Visit with Santa

Last year, I missed Hannah's visit with Santa. The base children's Christmas party was the day Meeghan was born so my neighbor took Hannah. I was told she did not want to go near him, but she still has the bath duck he gave her. This year I wasn't sure how she would do. E's squadron had a Christmas party last week. It was in the hangar which was pretty neat since I hadn't seen that part yet. They asked for wrapped gifts for your kids so Santa could hand them a gift after their visit. They also had bounce houses, cookie decorating, crafts, and snacks. It was a pretty nice set up. They even had free pizza!

I swear bubble wrap can entertain kids for hours. Meeghan didn't get it, but Hannah loved it.

These were their favorite activities. Hannah loved the bounce house, and Meeghan thought it was fun to push the chair everywhere until she found the tie downs in the floor that are full of grease. She was a mess by the time we left. 

Santa "arrived" in a P-3

Hannah wasn't sure she wanted to sit on Santa's lap, but she did. She was pretty shy. I was waiting for her to cry. I wasn't sure how Meeghan would do. She is pretty friendly so I assumed she would be okay. Honestly, I thought I would have the kid that yanks off Santa's beard. Luckily, she didn't do that. She was more interested at looking at everything. Overall the girls enjoyed themselves, and they loved their gifts from Santa, so I consider it a successful day for my family. 

First birthday!

I am a bit behind on posting about Meeghan's birthday. Like most one year old's she had no clue what was going on. She did get pretty excited when she saw the cake with the candle, and she loved the cake.

She sort of figured how to unwrap the gifts. She kept back to the previously opened gift to play with it. Of course Hannah was trying to open everything and then play with the toys. Every toy became their toy. She had some jealousy issues that weekend. 

We went to Disney World to celebrate. Meeghan had her button to let everyone know it was her birthday. She rode the tea cups for the first time and loved it. I get sick just watching those things. Overall, I think she had a pretty good first birthday weekend. 

Training update

I am about 2 months away from my first half marathon. I would say my training is going pretty well. I have some minor aches and pains, but nothing that is terrible. My running schedule seems to be working for me. I run 30 minutes on Tuesdays and Thursdays with alternating increased long runs on the weekends. For instance, this past weekend I ran 4 miles. On Saturday I am scheduled to run 11 miles. The weekend after that I will run 4 miles again (maybe if I can stand the cold temperatures in KC). I did 9.5 miles a few weekends ago, and it felt good. I ran it slower than the last few runs, but I was able to run all of it and feel decent. I was definitely getting tired at the end, but I figured I could probably go another half mile. I am getting faster on my shorter runs which is encouraging to me. It shows me that my body is getting stronger and that the training is paying off. The only downfall is I have experienced chafing, and it hurt. My hydration vest rubbed on my 8 mile run so I had to tape up my arm for my 9.5 mile. I had bad chafing on my thighs, and then I had some under my boobs. I didn't even think I could chafe there! Overall, things are going well. There are some days where I really have to talk myself into opening the door to get a run in, but I think that is true for everyone. Isn't it?

A chapter has closed

About 10 days ago, I pumped for the very last time. I was down to pumping once a day and I was only making about 2 ounces. It was bittersweet for me. It has been so nice to have my body back and the freedom to live without a pumping schedule. However, it also meant that I was finished providing for Meeghan. I still have around 2000 ounces in the freezer so I am still providing for her, but I felt a bit sad that I wasn't giving her fresh milk anymore. She only has about 15 ounces of milk a day so I will be able to give her breast milk for awhile. I offered some to a friend of mine who just had a baby and is having trouble with nursing and pumping. It still amazes me that I made it that long. I never realized how much of my life it consumed, and how different my life was. Constantly dragging the pump and supplies with me if we left the house for a long time, cleaning parts, trying to entertain the kids while pumping, and waking during the night to pump even after Meeghan started sleeping through the night. Now that I quit I look back wondering how I did it. I am very lucky that with Meeghan I was encouraged by my doctor and her doctor to continue with pumping. When I tried pumping with Hannah I was told several times it would not work, and that I just needed to get her to latch. I only lasted two weeks with Hannah. I was uneducated about pumping, I was battling the baby blues, and I was told it wouldn't work. It is hard to fight against those things. I wish I could go back to those women (they were doctors and lactation consultants) and tell them that they should be more supportive. I made it 11.5 months, and I stopped on my terms. I could have gone longer. I know pumping doesn't work for everyone, but it is an option that women should have.

One year

One year ago today, my little Meeghan was born (you can read about it here). I can't believe it has been an entire year. She has moved twice and lived in three different houses in her short life. She is walking, talking, laughing, and starting to throw tantrums. She is definitely becoming a toddler. She also loves to climb. She will climb anything that she can find. She is trying to communicate with us with words or signs. I can understand some of what she says, but most of it is still babbling. She loves Pepper. She will hug Pepper any chance she gets. Pepper tolerates her most of the time, but she isn't fond of Meeghan climbing on her. I am trying to soak up all this sweet toddler time because I know those terrible twos are on the way. I couldn't resist doing a little through the year pictures of her. I am biased, of course, but I think she is pretty darn cute. I can't wait to see what the next year will be like with her.

I am going home!

Thanks to my dad's generosity (and my mom's according to him) we will be heading to KC for Christmas. It will be nice to see KC at Christmas again. I haven't seen the Plaza lights in a few years as well as Christmas in the Park (a favorite of mine). I am hoping that I can quickly throw a birthday party together for Meeghan so my extended family can meet her. I figured it has been a year it may be time she is introduced to them. I hope it snows just enough so the girls can play in it, but not so much that it ruins plans. Hannah hasn't seen snow since she was 7 months old and she really wants to build a snowman. There is a tiny part of me that is sad we won't be here because we really haven't had a chance to start traditions, but I think it is good for the girls to be around their family. Plus a friend of mine just had a baby and I am dying to meet her. I can get my newborn baby fix without the sleep deprivation that comes with one.

