripped isn't something I want to go through again (I had it done with Katheryn...not by choice mind you).

I'm tempted to do the jumping jacks Tom keeps telling me to do. LOL jk

I might go pick up stuff to make the Eggplant Parm though. Even though it will probably make a whole bunch extra...it will be worth it if it works. lol

Scalini's Eggplant Parmigiana

I found this recipe when I was pregnant with Katheryn and had thought about trying with her (but the midwife helped us out so I didn't have to). Supposedly pregnant women have been eating this for over 20 years and most of them go into labor within 48 hours of eating it. They almost guarantee it and if you don't they give you a gift certificate to come back and try it again if it doesn't work in 48 hours. Just click on the picture to be taken to the restaurants site for the recipe.

Rock Hard Abs

So I was sitting at lunch with Tom today and I had a contraction (which has become "normal" lately). Then the thought came to mind which made Tom and I laugh. I told him that this was probably the only time that I can say I have "rock hard abs" (due to the contractions). LMAO!


I'll post a comparison picture later when Tom gets home to take one.

Light at the End of the Tunnel?

Well, I had an unexpected appt yesterday. I say unexpected because we got a call Tues evening from the hospitals appt reminder line telling me that I had an appt the next day. So I called and explained that I didn't think I was supposed to have an appt until around the 10th (they were supposed to call me when they had a cancellation because they were booked for 4 weeks. I kept the appt because I was curious to see if the contractions that I had been having Tues did anything. Well from Friday to Wed I went from 3 to 4 cms and the baby went from the -2 to the -1 station. I had also gained a pound (yay!). So the midwife believes that I'll probably have the baby within the next couple days (we'll see). I'm more excited and anxious about it.

Trip to the Lake of the Ozarks area

We didn't actually make it to the lake. We went to the outlet mall, a really good BBQ restaurant (Wobbly Boots if anyone ever goes to the area), and played putt putt and bumper cars. Well Gabriel, Tom, and Rene (one of the guys in the same school as Tom who is from Slovakia) did the bumper cars while Katheryn and I watched. Here are a few pictures.




The kids in the Truck before we left.

At the outlet mall they had a fountain. I was looking at a shoe store while they went down to it. Well, when I come out Gabriel has his socks and shoes off walking around in the water. This is before that happened. I guess that's what I get for letting two guys watch the kids (both of which are from Europe and grew up playing in fountains).

Luckily they didn't get Katheryn in the water.

Rene is Katheryn's new buddy.

Gabriel wasn't too happy because his shorts and underwear were soaked from the fountain. I had to go find him some more clothes. Which was hard because they had all their summer stuff on clearance and didn't had a hard time finding his size.

This was at the Putt Putt place.

I'm sure I look worn out. This was towards the end of the day at the Putt Putt course and the heat and walking were getting to me.

Misc Pics of the Kids

Katheryn's Fun with Markers
(the aftermath)

Gabriel came walking out of school for a week holding her hand. He told us she was one of his girlfriends. :-) The other one was a bus rider.

Katheryn likes to get my reading glasses out and put them on when I leave them laying on the end table.

We had went to the Bass Pro Shop in Springfield and came across this John Wayne gun safe. If it wasn't so expensive I'm sure Tom would have bought it.

Halloween Fabric Ornaments

Well, I was trying to wait until I got these done before I posted pictures, but it doesn't seem like I am. The Walmart here stopped saleing fabric and pretty much alot of the craft supplies (unless you like to make jewelry or paint). So I've had to rely on the the online sites that I find. Well, I wanted to put bat, pumpkin, or some other halloween buttons on them to hold the ribbon/cord to hang it, but I can't find any. What I did find is on backorder and keeps getting bumped further and further into October. Ugh... Anyways, I just wanted to post what I made. I found the panels and added batting and a back to them. I somewhat quilted them and then used pinking sheers on the edges.

School Crud

Well, right now Gabriel and Tom are waiting in the ER because Gabriel's temp was 103.5. He woke up Saturday morning with a fever of 102.5, but had went down to 99.7 until around 6:30pm today. We had been giving him Tylenol and Dimatap (sp?). It cleared up his runny nose, but his fever went up and he still had a headache. We think it might be the flu, but want to make sure and get something to make him better. So they left around 6:40pm and are still in the waiting room (now at 10:30pm). Ugh. I just hope he will get better and no one else will get sick since we are so close to having the baby. Which is the last thing I want is the baby getting sick. Even though I really don't like seeing any of my family sick, the baby doesn't have the built up immune system to fight it.


