I hope this isn't tacky, first of all! I needed a place to keep everything we've had our eye on for Andrew for Christmas. Instead of writing it all down on paper, then having to email the list to family, if asked, I figured this would be easier. This way I could include links. So here we have a one-stop shop for us all!
(A little toy tape measure would go perfect with that.. he's loved playing with Daddy's real one lately)
Books are always welcome. We just bought him Contrary Mary, I Don't Care! Said the Bear, and The Accidental Zucchini: The Unexpected Alphabet. He hasn't been into reading lately, which breaks my heart.. I'm hoping he's just bored with the same old books.
Again, I hope this doesn't come off as pushy or tacky. This is mostly for ourselves and family who already plan on buying him a gift and need ideas (aka - mom, dad and brothers!) I'd actually really enjoy hearing about what you plan to get your kids.. maybe you'll give me even better ideas! So SPILL IT :)
I don't have much to write about... things have been pretty boring around here with us all trying to get in better health. I have been enjoying the downtime, but I'm beyond antsy to get out there to our normal activities as well.
While Trey and I are both feeling much, much better, Andrew got it pretty bad again. I took him back to the doctor yesterday afternoon and it turns out he does have an ear infection. Does anyone know when that starts to become a problem. When do tubes start coming up in conversation? His doctor was perplexed as to why the Urgent Care doctor only put him on an antibiotic for only 5 days. She said that is probably why his symptoms came back. So while I didn't even want to put him on the weak antibiotic, now he's having to take a much stronger one. As long as it clears all of this up, I'm okay with it!
Here's to hopefully being on the mend!
Happy Valentines Day!! While we don't celebrate too much around our household - I'm really just not a fan of the holiday.. it's my least favorite - I do like to see how much everyone else loves it. I love seeing everyone confessing their love for one another. It really puts a smile on my face to see my friends being surprised with flowers, candy, and the like. So, even though I'm not a huge fan, I'm not a bitter betty about the day.
Besides, I got the best news yesterday that I will consider my Valentine present. Hubs was supposed to be in the field next week and it got canceled. Yay for an unexpected week together :)
December always seems to fly by faster than any other month doesn't it? Happily chaotic seems to be the right description of my life in December. Especially since we moved away. It's a month chock-full of giddiness, mushiness, and love. Lights and decorations everywhere. Cookie baking. Shopping. Gift exchanging. Cookie eating. Picture taking. Packing. Flying. Xanax. (What? It's nerve-wrecking flying with a toddler. Especially by yourself.) Visiting. Flying some more.
Chaotic, but I love it all. Well, most of it. I could really skip the whole flying part, but it's a necessary factor unfortunately. An unpleasant means to get to the desired end.
Trey and I are leaving soon since he has block leave. We'll be flying together to Alabama.(He hasn't been home since he joined the Army.. he's a little stoked). After some time there he will fly home and I'll be driving to SC. He had a few more days of leave, but I didn't want to rush my time with my family. He wanted to get back early anyways, so our plan worked out.
I'm so excited to have that extra time to spend with them.. I haven't seen them since March.. but I have to admit to having mixed feelings about it.
Let's just say that after having 9 New Years together, the next two we'll be apart. This year is by our choice. Next year, not so much. I feel terrible for choosing to spend that time away from him when next year we won't have that option. Will I regret that? Not that I can do anything to change the situation now.. changing tickets is expensive. And I'm so much looking forward to spending time with my family, that I don't know that I would even if it were free. Which makes me feel even more terrible.
I know that I'll have a great time. I know that I want Andrew to get that time with his grandparents. It will all be fine and I'll be flying back here to the EP before we know it. I'm sure I'll have a bad moment or two on NYE where I'll be missing him to pieces and feeling bad that we're not together.
But I'll enjoy my family 100% while I'm able to be under the same roof as them. Then I'll come home and make the most out of the next year with my best friend. And hopefully my parents will visit us in 2012 :) *hint hint*
I've had these jumbled up thoughts in my head for almost a week now and have been trying to get to the computer to sort them out (I've tried talking about it multiple times, but my mouth, unfortunately, doesn't have a backspace button), but I've been busier than normal. In a good way. I've allowed myself a little more freedom in my social life area and it's done my soul a ton of good. Most importantly, I helped friends get ready for Nancy's sweet baby shower that was held on Sunday. Nancy and I discovered we had locked up talent that was dying to be let out.