Maid or wife?

Recently E and I had a conversation about how we have changed. I have become frustrated with him the last year. He has become more stereotypical man and I hate it. When Hannah was born, he was in school so he stayed home with her except for the few hours he was in class. I was the one who worked full time. Even though I was the one working full time I still cleaned the house, did the laundry, cooked, got up with the baby during the night, and all the other stuff that comes with a household. Most days I would come home to find him playing Call of Duty in his underwear. It didn't bother me too much. I let it go most days. However, now that I am staying home and he works, he feels like he needs to tell me everything that must be done during the day and point out the areas that need work. I feel like he is a dictator. I had to make a chore schedule so he can make sure what days I will do stuff. Just today as he walked out the door, he made sure to mention the bathroom is dirty. I get it. I stay home which means I should take care of the house. Here is the thing that really pisses me off. He is home 90% of the time as well. Do you want to know how many days he has worked this week? One, and that is today. They don't have enough instructors so training is moving slowly. He did study yesterday after he went to the shooting range. He also went to the shooting range a few days before that. Oh, and he decided to go to a movie also. And when he is home, he hides in his office a lot. He will just walk off and play a computer game or watch a movie. I am left to fend for myself. I never thought he would be the guy that says he can't handle being around the kids for too long. He actually told me that he just can't handle them anymore. I feel a bit lost. I know he does stuff around here, but I firmly believe that a house should be cared for by the entire family. I am tired of picking up after another adult. I am tired of planning meals and having noses turn up when I set the table. I am not even sure where I am going with all this. I think I just needed to get it off my chest. I feel like I am stretched too thin. I can't be everything for everyone, can I?

How do you explain death to a 3 year old?

Recently, Hannah has been asking about a few pictures I have of my mom. I told her it is her Nana. She of course wanted to know if she could talk to her. I then explained that Nana had passed away many years ago, and she wouldn't be able to see her or talk to her. I am not sure she really understands because one day she told me that her Nana died, but she will be alive again soon. She also told me that her Nana died because she didn't visit enough. That one broke my heart. I have told her that she can visit the memorial for my mom that my dad created. She was cremated and he has set up a nice little area in his house with the urn. Hannah liked that idea so if we make it back to KC for Christmas, I will show her the urn. For now I guess I will keep answering her questions the best I can.

First 10K!

Yesterday I ran my first 10K. I was a bit nervous since I only have done one training run at 6 miles, and that was 2 weeks ago. Thanks to the girls not eating breakfast quickly, we left the house late. Plus finding a parking spot was crazy so I only had 20 minutes once we arrived to get my timing chip, pee, and warm up. The bathroom line was long so I didn't really warm up much. It was pretty chilly too. It took the first half mile for my feet to thaw. Seriously. I am not used to the cold anymore and it was in the 50s. My feet were pissed! Once they finally thawed I was able to find a better stride. The race was through some neighborhoods which meant some nice scenery (and huge houses). My training runs are typically along a county road so I only see cars and strip malls. I told myself to take it easy and shoot for a 10 minute/mile pace. This is my proof of time race for the half in February. I just want to get out of the last corral so I didn't need to go super fast. Towards the end I was feeling pretty good so I said nuts to my plan and I took off with a mile left. I was hoping for an overall time of 1:05 based on my training run. However I started calculating during the 4th mile that I may be able to finish in an under an hour so I started to pick up the pace. I took off the last 0.7 mile and basically sprinted to the finish. It almost killed me, but I wanted the sub hour time. I just missed it. I finished in 1:00:41. I was under my goal so I was pretty happy. I know I am never going to be fast enough to win awards, but it felt pretty damn good to beat my goal and still feel pretty good after the run. The guy who won yesterday finished in 29 minutes. 29! That's how long it takes me to run 3 miles. That is freaking insane! Finally, what post isn't complete without the finish line picture? Here it is:

I hope you all enjoy the rest of your weekend!

11 months

A few days ago Meeghan turned 11 months old.  My baby is no longer a baby. She gave up on crawling and walks full time now. She is even close to running. She has started climbing. I hate the climbing stage. She is starting to put two words together like Hi Daddy or Hi Rowdy. She absolutely loves the dogs. Pepper is her favorite (probably because Pepper tolerates more). She loves bath time. She will start yelling bath as soon as I tell her it is bath time. Her sleep has been crappy lately, I think due to teething. She is very spunky and I love her for it. I weighed her on the Wii a few weeks ago and she was 17 pounds. I am guessing she is still around that. I have no clue how tall. She is definitely my little peanut.

She is always hugging Pepper

Random Sunday

Free time has been sparse so here is a quick recap of my life lately. Hopefully I can sit down to write a real post soon.

The girls were a witch and a pumpkin for Halloween this year. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures of them together, and I didn't take these pictures until the next day. I was a bad mom. Hannah had a blast trick-or-treating with other kids while Meeghan enjoyed saying hi and bye to people. 

For one whole day, I was leading in mileage. Since E is training for a full marathon, he is running more miles than me. I ran my weekend run before him which meant I had the top spot. He ran today so I am now behind. I was so excited though I had to take a picture.

I hope everyone had a great weekend! 