Update: Well, they spent over 9 hours in the ER last night. The doctor didn't tell Tom what he thought Gabriel had, but gave him some antibiotics (which said it wasn't for the common cold or flu...so I guess it takes what we thought it was out of the picture). So we're keeping him home from school today so that the antibiotics have time to get in his system. He still had a bit of a fever this morning, but it wasn't as high as it was yesterday.

Good News

Well, my appt went well yesterday. I still have 4 weeks until my due date, but the midwife believes that I won't go another 2 weeks before I have the baby. I am almost 3 cms, 70%, and the baby is at the -2 station. The first thing out of the midwife's mouth when she went to check was "WOW! This baby's way down there." She also had the happy surprised look on her face. Which I could have told her because the baby likes to play poke the hip bones and lets try and poke our way out when mommy lays down to go to bed at night. She also told me that I didn't have to be on bedrest anymore and that I could go back to what I was doing beforehand because at this stage they aren't going to do anything to try and stop labor. She also said that the baby would be ok to stay at the hospital here without being transported to the NICU in Columbia (unless of course there was anything wrong with the baby's health). I feel so much better and my spirits are up. I think it's both the knowing that the baby will more than likely stay here with me after I have her and the fact I can go back to doing stuff. I'm excited! I hope that the baby can wait to come out until the evening of Oct 9th (since Tom will have a 4 day weekend), but as long as I can go another week then my mom can come up and help out (she's planning on coming up anyways, but the school system she works for has their fall break starting then).

I'm excited and dreading it at the same time. Ready to have the uncomforts of pregnancy over, but not ready to have 2 in diapers!

One more week down

Ok so I followed the nurse's suggestion and laid down as much as possible the last week and thankfully had a pretty uneventful week. I felt better about half of the time and the BH contractions seemed to lessen.

Well, yesterday when I went to pick Gabriel up from school and we were on the way back to the truck, Katheryn started walking toward the parking lot instead of staying in the grass until we got to the truck. Well, she tripped and I went to grab her to keep her from hitting the asphalt and that caused the BH contractions to start up again for the rest of the day (3:30 on). That really sucked! Today I am trying to take it easier, but I am still getting the stupid BH and having a bit of pressure. UGH! Oh well, at least Tom has the rest of the day off of school so he can help me out with the kids and let me get some rest.

I'm just glad that it has been one more week that the baby has been able to grow and develop inside me! Each week it has a better chance!

My Visit to L&D

Well, after a few uncomfortable BH contractions and some pushing from Tom, I went in to Labor and Delivery to get checked out last night. Long story short, I stayed there 4-1/2 hours (most of which was on the monitors) only to have 2 contractions. Well, when I lay down they go away, but when I'm up and doing stuff (even light housework or just getting up from the couch to go to the bathroom) BH start in. So after the first 20 mins of monitoring they check my cervix. Come to find out I am already 2 cm dialated (I'm hoping that it's just because I've been pregnant more than once). Well, the doc tells them to monitor me for 2 more hours then check again. Luckily nothing changes and I finally get to go home at 12:30am. Though I'm told that there is a possiblity of putting me on bedrest later on if things continue and that if I do go into labor they have to send me 2 hours away because they don't have a NICU here. UGH! So even though I have TONS to do and I HATE laying down all day, I am resting and laying down today and will continue to take it easy because that is what is best for the baby. I don't want to have her early!

Sigh...

Well, I went to my 32 week appt today (even though I'm 33 weeks). I'll start with the good news. The baby is measuring good and is gaining weight and getting big (according to # of weeks along). Not so good news (I won't call it bad because it's not to the worrying stage yet), my blood pressure went up and I lost about half a pound. At my appt 4 weeks ago my blood pressure was 105/70 (my blood pressure usually runs low) and today it was 126/85 when she took it about 20 mins later it was 120/80. So now I need to keep an eye on other signs and I need to gain weight. So not only do I need to watch that, but I need to keep an eye on my contractions. If they don't go away after resting (which they are going away now when I lay down and rest) I'll need to go in. UGH! That's all I needed was one more thing to worry about! I'm just happy that the baby is doing good!