Not perfect, but keep in mind that this was the first time either of us had ever even touched fondant.
And Ashley convinced me that I need a Cricut when we worked on this together.
I seriously want one so very badly. Good thing my birthday is in March because my Christmas present was used up with a camera. Which I love.
Speaking of Christmas.. let's get down to the point.
Growing up, Santa was EXTREMELY good to us. The presents always extended far out, half way across the living room. It was SO MUCH fun. I'll always have warm, fond memories of waking up on Christmas morning and seeing the room dimly lit by the tree and other decorations, and feeling the magic of Santa Clause even as an adult. Having younger brothers helped too. I'll always remember both of their excitement.. coming to frantically wake me up so I could see what Santa brought. We'd all sit down in the living room, my mom with her coffee, camera, and a huge grin on her face. My dad with his OJ, trash bag, and sweat pants telling us all to "relax". Ha! He loved it all just as much.. I think we were all just a little too hyper for him.. and I'm not sure why the sweat pants stick out so much.. but they really do. We'd open a present one by one, each taking turns and would stop half way through to refill drinks and maybe get a little something to much on. This was like a two hour affair.. at least. I loved it. I have such great memories of Christmas with my family.
Which makes my conflicting ideals that much more difficult. I'm struck with my strong dislike of the commercial side of the holiday this year more than any others. The constant countdown reminders of how many days you have left to shop. How Black Friday might as well have started on Thanksgiving itself. I'm seeing people break the bank.. literally.. trying to get gifts for everyone they feel obligated to buy for.
We're choosing not to do that this year and it's a great feeling. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE to give. It's one of the best feelings. But it becomes such a hassle around Christmas. I hate that gift giving is EXPECTED. I hope this isn't coming out wrong. I want to give.. within our means. And that's what we're doing this year. My side of the family usually gets a gift for everyone.. this year we're doing a $25 limit Chinese gift exchange. It's going to be a blast and we'll be able to just be. Together.
In our immediate family.. Trey, Drew and I.. I want to focus on the real meaning of Christmas in the years to come. I want to talk to our kids about Jesus' birth. To show them what it's really all about. To teach the importance of giving.. ironically. But giving to those that have less. We'll still have all of the fun decorations and Santa will be a part, but I don't know that we'll have presents filling up the living room on Christmas morning.
I saw this on Pinterest the other day.. which is what sparked all of this.
A big part of me wants to stick with this. The item they want and read can be from Santa. The other two can be from us. If we do this, we can take whatever money left of what we budget and sponsor a child that may not receive anything.
We, as a family, may not have excess.. we may not have the best of things.. we definitely don't keep up with The Joneses in other words.. but we have plenty. We have everything we need. We are warm, clothed (even if I do have to do laundry twice a week), and always have food on the table. Andrew is in no shortage of books or toys. We take all of this for granted and I want to teach him that others may not have ANY of this, and we can be in a position to help.. if we don't spend all of our money of gifts for him that he may WANT but not NEED.
I can't help but go back to my fond memories growing up though, and feel like he'd be missing out on that. It's a smaller part of me that thinks like this, but it's obviously enough to cause some conflict. When he's older.. but still young.. how would I deal with the whole, "but Johnny gets a ton of gifts from Santa.. am I not being a good enough boy?" type of thing.
I'm probably thinking way too much into this, but that's what I do. I have no idea how I'd answer that.
Anyways, that's where we are and we'll sort it all out. In the meantime, we are very much enjoying our lower-key Christmas this year. It's going to get busy soon with traveling and chaos, but right now, it's calm, beautiful, and peaceful. And Andrew almost has putting coins in the Salvation Army bucket down pat.
First off, we had a great Thanksgiving. It was truly wonderful and I enjoyed it thoroughly. I cooked my first REAL meal. In years past I've admittedly served my little family of two - cringes - a turkey roll. My mother has always been appalled, and yes, she is right. She raised me better than that. I knew I had to woman up and start making a real Tday meal soon, add in two extra soldiers who were away from loved ones, and it was settled. I was going big.
I was mostly scared to clean the bird out, I'll admit it.
But, our good friends, The Galas's, came over to drop over some spices that I found myself without and ended up staying for hours. Nancy gave me some added confidence and in the end, the turkey was actually extremely perfect.
Everything else was homemade except the cranberry sauce. Sue me, nothing beats that canned jelly goodness. The gravy would have been disastrous if it weren't for Mel's husband, Al. God bless him. We all enjoyed the meal, some more than others, and I can't lie.. it's made me feel all kinds of good inside to hear my husband brag on me endlessly for the past week. Love that man.