Weaning

I recently made the decision to wean from pumping for Meeghan. I have been exclusively pumping for her since she was born. She is 10 days away from turning 11 months old. It has been a long 11 months of hooking up to a pump. Those first few months I was pumping every 2.5 to 3 hours to match her feeding schedule. I was getting very little sleep between pumping and then feeding. I was a complete bitch due to sleep deprivation. I feel bad that I wasn't the best mom to Hannah at the time. Thankfully every one was understanding. Today I dropped to 2 pumps a day. Until a month ago I was pumping every 6 hours. I hope to be completely finished by the time she is one. I am taking it slow so I don't get clogs. I have been lucky and only had 1 clog in the past, but I make sure to drop a pump slowly so my body can adjust. It will be weird not dragging all my pumping stuff with me if we are going out for the day. I became a pro at hooking up to the pump while in the car or public place. I have had to pump in public restrooms, and I will be glad that I won't have to do that again. Good things have come from my sleep sucking pumping months. I privately donated to two mothers while in Texas. I also donated to the Milk Bank of Austin to feed premature babies. In total I donated between 1400 and 1500 ounces of milk. When we moved, I had around 2500 ounces in my freezer (which survived the move). I have enough to feed Meeghan until she is one and a few months after that. That makes it worth it. I do feel guilty though. I don't know why I feel such extreme guilt over stopping, but I do. Meeghan will have milk for a few more months. Part of it is knowing how much she loves her bottle of milk. She makes the sign for milk to let me know she is ready for a bottle. She gives me the biggest grin when I hand the bottle to her. She loves her milk! I gave that to her. It makes me feel good to know how much she loves it even if she isn't getting it directly from the tap. Deep down, I know I am ready and I am making the right decision. A month ago I almost cried when I thought about stopping. Now the majority of the time I am giddy when I think about stopping...that is until Meeghan makes the milk sign and gives me her squishy-face grin. Mom Guilt is such a vicious, evil cycle.

Race for the Cure

On Saturday, E and I participated in Race for the Cure here in Jacksonville.  It was crazy how crowded it was, and how people can't follow directions. Anyway, E runs at a much faster pace than I do, but he chose to stay with me. I think it was killing him to run slow. I told him to go on without me, but he said no. He had run 17 miles the day before, and he was pushing the double stroller (the only double I saw), so I guess it was enough to keep him at my pace (although after he saw the results I think he was mad he didn't run at his pace because he may have placed in the top 3 of his age group.) Despite having to dodge all the walkers who started at the front of the pack even though they were supposed to move to the back, I managed a personal best (if you go by chip time). I finished in 30:01 with a pace of 9:39. I shaved 30 seconds off my 5K time. If I go by the Nike app, my 5K time was 28:48 with a pace of 9:15. It also had my fastest mile at 8:51. I like the Nike app times. I thought I was going to die because at one point I was running at a pace much faster than what I am used to, but I held on. The last mile I had to slow down a lot if I was going to make it although now I wonder if I was mentally breaking down. Hannah was starting to get antsy and she wouldn't stop saying mommy. It was hard to concentrate on running and her.  Either way, I am happy. I beat my previous times, and so in my book it was a success. Unfotunately, I didn't take any pictures. Hopefully I can find some online to share. I saw a ton of news stations out and many took pictures of the girls. After the race, we ate about 1000 calories. It was this fun, little restaurant that specializes in biscuits. I had a biscuit with chicken breast and bacon covered in maple syrup. It was delicious. Thank goodness this place is not near my house because I would be there every day.

First Dentist Visit

That little girl went to the dentist for the first time a few weeks ago. The dentist sure has changed from when I was a kid. This dentist has PSPs, toys, iPads, and a tv in the ceiling for the kids. All I had for entertainment was Highlights magazine. Hannah did great although she was a bit uncertain at times. I was nervous about what they would say since she isn't the best brusher, and it is a fight to let us brush her teeth. She didn't have any cavities, but she does need to floss. Trying to floss the teeth of a 3 year old is not easy. They wanted Meeghan to come back in a few months for her check up. I didn't know babies went to the dentist. She only has two teeth! I guess though they start early. I was told to go for a first visit between 2 and 3 (I was a bit late thanks to moving so much during that time.) I hope the next visit goes as smoothly as this one!

Running (or my version of it)

Saturday I will run in my first competitive 5K since I started this training. E is running with me which means he gets to push the double stroller to slow him down. There is no way I can run at his pace. I am pretty sure I would have a heart attack. I ran my fastest 5K the other day during my weekly training run. I ran a mile in 9:27. I cursed myself the entire time for running that fast. I didn't think I would make it, and I had to slow down, but I did finish the 3 miles in 30 minutes. I usually curse myself during my runs anyway because I wonder why I voluntarily went out to run. However, I do feel myself getting stronger every week. What used to be hard to accomplish is now easy. When I first started, I was happy if I ran a half mile before walking. Then it stretched to three quarters of a mile, and then a mile. I remember the first time I ran two miles without walking I started throwing my hands in the air out of excitement. I am pretty sure the people driving by thought I was crazy. This past weekend I ran 5 miles without walking. I never thought I would see the day. There were times I wanted to walk, but I pushed myself. It is nice to actually feel my body responding to the training. I am going to run a 10K in a few weeks so I can change my corral for the half marathon. Since I didn't have a previous race for proof of time, I will be placed in the last corral. If I run the 10K by December, they will change my corral so hopefully I am not in the back of the pack. That means I can stop a bit more to take pictures and not be picked up for a slow pace. I am not sure if I will ever be a die hard runner, but I do feel healthier and stronger than I did a few months ago.

*Disclaimer: If this post doesn't make sense, I apologize. I was writing it with a 3 year old talking constantly next to me even though I asked for 2 minutes of quiet while she ate her breakfast. My old brain sometimes struggle with multitasking.  

Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party

A few weeks ago we decided to go to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party at Disney World. I have never been to the party so I wasn't sure what to expect. Hannah was so excited to wear her costume and go trick-or-treating. This would be our first time staying in the parks after 6pm with both girls so we weren't sure how it would work. It was great that it wasn't too crowded so we were able to walk onto rides without much of a wait. They had a special parade and fireworks show as well as certain areas where you could collect candy. That was Hannah's favorite part. Unfortunately, it rained which delayed the parade. Hannah was so excited to see the parade and we had to wait almost an hour for the parade to start. She missed the end of the parade because of a bathroom emergency which was my fault. I didn't even think about taking her to the bathroom while waiting for the parade and of course her little bladder couldn't wait. She cried when she found out we missed the end. Luckily, she was able to see Mickey and the gang which meant she saw Minnie in her costume.

Hannah wanted to be a witch just like Minnie so I found this costume online. I am not crafty enough to make a costume on my own. Meeghan is a pumpkin since I needed something that wouldn't be too hot and wouldn't be a pain when changing a diaper. Overall, it was nice that the rides had a short line but I am not sure I would pay the money again. Maybe when they are older and can ride more. We also went to the Food and Wine Festival the next day at Epcot. I will definitely go next year. It was delicious. I loved trying all the different foods. We still joke about driving down there for the day just to eat. 

10 Months

My baby turned 10 months old on Sunday. She is rapidly approaching toddlerhood. It is scary how quickly they grow. Miss Meeghan is so close to walking, but I am okay if she waits a bit longer. She now has 2 teeth and I think a third is coming in. She is starting to talk a bit more. She can say hi, bye, daddy, mama, boo, dog, Hannah, whoa, and ow. Granted, she doesn't say all those words on a consistent basis, but she does say them. She also makes the sign for milk, makes the mmm sound when she sees food, and holds phones to her hear to say hi or bye. She is such a nut and is so happy. She makes a face that I call the Popeye face. Supposedly she gets it from me. 

The Popeye face

I want to freeze time. I love this age with kids. They are so excited by everything, they are just starting to walk and talk. They don't talk back yet or run away. It is such a fun time. I didn't appreciate it as much with Hannah because I didn't know what the toddler years would be like. Now I know. I know what it is coming next. I am trying to soak up every last second of this phase before the terrible twos set in and I want to pull all my hair out of my head. 

Mom for Hire

Lately, the biggest argument between E and I would be my lack of employment. He wants me to go back to work so I can help with the bills. I am hesitant because I really want to go to school. I have a degree in biology, but it is a general bio degree which means I don't have enough specialized training for many jobs I am finding. I am also afraid of juggling everything if I am working. I am barely holding it all together and I stay home. If When he deploys, I am on my own. I will be both parents to those girls. I will be the one to stay home if they are sick, shuffle them to appointments, try to spend quality time at home along with everything else that comes in life. I also like being home with the girls. I love the freedom I have. We can decide at the last second to go to the zoo or the park. I don't have to worry about appointments. I can schedule them whenever I want. If E gets home early one day, we can hop in the car and take a fun day trip. That will end if I get a job. However, I am tired of carrying student loans around. I want Hannah in a school environment. She needs it. She is craving it. I try to provide for her here, but she needs teachers and other kids. I am terrified of sending Meeghan to day care, but I guess I would get over it. In the end, I know what I need to do. I need to help dig our family out of this debt and find a job. Let's hope I can find one.

I am definitely not Forrest Gump

Running. I have decided that I mostly hate it, but I still do it. I signed up for the Disney Princess Half Marathon that is in February. The last half marathon distance I did was in August of 1999 when I ran the Pikes Peak Ascent with my mom. I was 19 and full of energy. I didn't train for it at all. I had a job where I walked for 5 hours a day during the hot, Midwest summer day so I figured that was good enough. It wasn't. That race kicked my ass. My mom was kind of enough to stay with me and it took about 6 hours to finish. I told my mom I would never run again. The last race I "ran" was a 4th of July 5K in 2005 which is in memory of my mom. I walked that race with my family. I was hungover and feeling horrible so those 3 miles were brutal. I spent most of early and mid 20s drinking and dancing as my exercise. After that exercise consisted of walking to the kitchen to get chocolate and walking the dogs. Luckily, I do enjoy vegetables and healthy food so that balanced the lack of exercise and chocolate. E (who is my husband. He didn't want me to use his name and I am tired of referring to him as "the husband") has to stay in shape for the Navy. He started getting into running about a year ago. After we learned that Jacksonville would be our home this winter, he signed up for the Disney Marathon. I thought he was crazy. He challenged me to do a 5K. For some odd reason, I decided to take it a step further and here I am training for a half marathon. Some days I am pretty sure I made a huge mistake. However, last night I had a breakthrough. I ran for 30 minutes. No walking. This is a big deal for me. I usually have to walk at some point. I ran at a slow pace, but I did it. I know I will never win an award for time. My pace last night was around 11 minutes/mile, but I didn't walk. Plus I actually enjoyed it a bit. It was nice to have 30 minutes to myself listening to music that is not kid friendly. I almost ran 3 miles last night. Here is hoping I can an additional 10 after that in a few months.