Kindness of Strangers

Well, so today has been a really rough day. Probably one of my worst so far for this pregnancy! So we went to Walmart because I needed to do some grocery shopping and about halfway though shopping this lady just out of the blue makes a comment to me. She said "You're one of the cutest pregnant ladies I've seen." Even though I was feeling like crap, that made me feel good. I guess at that time that is what I needed to hear.

MAMA...MAMA...Pee Pee

Let me start this off saying that Katheryn is a huge copycat (esp. when it comes to stuff Gabriel does). For instance, Katheryn had to wear a bookbag when we take Gabriel to school and she throws a fit when we don't walk in. She looks up to him.

Anyways...

For the last couple weeks Katheryn will go into the bathroom raise the lid, holds her shirt up, and stands there with her belly to the toilet and apparently pees (in her diaper). When I try to get her to sit on her Princess potty she throws a fit, I try to get her to sit on the kid seat that fits on the toilet she throws a fit... Today though she let me set her on the toilet (after she yelled at me mama mama pee pee). I was like "ok so you want to sit on the potty like mama?" and she shook her head yes. She didn't do anything, but it's good she tried.

UGH! How do you explain to a 20 month old she can't pee in the toilet like Dada and Bubba????

What's in the package????

So the last couple nights I've been having some bad dreams about the baby (which I won't go into), but in my dreams the baby was a boy. Although the ultrasound tech told us it was a girl. Unlike my other pregnancies, I don't have a "gut feeling" that the baby is a boy or girl. UGH, it's driving me crazy! Maybe it was because I wasn't able to have the gender ultrasound at 24 weeks. Who Knows! It's probably all in my head.

A Sign of Things to Come?

So I woke up today feeling more energized and not so "heavy". Well, I figured it was because I got more sleep than usual...until...I was sitting on the couch doing some work for Gabriel's teacher (getting the book order catalogs together for her to hand out and the website set up). I then realized when I looked down that the baby has dropped some more. She was already low (I'm gonna assume a bit lower than the midwife expected when I went in for my last appt a couple weeks ago). So I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she doesn't decide to come early. I still have a little over a week before my next appt so I'm keeping tabs. I"ve already been keeping track of the Braxton Hicks (which have started to have cramping with them every once in a while) I've been having since around week 20 and the baby's movements since my last appt.

Ugh...I sooooooo feel like the second to last lady on the cartoon alot lately with the discomforts that come with the 3rd trimester.

A Must Share for all Moms and Moms-to-be

As most of us moms can relate to this having already been through pregnancy, here is something for you moms-to-be to look forward too!

Kindergarten Memory Quilt

So, I was thinking the other day that there will be a TON of stuff that I would want to keep from his school work. I was just thinking of how much space it would take up. I did read somewhere, where a mom would let her kids decorate pizza boxes and they would only save what would fit in the box each school year to cut down on clutter. Well, I also got a order form for a school t-shirt. So that got me thinking. Since we will only be at this school for half the year, I was going to go ahead and get the shirt. I am going to make a memory quilt for him. The t-shirt logo will be the center of it and I'll print off 1st day of school photos and scan in work he does to make the other squares of the quilt. It will be something that can be folded, rolled, etc and will be easy to move with.

Mr. Independent

Well, the second day of school. I park and was walking him to the school. He runs over with 2 other boys and goes on in the school and totally forgets I'm behind him. So I do the stuff I needed to (had 2 questions). When it is time for them to go on to their classroom from the cafeteria, Katheryn and I are waiting outside the door to tell him good bye. He comes out and says hey and starts to walk off so I ask him if he knows where his class is. He looks to the left and then to the right a few times and shrugs his shoulders. I point and show him and off he goes. No bye mom or a hug. :-( Oh well. I am glad he is enjoying school. He told me that he didn't get any sticks in his chart yesterday and he got a ticket for being good. They get sticks in the chart when they are bad.