We did a lot of playing outside on Thanksgiving in between cooking.
Yes, I realize this face is a bit of foreshadowing to the trouble this kid is going to be in the future. I'm totally aware and preparing myself.
The next day, we put up our Christmas decorations. I couldn't wait a second longer and I'm so glad we did. I love that I can get that calming glow from the tree starting at 4:30 in the afternoon and get to enjoy it all night. Andrew is pretty infatuated which thrills me even more.
He had the whole "be gentle" thing down on the first two days, but he is getting braver and thus, less gentler by the day.. Bless his heart... or mine.
We've been playing with Jingle Bells.
And venturing into the world of Sensory Bins. I'm getting all kinds of ideas. Getting our materials gathered and organized. Oh yeahhh.. we're gonna have a blast. I started with water yesterday. Which was easy and I knew he'd have a blast.. but oh-so-messy. Totally worth it.
And finally, busy turning 15 months old. Yes, mum, there's a post to come!
How is it even possible that the holidays are over along with the trip back to SC that I was so much looking forward to?? On one hand it feels like it was a huge whirlwind that never really even happened it went by so quickly, on the other hand it feels like we left to start the whole trip ages ago. We had a great time, but there is a lot to catch up with so you know what that means... another post brought to you by bullet points.
I ADORED seeing Andrew meet all of the most important people in our lives! He did so well on this trip. He handled flying like a champ, the time change didn't phase him a bit, and charmed every single person he came in contact with with his beautiful smile. Seeing my parents as grandparents is something that warmed my heart more than I knew it would.
We spent the first 6 days staying at Trey's family and the rest of the trip with mine. There was drama involved with that, but it's just how it worked out.
Christmas was wonderful. Andrew was pretty much not impressed at all, but if he understood all the cool presents he got from everyone, he'd be pleased. Lesson learned though? We can't do it like that ever again. It cost Trey and I an ungodly amount (more than a round trip plane ticket) to ship everything back. I can't think of a fun solution yet, but we'll have to work on that!
I went dress shopping with my SIL for her wedding. She found a dress and looks breathtaking in it. She is going to make a beautiful bride.
Andrew rolled over for the first time while we were home! He did it once and that was it for a few days. I thought he would never do it again but then decided it was pretty fun I guess and I now officially have a tummy to back roller. Let the fun begin! He's also eating rice cereal mixed with fruit every night :)
I got a Flip from my mum for Christmas. Couldn't be any more ecstatic about that than I am. Now if only I could figure out how to upload videos here and why FB takes FOREVER to upload them!
I had multiple play dates with my friends' babies. It was amazing. I can't believe we are all mummies. Next year, Ashleigh's little one will be able to join!
New Years Eve was spent at my parents house with some of our closest friends. The Blairs came into town. We had lots of delicious food, little bit of vino, and some fireworks at the end of the night. I couldn't have planned a better way to ring in the new year if I tried!
I'm sure there is lots more that I didn't mention. I think the biggest and most important thing I realized over the past two weeks is that no matter how much I love going back and seeing everyone, Trey and Andrew are my home. Yes, it is true that we may not have a stable place to live while he is serving in the Army, but I have FINALLY gotten to the point that I am okay with that. I'm sure I will still get homesick and of course I would pack up and move back in a nano second if that were possible, but I'm finally at peace with my little family. Doesn't that sound horrible? That I wasn't before all of this? But it's true. I was so stuck on missing the people I wasn't around on a daily basis that I was missing out of making the most of the time I have here with my family. It's taking me a while to "grow up", but I am getting there.
Yes, I shed a few tears leaving my parents, even though I know I'm coming back in 2 short months, but I would be lying if I said it wasn't a relief to walk into our own home and get back to just the three of us. Back into our little routine.
Speaking of routine... off to wash some bottle, do laundry and get some groceries in this house!!
I have severe, severe bloggers block. Partly I guess because I kept myself insanely busy this week and I also just don't have much to talk about.. shocker!
But I figured I'd spit a little something out while Trey is SUPER cleaning the entire house. I tried to help, I really did. But he's doing such a deep cleaning.. everything from the kitchen is in the living room right now and it's like my mind spiraled out of control and I start panicking. I don't do well with chaos and that's what this seems to be right now. My kitchen is well on it's way to being cleaning enough to eat off of every single surface though! Good job Trey. Sorry I am a spaz and can't handle it. ADD kicks in big time. It got bad enough that he told me to just sit down and chill.. sooo.. here I am. Good husband!