So much to do, so little time

It has been almost a month since my last post. It doesn't seem that long, but I guess time flies. Not much has really happened around here which is why I haven't felt the need to post. We bought annual passes to Disney World. We went again a few weeks ago and experienced the lovely Florida thunderstorms while there. It ruined our pool plans, but we found other stuff to do. This last visit we went to the Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, and Epcot. Hannah is catching on to how Disney works. You visit an attraction, and at the end the funnel you into a gift shop where she promptly picks up all the fun stuff that is conveniently right at her level.  I am about to take my husband's debit card away so we don't spend so much on stuff while we are there. I keep telling him we can go back whenever we want so we don't need to buy everything we see all at once. Hannah also rode her first "adult" ride, the Kali River Rapids at Animal Kingdom. I heard she was afraid at first, but then she loved it. I stayed back with Meeghan so I missed it. She is also really into meeting the characters. She gives awkwardly long hugs which is cute, but then I feel odd for trying to peel her off the characters. We are trying to go next weekend for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. I have never been and it looks like a lot of fun. Also the Food and Wine Festival starts next weekend. I can't wait to eat around the world at Epcot.

Meeghan turned 9 months old and had her well baby checkup. I love her nurse practitioner. I hope we have her every time. Meeghan is tiny, but doing great. 16 pounds 5 ounces, 28 inches long, and a 16 inch head. Her head is tiny, but so is mine so I am not worried about it. My cousin has a 4 month old who is 15.5 pounds, 25.5 inches, and a 17 inch head. Talk about two ends of the spectrum! She has suddenly wanted solids and not purees. She wants table food so she now eats what we eat at dinner. Plus she wants sippy cups and water bottles instead of a bottle. I am good if she wants to self wean off bottles. She has started pulling up and cruising. I am okay if she wants to wait a bit before walking. Hannah was walking by this age and I am not sure I can handle two running away from me right now. Also, she finally has a tooth! I was beginning to think those suckers would never come in. She has one on the bottom and the one next to it is starting to come in so she should have two soon. I hate the teething process so I hope the rest come soon. She has also started to make an adorable face that I have dubbed her "Popeye face", but she never lets me take a picture. I will get it one day so I can share it here.

Hopefully I can start to blog more. I never use my laptop since it isn't as convenient as the iPad, but I hate typing on the iPad.

Flying solo

The husband has been away at training for the last week and a half. It feels a lot longer than a week and a half. This is the first time I have been on my own with both girls for more than 12 hours. Sure he had flights or duty that kept him out of the house most of the day so I managed most of the day on my own. However this is the first time I have been alone day and night. It is draining. I don't remember it being this hard when he went to OCS and I was on my own with Hannah. I still have a few days until he comes home and it feels like an eternity. If this is how I feel after two weeks I don't even want to know what a deployment will feel like. I am so tempted to throw the kids at him and run away for a few hours just to have some me time. I am a person that needs me time. I have not had that at all. Even when I try to go to bed, I have a 3 year old or two dogs (or both) in bed with me. I love my kids, but I need some time where it is just me. Although I am tempted to ask him for a day where he has the kids and I disappear, I feel it wouldn't be fair to him. He has been away at SERE. It stands for survival, evasion, resistance, and escape. Basically he learns how to survive if his plane is shot down or crashes in enemy territory. It is required for all pilots and air crew. It is pretty serious training. They are even captured so they know how to handle the situation. I would feel like a complete bitch for leaving the kids with him after enduring all that. When I am exhausted at the end of the night, I tell myself that even though I have gone several rounds with Hannah, it has to be better than what he is going through and at least I am sleeping in a bed. A 3 year old can't be as bad as guys who torture me for information.  Right?

Oops!

I have neglected this little corner of the internet. Moving sucks and it has sucked all my energy. The husband left for training and won't be home for a while so I have been on parenting, unpacking, and moving detail duty. Hannah has been obnoxious and that is putting it nicely. I am trying my hardest to be patient since I know she is trying to settle in this new place. She has told me she doesn't like her room and she hates her bed. She starts off in her bed, but she has been crawling into mine since the husband left. I have no clue what I will do when he comes home. I guess she can sleep on the floor until she moves out of this phase. Meeghan is teething, but luckily it seems to be pretty smooth. I am so tired of unpacking. I have no clue where to put stuff. We must have thrown away our cheap bookshelves so I have boxes of books in the garage. I have boxes of picture frames lined up against a wall because I don't have the energy to decide where to put them. I know I have to do it because even when the husband comes home he will only have a week before he starts ground school. Ground school means very little time with him.  It has been raining every day since we moved in. It makes it hard for me to get rid of Hannah's energy. Plus I haven't found a good park yet. I also can't find our art supplies so I had to buy new ones today. The bright spot is the gym on base has a family fitness area so the girls and I have gone there to get out of the house. I can start my training while the girls play. Although part of me cringes when I see Meeghan pick up a toy and shove it in her mouth.

We did find time a few weeks ago to make the quick trip to Orlando.

Meeghan loved Special Agent Oso

Hannah on Dumbo

All of us with Mickey. Meeghan was asleep.

We are in

We are in our house. I am not exactly thrilled with our house, but it will do until next year. It was filthy when we toured it. We were told it would be cleaned, but it wasn't cleaned...at least not to my standard. The good news they shouldn't be expecting perfection when we move out. We took pictures and sent an email about our displeasure. Our stuff arrived Tuesday and only a few things were broken. The biggest thing that pissed me off was our mattresses.  When they packed, they did not bring mattresses boxes or tv boxes. We protested about the mattresses. They wanted to wrap them in furniture pads and then shrink wrap them. We said no. We wanted them in boxes for protection from dirt and bed bugs. Finally we agreed to shrink wrapping them for the trip to San Antonio and once at the warehouse they would put them in boxes. It was not done. I was pissed. We told the movers here to leave the mattresses in the garage until we could buy those vinyl covers. Our mattresses are now covered so if we did pick up bed bugs they should be dead. Also we are finding things in the wrong boxes. Luckily we have everything except our dog pen. It was surrounded by another family's belongings so they will deliver it later (hopefully).