Well, this morning he tells me he doesn't want me to walk him to school. He could do it himself. Well on the way there he says I can walk him to his classroom, but when he gets there he's changes his mind again. *sigh*

It was going to happen sooner or later and I just need to let him build his own independence. Although, I'll always try to be there to watch over him even when he doesn't know it. He's still only 5.

First Day of Kindergarten

So today I was the crazy mom with the camera taking lots of pics. LOL Oh well. I was sooooo nervous today because he said he didn't want to go and wasn't excited at all about going to school. Well, when we got there he pretty much ran into the door and seemed to actually want to be there. Which was a little bit of a relief, but I was still worried because of how he acted last night and this morning. Turns out though he had a great day (which I figured he would, but was still worried).

Well his teacher had a bulletin board up outside the class, so I had him stand under his name so that I could take a picture.

I knew the day would go well when the teacher already had play doh set on the kids desks!

He just noticed us standing there waiting for him.

He was happy to see Tom there! Tom wasn't able to go with us when we dropped him off at school, but Tom got out of class early and was able to go with us to pick him up.

UK Blanket

I just finished putting a satin binding on a fleece blanket for my sister. it measures 60" x 83". Another project crossed off the list! YAY! Now just to keep Katheryn from taking it before I can get it to my sister. LOL

Two Finished Projects

So I just thought that I'd post pics of my latest projects that I finished (Yes I actually finished 2 recently!). I'm slowly going through my list (more like boxes) of projects to do. I feel so accomplished! Now my scrap fabric box is filling up, but I bought a quilting magazine the other day and it had a really cool idea for making flowers out of scrap fabric. So I'll probably make scrappy bouquets, hair barrettes, yo yos, etc with it.

Pledge of Allegiance Quilted Wall Hanging

I finally found a background fabric that I liked, but I neglected to realize that it was much lighter than the front and the thread needed to used left outlines in the back. Oh well, it's going to be hanging on the wall so no one should see the back. lol

Cross Stitched Winter Welcome Sign

This one took me a little longer than I had thought, but it turned out good. I didn't add the tassel to the bottom like it called for because I just don't like them. So I am going to try and find 3 different sized snowflakes to hang staggered on the bottom.

Our New Backyard Neighbors

So, this guy goes honking out in front of our house and so of course Gabriel goes running to see who it is. Well he yells "It's Daddy in Oma and Opa's car!" So I go to look to see what he's talking about (because that is just odd). This guy is driving really slow in front of the house and then starts backing up. I think this is really weird, so I tell the kids to come on back in the living room and eat. I notice these two raccoons in the tree right outside the house so Gabriel and I look at them and the doorbell rings (I'm assuming at this point he was honking at the raccoons). So he stops to let me know they were on my front porch and he was honking to scare them away. Yeah weird guy. Who does that anyways? Anyways, we go back in the living room and watch them for a little bit.

TGIF!!!!

I am soooo happy that this week is over. I am so exhausted! On top of Katheryn being fussy and having to have me hold her almost all day yesterday because she had shots on Wed, I had 2 appointments for Gabriel. We went to his Vision test, which turned out good! Yay! Then to the PX where he decided not to listen to me and sprayed perfume (one of the testers) into his eyes. So I went and grabbed some eye wash and cleaned them out in the parking lot. Katheryn then refused to take her nap and when she finally gave up it was time to go to his Kindergarten screening. Again he did good. They were actually surprised he knew as much as he did. What can I say, we have always just talked to him like he was "big". The strangest thing though is he still gets right and left confused (I think it's more he just doesn't care to learn it). He also still writes some of his letters backwards, but you can tell what he's writing. After that I thought it would be a good idea to go to the Commissary....yeah...what was I thinking?!?!? Ugh... I am soooo ready for this pregnancy to be over!

When I had my appt this week, we found out that the baby likes to stay way down there! I've been having extra pressure and can feel her poking sometimes. I go in 4 weeks to my 32 week checkup and physical so we'll see if anything is happening down there. I just hope that she decides she doesn't want to make her grand arrival too early! And this HEAT! Ugh, it's killing me. I feel so drained just walking out to the mailbox (which is in front of our house).

I would like to say that it would be a stress free, relaxing weekend, but the in-laws are coming to visit and should be here tomorrow. I just need a break after this week where I can just focus on something for me!