I'm getting less stressed about our trip home and more excited. I've made mine and Andrew's packing list (Good God.. Trey is now dusting the kitchen chairs!!!) and that helps a lot.
I can't friggen wait to show him off to everyone! In just one weeeekk... ahhhhh! He's so much fun right now, which I know I've said 100000 times, but I just can't get enough of him. His laugh is so contagious and I kiss his cheeks enough that they should be chapped! I can't help it. If those chubby cheeks are within 3 inches of me, I will be loving all over them.
Let's randomly switch subjects, shall we? I had a much needed night out with a new girlfriend Wednesday night. Why Wednesday night you ask? 1/2 off bottles of wine at Carino's. Good reason for me! Some other girls from Centering were supposed to go, but I think everyone is really busy because of the holidays. The two of us had such a good time.. chatting, laughing, and even crying! It is SO nice to have finally met someone that I really click with! Fun Fact: our babies were born on the same day, in the same hospital. We were laboring at the same time. If I've already mentioned that then forgive me, it's so cool to me.
That's all for now. Maybe I'll go play with Andrew some more while Trey finishes scouring the house. We're going to see some Christmas lights tonight that are supposed to be pretty amazing :)
Is it possible to still be in a food coma the day after Thanksgiving? I don't know what is wrong with me! I am so tired that I swear, if I didn't know any better, I would say I felt like I was in the first trimester of pregnancy again! *Just for the record, I'm NOT. The thought of being pregnant again right now makes me want to jump out of a 10th story window.*
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving here in the Norton house! Last year, we started the tradition of having our own little holiday and I love it. Yes, we miss our families, but if we still lived at home we wouldn't have the option to spend a holiday just the three of us. I cannot wait to get home to them for Christmas, but let me tell you, there is something to be said for a quiet, stress free, just the three of us holiday! There was a point during dinner where I just felt overwhelmed with happiness ( and no, I had not just taken my Welbutrin) ;). I felt so lucky to be sitting there with my little family. I just felt so loved. It doesn't sound like a big thing when I actually write it down, but my heart was completely full. You can't ask for much more than that!
Look at my belly!
Andrew sat up on the table with us in his bouncy seat. I think he like the new view. Lots more to discover! Much to my mother's disappointment, we did not have a full turkey. She about fell over when she found out I wasn't cooking a "real" turkey or stuffing for her son-in-law and if she didn't have her own boys to cook for, I'm pretty sure she would have taken the next flight out. She made sure to let him know that she will be cooking a proper turkey for him over Christmas. The two of us do not need a huge bird, plus HE picked it out! We did have homemade mashed potatoes, mum, don't worry. And gravy, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, biscuits, pecan pie, and apple crisp.
Such a big boy sitting up! His head is still a big wobbly, but he's doing great!
We spent the rest of the day decorating the house for Christmas, which makes me even more happy! It's my favorite time of the year! All that's left to do is put the lights up outside and sit back and watch the Iron Bowl (Alabama/Auburn game) ROLL TIDE!
My one demanding and slightly annoying ( I kid, mum) reader has requested a blog update. Not that I don't talk to her 3 times a day or anything with every single update of my life imaginable... but here it is nonetheless.
I've been super busy with Andrew. Not busy enough that I couldn't find 15 spare minutes in my day to write a blog post, but the thing is, I don't feel like I have anything interesting enough to write about. What I have to keep in mind though is that I want to be able to look back on this and maybe print out all the posts about pregnancy and his first year and put each of them into a little book of some sort. So while everyone may not find it extremely interesting, I'll be thankful I have it one day! Plus, it's always stuff a Grammy (a.k.a Mizzy from here on out) will enjoy :)
Andrew had his 2 month appointment last week. He's a growing boy (11lbs 10oz and 22.8 inches long) and the doctor was very happy with his development. The shots where horrid. Everyone was lined up to take their kids in for immunizations so for about 45 minutes I heard each and every child screaming their lungs out. I felt like I was in line for the electric chair. He of course hated them, cried so hard his little face turned purple, but forgot all about it as soon as I picked him up.. he then just wanted to eat of course!