All in all we are starting to get settled. It is taking longer since we had to do a deep cleaning first instead of just surface cleaning. The house is starting to come together and I am hoping we can start to explore our new city soon. Pp

Moved...

Well we made it to Jacksonville!  We are currently staying at the Lodge on base until we can move into a home. Our trip was pretty uneventful which is great. We spent the night in New Orleans. Apparently that weekend there was a dog show. The hotel we stayed in was full of dogs. Rowdy and Pepper were in heaven. Thankfully they settled down so we all slept. Things weren't so great when we arrived here. It turns out the reservation for the hotel was made for the incorrect date and my husband never noticed when he printed the confirmation. Unfortunately this is not new for him. This is the third or forth time he has done something like this. I am starting to think I need to reserve rooms from now on. Anyway, they didn't have any pet rooms left, but they gave us a non-pet room. We had to pay up front for the room which I was not prepared for. We also have not received our travel advance yet so everything has been out of pocket. They made my husband check out earlier than stated on his orders which meant the money wasn't ready in time. I woke up this morning to see our bank account at zero. It was not a great feeling. We had enough in savings to put a security deposit down on a house and they are letting us wait until the money comes in to pay rent. However that means we are stuck in the prepaid hotel room until Friday when hopefully the money is in. We were hoping to be out of here by tomorrow so we could get some money back, but at least we do have a place to stay while waiting. The house we are renting is in a pretty nice area. It isn't the exact house I was hoping for, but it will do. I can tell that a dog and kids have been living in it. It is pretty beat up, but they lowered the rent and they will let us paint. Hannah has been begging for a pink room. We are trying to get used to living in a big city again. Traffic here is crazy! That will definitely take some getting used to. The other good news is we will receive most of our rent back from our last house. We lived in base housing so our rent was paid by allotment. They had already received our money for August before we moved. They held onto it until their inspection so they can take the money they need for repairs and then refund the rest to us. When we moved in they didn't require a security deposit if you pay by allotment. It will be nice to have that money back again. I will say this, if you are ever stationed in Corpus Christi avoid the housing there. Their pest control is horrible! I know that bugs are bad in the south, but we had ants living in our walls and from what I hear it is a common problem. We had them coming out of our baseboard in the master bedroom, they came out of the door jam in the back door (the day before our movers arrived), the electrical outlet in the master bedroom, and a light switch in the living room. This is after they sprayed. It was disgusting.  I know I will have to deal with ants here because it is the south still, but I really hope I don't have that level of infestation again.

And one last kick to the head is I am sick. Of course. It happened when we moved from Florida to Texas and now from Texas to Florida. Also, if you are pulling a trailer you better stop at the agriculture inspection station when entering the state. I didn't thinking it was only for commercial trucks. Turns out I was wrong. I was quickly pulled over, and given a warning. Thank goodness he didn't give me a ticket.

Moving

The movers are scheduled to arrive Wednesday which means we are scrambling to grab all the stuff we want to take with us. We have narrowed down our house search. Hopefully our favorite is still available next week. We are ready to head to Jacksonville. I can't wait to see what the city has to offer.

Bringing home the bacon

A disagreement has started between my husband that is probably a pretty common one. My husband wants me to get a job after we move. We will be paying on his student loans soon so the extra income would be nice. I am not ready to put both kids in day care all day. I like having the freedom to schedule appointments whenever, take spontaneous trips to an aquarium or a zoo, or even head out of town if the situation allows. My husband doesn't work normal hours. Some days he is gone all day. Some he is finished by 8am, and others he doesn't even go into work until 4pm.  It is harder to get time off.  I like that if he does get a day off we can do something as a family and we don't have to wait for the weekend. Heck, weekends are still working days for the Navy. Plus there is the deployment factor.  He will deploy within the next year. I will be on my own. I am afraid if I am working plus taking care of the kids and house that I will be burnt out. I know many spouses do it, but I am not sure I want to be one of them. I guess I am afraid of missing out or cheating my kids of fun. My mom worked part time during school hours so she was available when I was home. I loved that. However, my parents were more financially stable than we are. It is such a tough decision. I have looked at jobs that are available in Jacksonville. The ones that I like either require travel or are second shift. I will admit there are days where it seems easier to work so someone else can deal with Hannah's attitude all day, but I am pretty sure I would miss her.  I am pretty sure I know what I need to do, but I am not ready to admit it to myself. Chances are good I will get a job to help with the bills, but my heart doesn't like it.  I will miss these faces.

Winging

6 days ago my husband received his wings of gold and became a Naval Aviator.  It was a chaotic and crazy day, but it was worth it. Hannah did not behave through most of the day's activities. Luckily the CO was very pro-family and didn't mind if kids ran around during the ceremony. He actually told me to let her do it since he didn't expect a 3 year old to sit still. She didn't sit still, but at least she was quiet. She decided to crawl under the chairs. Meeghan though stole the show. She would cry every time I stopped holding her. I was supposed to be the one to pin on the wings. I decided to take her with me so she would stay quiet. My husband held her while I attempted to pin on the wings. She dropped her toy and gave the CO quite a look when he handed the toy back to her. I guess everyone thought it was pretty cute.  I do give my kids credit for behaving as well as they did. The ceremony started at 3 which is right in the middle of nap time. They were tired, but they pulled through.

Trying to pin the wings. Meeghan dropping her toy.

The wings! Did you know they go 1/4 of an inch above the ribbons? I tried my hardest to get it right.