August is already here!

It is going to be a busy month! I registered Gabriel for Kindergarten today. Which upon getting home and Tom being here for lunch, told Tom that it was really boring! LOL So I have to take him Thursday for his eye appt and then his Kindergarten screening. Apparently Missouri requires a vision test (more so than what they do for his school physical) for kids entering Kindergarten. That would have been nice to know when I asked the reception lady 2 weeks ago! Oh well. Then I get to go meet his teacher next week (hopefully Tom will be able to get out of school in time to meet her too). Finally in 2 weeks Gabriel will be starting school. I'm sure I'm going to both cry and be relieved (though also be very anxious and worry). I think the hardest part will be remembering that school starts later on Weds. I don't think I'm going to know what to do with my extra time when he's at school. I'm sure Katheryn will be missing him too!

Busy Day

Well, I finally found a trellis that I liked better than the rest that would look good in the pot with the Devil's Ivy plant. I also got around to washing whatever film was on the leaves. It looks sooo much happier now! I just need to come up with a good name for it. It looks like a girl to me.






While I was adding pictures, I figured I'd add the picture of the snake that we had on our back porch the second day we were here. It was about 5 feet long.






I also figured that since Tom wasn't going to be using the BDU name tape anymore that I would use it to put Gabriel's last name on his bookbag. I am going to add an engineer castle from the BDUs onto his bookbag as well when I find one.

Really Good Movie Quote

So, I was watching the movie Penelope a few days ago and the quote at the end of the movie really stood out. Penelope is about a family that was cursed that the next daughter born would look like a pig (piggy nose and ears). Penelope was the next daughter. It was about her "journey" to find herself and accept herself. The only way for the curse to be broken was for her to be accepted by one of her own (a blue blood). Well, the quote really stands true to a lot of things about life.

"It's not the power of the curse, it's the power you give the curse."

Ozark Hills 3rd Annual Shop Hop

Well, today I went into the local quilting shop looking for a good backing fabric for a Pledge of Allegiance panel I have. Well when I went to check out, she told me about this Shop Hop they were doing this weekend. You go around to 6 different quilt stores in the area and get your "passport" stamped. Then your name is entered into a drawing for some pretty cool stuff. I'm wondering if it would be worth it for me to go and try to win something (because 1. I'd probably want to buy something at each store and 2. I'm not sure if I wanna drive around by myself to areas I know nothing about because Tom might be too busy Sat to go with me).

As for the #1 reason, I bought another stencil and a cute "Little Red Hen" quilt pattern on top of the fabric at the first place! LOL I'm such a sucker for cute things!

The Prizes are:

*~* Grand Prize *~*
$300 in fabric and/or supplies (Consisting of one $50 gift certificate from each of the six participating shops, redeemable at the issuing shop.)

*~* 2nd Prize *~*
Choice of Prize Quilt Kit from any one of the six participating shops. All Prize Quilt Kits will be entered into the drawing.

*~* 3rd Prize *~*
Gift Basket

Plus, all participating customers will receive a free quilt block pattern at each store.



Ugh Decisions Decisions!!!

Devil's Ivy

Ok so I went to Lowes yesterday and finally picked up a plant for my big container. I bought Devil's Ivy (or Golden Pothos) because I always remember my grandmother having this plant and it's clippings in water in her house. In doing research, I found that it is one of the plants that NASA found helps to improve indoor air quality!

I will be doing some clippings here soon so if anyone in the area is interested I'll give you a few.

The Fabric Is Cut!

Ok, so it took me 3 days to cut all the fabric up into the pieces. They are now ready to sew together into squares. YAY! More good news: I found my power cord for my sewing machine! I am so relieved! Anyways, here is the next picture and an idea of what the squares will look like. Since I had two different colors of the character profiles print, I am going to make two different squares.

If it's not one thing...

...It's another!

Well, I have come to my second set back. I forgot that I had not packed my sewing machine cord (with the foot petal attached to the cord...one piece) with my sewing machine. I had accidentally left it connected to the power stripe when I was packing my sewing machine in a box. I was probably distracted in the middle of it by the kiddos. I ended up packing it in a different box and now I can't find it! Ugh! So I'll just continue cutting the material up and unloading boxes. Hopefully I'll find it soon.