We're getting into somewhat of a routine. He's a much happier baby now that he is on formula (yes, he loved it. Had one taste of that and wanted nothing to do with my breast milk) and I'm a much, much happier - if not more broke - mama! Now I know when he is crying he is either hungry or tired and for the most part it is just that easy.
Last Saturday there were not many good games on (read Alabama had a bye week) so we went out to New Mexico to the La Union pumpkin patch. Clearly Andrew will never remember this and it was just a trip for me to take pictures!
Andrew's first pumpkin patch 10-30-10
Trey had a long weekend this week because of Freedom Crossing (our amazing PX area and is like a mini outside mallish type thing) opening. We went on Friday afternoon. They had all kind of vendors, live music, and beer on the sidewalk... can't ask for much more. Oh - wait - yes I can. This week is only a 3 day work week for him. He gets Thursday and Friday off for Veterans Day. Yipee!
Perfection
All of my teams lost this weekend... Bama, Carolina and the Patriots. Booooo.
And lastly, I wanted to share a new recipe I tried tonight. It's nothing special, but sure is delish! Perfect for a cold night or a football game!
Italian Sloppy Joes
1 lb Italian Sausage
1 lb hot Italian Sausage
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup chopped green pepper
1/2 cup chopped onion (I left that out)
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
2 T minced fresh parsley (I used 1T of not so fresh parsley)
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp fennel seed
8 to 10 rolls (I used hoagies)
3/4 cup shredded mozz cheese ( I forgot to use this, but have plenty for leftovers so I'll have to remember tomorrow night!)
1. In a large saucepan (really large) cook sausage, garlic, green pepper, and onion over medium heat until sausage is cooked, drain.
2. Add tomato sauce and seasonings, bring to a boil (there was not enough liquid in mine to bring to a boil, but still good). Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes.
3. Scoop some of that yummy goodness on to your bun and sprinkle with cheese. Toast your bun for even more deliciousness.
Enjoy!
Now it's time for me to say good night. That little angel will be up before I know it wanting to be fed! *yes, I know babies shouldn't sleep on their tummies. But mine does when I'm watching him.. and he loves it..so there*
Trey has the day off from work today! Don't ask me why, but all of 2-3 does and I'm not complaining! We were planning on going to the pumpkin patch to get some sweet pics of Andrew, but good thing I looked online before we drove out there - they are closed during the week! So instead, what are we doing? Andrew taking a cold winters nap (I know it's probably 80 something degrees out there.. roll with me, okay?), Trey is playing football on the PS3, and I am daydreaming about Christmas! We may or may not have just been singing Christmas songs (Holly Jolly Christmas and I'll Be Home For Christmas) together and both got a little giddy. What better time to start looking at designs for Christmas Cards. Little Andrew now gives me an excuse to do the cute picture cards :)
I've never done this before, so I'm using the ever trusty Shutterfly for my first go round! I've just spent the past hour looking at all of the options.. so many.... and finally narrowed it down to the winner. I wanted more than one picture, but not picture overload so it's perfect! I'll show you all when I get them mailed out one day! But it's clean and simple which is right up my alley. I can't wait to see the final outcome!
After my unintended week long blogging hiatus, I guess it's time to play a little catch-up. Bullet style.
We had a great, long 4th of July weekend. What started out as only a planned regular 2 day weekend (there were meetings, I guess, that he was going to have to go to), turned into a 4 day, turned into a 5 day! We spent our time together doing LOTS of relaxing, putting a crib together :), helping a friend move, and eating lots and lots of burgers with friends.
The nursery is ALMOST finished. We have lots of the basic necessities and just need to work on the finishing touch-ups. Which I better get busy on because time is running out! We had this quote from Hob Lob that I wanted to put above his crib.. would have looked great right?? Except for the fact that it wouldn't stick since all of our walls are bumpy.. you know.. they are all painted like popcorn ceilings..grrrr. So now I've got to figure something out that I like just as much!
Had my 32 week appointment yesterday. He is doing well and seems to be healthy, but he is still breech. I know he still has about a good month to turn, but I have a strong feeling that he won't. He is always sitting as high up as he can in my ribs (yes, it's as uncomfortable for me as it sounds) and I think he is comfy enough up there. If he's anything like his mother, he knows what he should do, but is quite happy doing what he wants and is not moving for anybody. We'll see. I know there are exercises I can do to try and get him to turn... I'll do those.. but I AM NOT doing that ECV thing where the doc can try to move him manually. No, I'll just take a C-sec thank you very much. We'll find out for sure at my next appointment in 4 weeks!