The family with the bay behind us

As for me, I was exhausted and cranky.  And terrified. I had no idea just how scary it can be to have a room full of people watching you pin a set of wings onto a uniform. I also didn't know just how thick the uniform is. I was struggling to get the darn thing on. I was shaking pretty bad which did not help. I hate having people stare at me while I do something like that. It's over though. He has his wings. He finally has his orders. Packers will be here in 6 days, and we leave Texas in 8 days. We are in moving mode. We are organizing, cleaning, throwing stuff out, and making unusual meals from whatever we can find in the freezer and fridge.

Orders are in!

An hour or two after tweeting about how nerve wracking it is waiting for orders, the husband received a call from the CO.  Orders were submitted Friday morning, and by last night the CO had been told of their slots.  My husband was picked up for the P-8! That is the plane he wanted since he made the move to maritime. I am so proud of him. He has worked his butt off to get this plane. Now we know for sure that we will be in Jacksonville for 3-4 years. We haven't been in a city longer than 10 months since we moved in June 2011. We are still waiting on the hard copy of orders so we don't know when we will be moving, but it is nice to know that we have a destination.  His winging is in 6 days and I know that things are going to be crazy the next few weeks.  Here is the plane he will be flying:

It is basically a 737 that the Navy uses to hunt for subs.  

7 months

Meeghan turned 7 months old while on vacation.  I know I say this every month, but I can't believe how fast the time goes.  She is sitting up like a pro.  She can go from all fours to sitting.  She is crawling althought it is still mostly the army crawl.  She will crawl on all fours for a few and then move to the army crawl.  She is faster that way.  She is enjoying her solid foods.  She just started showing an interest in them the last 10 days or so. She has tried carrots, beets, sweet potato, pears, apples, spinach, rutabaga, parsnips, white beans, cinnamon, peas, and avocado.  She liked everything except peas and avocado.  Those were all purees.  I tried dicing a banana today and she wouldn't put it in her mouth.  Everything else will go straight to her mouth except for the one thing that is allowed.  Silly girl! She had fun trying to pick it up though.  Either way she had fun and she worked on motor skills.  She is a chatterbox, and she thinks her big sister is the funniest person on the planet.  They were laughing with each other in the car yesterday.  It was the sweetest sound in the whole world.  I am trying to savor this time because I know soon enough Hannah will think of Meeghan as the annoying little sister.  She has started waving, and she is working on clapping.  I love this little girl to pieces, and I can't believe my baby won't be my baby for much longer.  

Home!

A 14 hour trip turned into an 18.5 hour trip, but we made it home last night.  Leaving at 4 in the morning makes for some cranky adults and hyper children.  Meeghan was pretty pissed about being in the car seat so much.  I am definitely not looking forward to the move in a few weeks although we will split that into two days.

I had so much fun in KC! It was great to see my family and friends.  Hannah slept in a bunk bed and loved it.  Meeghan received a ton on attention, and she definitely loved it. It stinks it took 7 months for my family to meet her, but I am glad they were able to see her now. I am pretty sure I gained about 10 pounds from all the food I ate.  I have been home for less than 24 hours, but I am already craving barbecue.  Texas barbecue just isn't the same.  I am hoping we can make it back for Thanksgiving or Christmas so we don't go an entire year without visiting.  Once I finally make it through all my pictures I will post some.

We survived!

We made it to KC without too many issues.  The only miserable part was the last hour when Meeghan decided she had enough of being in the car.  Otherwise we made it in about 16 hours.  Leaving at 4:30 sucked, but it helped make our arrival a decent hour.  We have been having fun visiting with family and friends.  Only a few more days and then it is back in the car for another 16 hour day.  At least we know what to do for the move in a few weeks.  Let's hope the trip home is as smooth as the trip here.

Last flight

Today is the husband's last flight as a student.  I am so excited for him! He has been working very hard for this point.  In just 16 days he will receive his wings which will be such a great experience.  To celebrate we are hitting the road very early tomorrow morning to visit family in Kansas City for a few days. He hasn't been home since Christmas 2011 and he really wants to go back.  He was approved for his paternity leave, and we are off.  It probably isn't the best idea considering we are moving in a month, but we will figure out something. I am so happy to be visiting family and friends!

Bloglovin

I jumped on the Bloglovin bandwagon!  You can follow me by pressing the button on the side.

This and that

Just a few things happening lately:

-Meeghan is crawling.  It isn't a traditional on all fours crawling, but she is getting around in her own way.  And she is fast! My baby is growing up!

-The skipper alluded to the fact that the husband will get his first choice of planes.  Skipper asked what he wanted as his #1, and after telling him P-8s he was told to put that down.  If he does get P-8s that means we will be in one place longer than 10 months!  We could actually be in Jacksonville for up to 7 years if he gets shore duty there as well.  We moved in June 2011.  We are on city #3, and soon #4.  We will move right as Meeghan is turning 8 months old.  At that point she will have lived in 2 different states, 3 different cities and houses.  Hannah will be on house #5.  Naval aviation requires a lot of training, and it is never in the same place.

-I just registered for the Disney Princess Half Marathon in February. I have never run a regular half marathon.  In 1999 when I was 19 I ran the Pikes Peak Ascent which is 13.1 miles, but since it is more of a climb instead of a run I don't count it.  I haven't run more than a mile in probably a year and a half.  I am using this as motivation to be healthier.  I used to eat a ton of vegetables, work out, and was pretty healthy. Now I eat brownies for breakfast, and get pissed if I try to run.  I want to be healthy again.  No way am I wasting the registration fee by not training for this.

-3 weeks until winging day!  3 weeks!