On top of that, my parents are coming to visit next week and then the inlaws the week after. It will be good for the kiddos to see their grandparents (and good to get a little help/break from them). I just hope we get over whatever funk is bothering us. The kiddos have runny noses and I have a sore throat. I figure it's related to allergies because when I check out our HEPA filter (which I had put in 2 weeks ago) it looked like it had been in there for 3 months! Plus the we were around a house with a small dog and that might have caused some of it too (Gabriel had a runny nose on the way home). Although he wasn't allergic to dogs when we had him tested, maybe he has acquired a new allergy?

Mom's an Army

borrowed from Joan Baumann

Mom's an Army now!

When Dad's away Mom's the Commanding Officer.

When Dad's at home, Mom's the Executive Officer, coordinating and executing actions for the Command Team.

Keeping track of the kids, she's the S-1.

Collecting neighborhood news and relaying it to Dad she's the S-2.

Making plans for the family and training the kids, she's the S-3.

Stocking food and supplies for the family, she's the S-4.

She answers all the family correspondence and makes appointments for Dad, so that makes her the Adjutant.

Worrying about the family budget makes her the Comptroller.

Paying the bills and accounting to Dad for the paychecks makes her the Finance and Accounting Officer.

Looking for a new place to live when we move, she's the Billeting Officer.

Assigning us chores to do, getting us fed, bathed and put to bed; she is our First Sergeant.

Serving food and doing dishes, she's on KP.

Carrying small children, she's an ammunition handler.

Driving the family to all our appointments, she's a duty driver.

Cleaning the house and making beds, she's an orderly.

Cooking like a queen when she goes out with Dad, she's a soldier's lady.

Doing all things well all the time, she's a true "Big Gunner!"

Gosh, Mom's a whole darned Army!

Latest News

Well, some things have changed here. Tom was told instead of him being pushed to the next class, he is now in this one. So he's going to be busy with this classes work and taking 2 classes for his major. He can do it though, it just means our weekends are not as long. So we might only be at FLW until December. It all depends on if the next unit's COL lets him finish his masters here and take the extra shorter schools he wants to. I kinda hope he is able to do this because it would push the time longer and there will be more of a chance for Gabriel to finish Kindergarten at one place. If not, at least we'd be moving during Christmas break so that he won't miss too much. He was told that I have to have the baby after Oct 15th that way he can be given some time off (as if I have any choice in when it will happen).

Well, my first appt here went pretty good. I found out alot of my "problems" were results of the Braxton Hicks contractions. So now I have to keep a better eye on them. I knew I had had a few, but apparently I've been having more than I thought. Apparently I was either ignoring/not realizing the others. Other than that, everything is good. As of my last appt the baby was head down. Now as long as she stays that way and doesn't decide she wants to be like her older sis and be breech (I don't want to have to go through a Version again).

Future Projects With the Other Wizard of Oz Fabric I have

Here is the fabric for the other quilt I plan on making in color.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Not quite sure what I'm going to do with this yet.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I have 2 panels of this so I plan on making a large tote with the larger squares and maybe wall decorations with the smaller ones. On the other panel, I plan on making the same large squares into pillows and the same as above with the smaller ones.

Wizard of Oz Update

Sooooo....I realized today that I had only ordered 2 yards of the backing instead of the 4 that I meant. Oh well. I am just going to make this a smaller lap quilt. I have color Wizard of Oz material I got for a second one for her that will be quite a bit larger. I guess it will be a good starter.

Wizard of Oz Quilt

Ok so my camera's card finally decided to work. Here is a picture of the fabric I have so far. I am just waiting on getting a craft table from Lowes (because they have a 6 ft table cheaper than a 5 ft table Staples had) and another one I found when I was ordering the rest that hopefully will match. As soon as I get the table I am going to start cutting the fabric into squares. This is my first quilt that I am going to attempt to make. My mom LOVES the Wizard of Oz so I will hopefully get this done before Christmas! It would have been a good birthday present too, but I don't think I'll get it done in a month and a half. Especially with 2 kids, but Gabriel is starting school in a couple weeks which will give me a couple hours when Katheryn is taking her nap during the day to work on it. Who knows.

Quilt

Ok, so I realized yesterday that I didn't order enough fabric (1/2 yard too short in 4 different patterns). So I ordered it yesterday and it should be here tomorrow. One is on backorder though. I am going to be getting a 6 ft craft table so that I can have room to work. As soon as I get my camera acting better I'll get the first pictures up!

Crafty Group Start Up

So I was talking to Becky, our neighbor across the street and she is wanting to start up a craft group where us ladies can get together and crochet, knit, sew, etc. She was also thinking that we could find some charity organizations to donate our crafts to. Kids welcome! Which is a big plus for me! This is cool because I was going to start quilting (gonna make my mom a Wizard of Oz quilt for Christmas...I'll post progress pictures as soon as I start). So it will be a good motivator for me! I might take turns hosting this since we have a ton of kids toys in the house. If anyone reading this is interested let me know!

Amanda

What A Great Welcome!

Ok so the first day went good. They only had four 3-bedroom houses for us to look at. We choose #3 because it was the lesser of the evils. LOL It has fresh paint, clean floors (no stains), everything just looked good, and it had a cleaner smell. Tuesday morning (day 2) however was a bit "interesting". Tom had to take Gabriel to the ER because he started throwing up and just didn't look good. Luckily he was ok and it really wasn't anything big. While they were there, we had a 4 to 5 ft black snake (we think it was either a black racer or black rat snake...both non-poisonous) slither up onto our back porch. EW! Needless to say, it's not going to bother us anymore. However, we are waiting to hear back from the work order we called in about having the landscape/shrubbery/mess taken out because there is a rabbit den there with at least 1 baby rabbit (maybe what the snake was up on the porch looking for?). Then Thursday night we had a pretty bad thunderstorm and we found out our roof has a leak. Luckily I saw it before Tom's electrical/computer stuff got too wet. So we called in a work order that night and then again Friday morning to check on it. Well they show up shortly after we called to "assess" the damage and then he tells us they'll be back later that day when it dries up to fix it. Well, they never came back. Ugh. It is calling for more rain and thunderstorms to hit today and tomorrow. So hopefully it doesn't get too wet.

So far I've met two of our neighbors. One of them her husband is in the same class date as Tom and the other has 2 kids as well (she also brought a plate of cookies and banana muffins). I also found out (by looking seeing our neighbor in the same duplex) that apparently American Eagle allowed retirees to live on post. That aggravates me a bit because I thought base housing was for Active duty or Activated Reserve/NG. If they had an excess of empty homes, I could understand, but as of yesterday they only had one 3-bedroom available. I don't believe it's right to allow them to take up the homes that our Active soldiers and their families should have priority to. After all, I thought that was the purpose of military housing.

It's been an adventure alright! Hopefully things will start to calm down. We have about half of our stuff unpacked and the other half is still in the trailer. Trying to get it done a little at a time. We will find out Monday if Tom is going to be in the first class or if he's been bumped to another class because they are currently overbooking his class.

A couple tidbits for Military Wives.

I found these while I was surfing different sites. They made me laugh. Enjoy!

The Seven Stages of Military Wifehood

by Tracy Wood

I wasn't born the calm, efficient, organized Army Wife I am today. Beneath this cool exterior is the woman who frantically tried to explain her infant's blue feet to a group of concerned German women and panicked at her husband's first promotion when called upon to pin on the new insignia.

Perhaps I should explain the baby's blue feet. I had foot-printed my son, Erik, for his baby book, but was unable to wash off all the ink. Later that cold January day, I decided to bundle him up and do some shopping. Unbeknownst to me, darling Erik, kicked off his warm booties to display his blue feet for the German shoppers. They thought his feet were purple from cold. I didn't understand much of their attempts to counsel me. After I managed to communicate to the large crowd that had gathered that his booties had fallen off, the women scurried off to find the baby's booties.

This experience taught me to see events from others' perspectives. Learning is what life is all about, and an Army wife is forever growing and changing. With tongue firmly in cheek, I classify the progression of Army wifehood in seven distinct stages.

Stage one: You don't know fatigues from a poncho liner. You wonder what all those "old" women do at those luncheons, attending a potluck dinner requires 10 long distance calls to mother.