I will leave you with a short video of Meeghan's version of crawling:

Out with the old and in with the new

Or at least new to me.  Last week, in a moment of moving giddiness, the husband and I traded in our car for a new (used) one.  We did have a 2007 Ford Freestyle which was great.  It held 2 car seats, the dogs, and some of our stuff when we moved here to Texas.  However, my husband has always wanted towing capability.  We bought the Ford quickly in 2010 because I had been in a car accident that totaled my car.  We needed a new one and quickly so we weren't too picky.  At the time we only had a 2 month old and the dogs.  We were still in Kansas and hadn't moved yet.  It worked.  It still worked...kind of.  The AC was starting to crap out on us.  A crappy AC in South Texas during June is no bueno.  We were over 100,000 miles and we are about to add another 1000 to it just for the move.  We had decided to do a partial DITY for this move since we have the freezer to move with us.  I am so tired of moving with a vehicle and a moving truck.  We didn't even need a moving truck last time.  We really only need a trailer to move the few things we want to go with us.  So the husband found an SUV and a truck that he liked in our price range. Of course those are both gone by the time we make it to the dealer.  They had another SUV that was the same model as the one we wanted, but it was more money.  It was the hemi version which means more power, but  a higher price tag.  We were able to get them to come down in price (it was actually priced very well to begin with), and go up on our trade in to find a monthly payment we are comfortable with.  We still had to pay on our loan on the Freestyle, but luckily it wasn't too much.  We are now the proud owners of a 2008 Chrysler Aspen.  It has quite a few options that I have never had before.  The gas mileage sucks so I need to get used to that.  However, it will be nice to be in one car when we move instead of driving a big moving truck and a car. Hopefully the husband's truck will sell here so we don't have to move it with us.  We are counting on that money to use as a buffer or deposit on a house in Florida.  I haven't taken a picture of the new car, but here is what it looks like.

Source: http://static.cargurus.com/images/site/2008/09/09/18/54/2008_chrysler_aspen_limited_4wd-pic-28741.jpeg

4 weeks!

4 weeks until the winging!  I am so excited that we are closing in on winging day.  It is starting to feel real.  I am starting our moving preparations since the time around the winging will be crazy.  My husband has worked his ass off for the last 2 years to earn those wings.  He should complete next week which means he will finally finish his training as a student.

The downside to winging is saying goodbye.  One friend left today, and I had to say goodbye last night.  I was shocked by how emotional I became.  I had to hold in my tears while driving home.  She lived next door to me in Kingsville, and she was here in Corpus Christi as well.  She treated my kids like they were her own.  If the husband hadn't switched pipelines, we would be in Virginia together as well.  I told her that if I end up in Jacksonville I can hop in the car and drive up the coast to visit.  She was one of the few people I felt like I could call a friend.

6 months!

This sweet baby turned 6 months old last week.  

Meeghan is now 6 months old.  So crazy!  She went to the doctor Monday.  She is 15lbs 6oz and 25 inches long.  Her head is only at the 4th percentile, but I have a small head so I am not too concerned.   I can wear hats made for babies.  She has hit all her milestones, and the doctor thought she would be an early walker.  I tried giving her sweet potatoes and she gagged.  I don't think she is quite ready for solids yet, but she knows how to use a sippy cup already.  She is pushing up on all fours so crawling is just around the corner.  I know the next few months will bring mobility and talking.  I can't wait to see what kind of toddler she is going to be.  She already lets you know when she is not happy about losing her toy.  She loves to blow raspberries and she loves when people sing.  Her favorite toys though are her sister and the dogs.  

I love this face!

The good and the bad

This week I should be at home visiting family and friends, but instead I am stuck in Texas.  With another move looming, and a winging we have to pay for, it seemed like a better idea to stay here than spend the money to get back to KC.  My family is talking about this weekend and how excited they are to see each other. All I want to do is cry.  I haven't seen my family in a year. Nobody has met Meeghan yet.  I won't get to meet the other new babies in my family.  I have no clue when I will.  We are thinking about going back at Thanksgiving, but I don't know if it will happen.  I can feel the bitterness and resentment building inside of me.  There are definite pros and cons to being married to a military member.  This is a big con for me. I miss my family.  I miss my friends.

In order to take my mind off missing my family (or in fact this could make it worse), I have started planning a vacation for next summer.  I have wanted my best friend (more like a sister) to visit since I moved, but she has been unable.  I was talking to her the other day and said we just need to do it. We need to say a year from now we will go on vacation together.  So we are.  She has a daughter who is 4 months older than Hannah, so we have decided to go to Disney World next summer.  She is a teacher so summer is the best time for her to go.  We both have been pretty excited talking about where to stay and what the girls can do together.  The only flaw in this plan is again the Navy.  If the husband doesn't get the plane he wants, we could be in Hawaii by this time next year.  That would suck trying to get back to Florida.  Right now I am under the assumption that he will get the plane he wants and we will be in Jacksonville for a few years.  I guess we will find out in a few weeks!

Big Day

Yesterday was a big one for my family.  First, Miss Hannah turned 3. 3!  I can't believe I have a 3 year old.  We celebrated on Saturday with a party with the few people we know here.  She loved it.  Then yesterday she requested pancakes and bacon for dinner. I dyed the pancakes pink since that is her favorite color now. She had a pretty good day.

Decorating sugar cookies while waiting for dinner

Doc McStuffins doctor's bag from Papa

Second, the husband was commissioned into the Navy 2 years ago which meant it was promotion day!  He had a little ceremony with the Skipper, and he is now LTJG Husband.  

Hannah enjoying her new sunglasses on her birthday

Family picture after the ceremony