Stage two: You sew patches on fatigues, attend luncheons, mistakenly iron the poncho liner (which melts) but otherwise are a perfect Army wife.

Stage three: You discover the post alterations shop and never sew again. Children enter your life and you forget to attend the luncheon you volunteer to host. The dog throws up on the poncho liner. Mom calls you for recipes. You ask your soldier husband to please drop off those infernal smelly fatigues at the cleaners.

Stage four: You've been promoted to a position of authority in the Army wife support system; younger wives look up to you. You get kids off to school, work on you career, tone up your body and try to set an example. You make lots of lists.

Stage five: Entering the fifth phase, your spouse hangs up his fatigues, dons desert camouflage, and leaves his family to go half way around the world to preserve peace. You miss him terrible, but rediscover the wonder of a love letter. The kids hang yellow ribbons. The poncho liner becomes the family security blanket.

Stage six: He returns home, and you once again are the perfect Army wife. But this time you can manage your family, your job, and your time better because you know what is most important.

Stage seven: You're close to retirement years and the chance for a new way of life. The thought of leaving the Army creates mixed emotions; you start to think about another tour. Your parents are starting to need you more than your children do. You find more time for yourself, and suddenly you are one of the "old" women at the luncheon.

And so we learn and grow. Each time we step forward, we leave a little innocence behind. For civilians, the props are different, but the story is the same.

Ten Commandments for Military Wives

1. Thou shalt not write in ink in thy address book.
2. Thou shalt not covet choice assignments or other branches of service.
3. Love thy neighbor ('tis easier if thou livest on a corner).
4. Honor thy Commissary and Exchange as long as they both shall live.
5. Thou shalt not ridicule a local politician, for mightly senator's from local politician's grow.
6. Thou shalt look for the best in every assignment even though the best may be "Most Childhood Diseases in One Year" or "Record Snow in One Months Time".
7. Thou shall remember all thy friends from all thy assignments with greetings at Christmas, for thou never knowest when thou may wish to spendeth a night with them while enroute to a new post.
8. Be kind and gentle to retired, white-haired Exchange and Commissary costumers, because thou too will be a retiree someday.
9. Thou shalt not curse thy husband when he is TDY on moving day.
10. Thou must never arrive at a new post and constantly brag about your last post.

It's a GIRL!!!

Well, we went yesterday to my 20 week ultrasound and we found out that the baby is a girl. We already had names picked out for a boy and a girl so that was one thing we had done early in this one. Everything looked great and she weighs in at about 12 ounces. Her name will be Victoria Elise. We had chosen a few different names when I was pregnant with Katheryn so we used Victoria and Elise is Tom's German grandmother's name.

Every Journey Begins with a Single Step.

Ok so this is my first post in here. I figured this would be interesting to start something to share with friends and family since we are going to be moving around alot. Somewhere for them to go to have a daily/weekly update on what's going on in the life of an Army Engineer family.

Well, today we're going to be packing the trailer up more for our move in 13 days. I'm both excited and nervous about it. Excited because we'll be traveling to a new base and 'exploring' the area. Tom will also be taking the next step in his career with the schools he will be going to. As everyone knows, Gabriel will be starting Kindergarten, the next baby is due Oct 23rd, and Katheryn will be growing like a weed. Sigh...I'm nervous because we won't have the grandparents to help with the kiddos especially with the new baby coming, but I believe it will help make us closer as a family. We'll have to rely on one another more.

Ugh, back to the packing. We finally got the trailer reweighed and empty so we're slowly packing furniture and such in. Hopefully today we'll be able to get double done what we did yesterday. I just dread it in this heat. 20 weeks pregnant in 90+ degree weather. Gotta remember to take breaks and rehydrate! I just wish that my sciatic nerve wasn't giving me problems so that I could help out a bit more. As of right now, I really can't lift anything w/o my maternity brace. Or really for that matter, I can't really lift anything heavier than a bottle of Cheer (which when it was full I had to get Tom to help me with laundry). I feel so useless right now because of it. I wish I could do more to help him out.

Well, I'm off to get some cardboard boxes set up and start throwing toys into it. Gabriel is going to hate that when he gets home and finds out his toys are packed. Oh well. I'll leave a small box out for him and Katheryn.

Ta Ta for now.