I've been going to the pool on-post to get some workouts in and I'm loving it! It's a great big Olympic sized pool that is great for doing laps in. I only wish I had discovered it 2 months ago when we first moved here... CRAZY that we've been here for 2 months already.
A good friend of ours has left for his first deployment this week. Trey met Mr. Soldier at OCS and they were good friends throughout. We moved to Ft. Sill together and the 4 of us became good friends while we were there. It was nice to have a familiar face during our first move and have a girlfriend to watch The Bachelor with every week :) Anyways, in May we all went our separate ways and have been adjusting to our new areas. We knew his unit was getting ready to deploy, but it never seemed real. We've all been in this undeployable training bubble for over a year, and all of a sudden, that bubble was popped. I wish that I could be with Mrs. Soldier now as she is going through the first couple days without her husband! They will both be in all of my prayers for the next year! I'm trying to convince her to start a blog so she can see what a great support system you ladies are!!
That's just about all that I can think of. Maybe that's why I haven't been updating much.. nothing to tell! I hope everyone has a great weekend!
This time last year, Trey was right in the middle of OCS in Fort Benning, GA. I lived only 5 hours away and had so much fun visiting him about once a month. Of course I missed living with him and being separated took some adjusting, but it was almost like we were dating each other all over again. There is something to be said for that excitement of seeing each other after 4 weeks of being separated.
He got a little bit of a break for the 4th, so I headed on down there with no real plans other than to enjoy each others company. We decided we were going to head down to the Riverwalk to see the firework show. Luckily, we left early, because once we parked and started walking downtown our plans quickly changed. We saw the perfect restaurant that had a deck to sit on with fans misting light water on us. I cannot turn drinks and appetizers on a deck down.. especially with the cobblestone streets.... my idea of perfection. After a few hours spent enjoying ourselves we headed on down to the firework area and here we are... I promise I'm actually dressed!!
We both adored Ft. Benning and really hope to get back there!
I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter weekend - I know we did. If you were without your loved ones, please know that I was thinking about you! It has to be so very hard to spend holidays especially without your spouse, sibling, or parent... I hope you at least got to chat with them and you found comfort through friends or a great church service.
The weather was beautiful here in Oklahoma! It seriously could not have been any more perfect.
We picked my brother up from Sheppard AFB so he didn't have to spend Easter alone.
Sunday we went to a beautiful Easter morning service at the church we have been attending here. I think Easter service is my favorite one of the year. It's such a nice reminder of what our Lord did for us and what that really means. That we are forgiven and loved PERFECTLY. The God loves us SO incredibly much, that he had his only son crucified just to bring US closer to him. Could you imagine doing the same... it's overwhelming really and makes me want to be such a better Christian.
After church we went to a friends house for a huge potluck Easter lunch/early dinner. It was delicious!! Who knew our little group of friends were so talanted?? We had a cheese ball, ham, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole (courtesy of me), deviled eggs, potato salad, coleslaw, buns, death by chocolate, rice crispy treats, ice cream sandwhich cake, red velvet cake balls... Ohh my gosh!! Everyone left hurting!
I can't even explain how much it means to me to have this group of friends here. It's so important when you are away from your family. In a sense, we've made our own little family away from home. We're all in the same postition and it takes the sting out of missing your loved ones back home, especially on such important days. These people mean the world to me:
P.S.
My mum's package hasn't arrived yet, but I did want to reassure everyone that she did put a few Easter goodies in there for me :)
I looked back at my blog post from last year on this day and really not much has changed! We've never really put much into this day, and we still try to do little things quite often to show how much we love each other. We did make a little bit more of a bigger deal out of it this year, just because this will be our last Valentines Day with just the two of us. We went to see an early movie around 4... Valentines Day! It was sooo cute! There was plenty of laughter to go around, lots of "awwwws" and even a tear or two sliding down my cheek at the end of the movie. I did think it was going to be a little bit better than it actually was just because of all the great actors involved, but it's still worth going to see! And I hear rumor that there will be a sequel called New Years Eve!
After the movie we had plans to go to the only Japanese steakhouse in town. I was excited and hungry! There ended up being over an hour wait.. there was no way I could hold out that long! So instead we went to a Chinese buffet that we'd heard about a couple times (there was a strong need for some fried rice clearly). It did not disappoint and I came home a happy mama! I mentioned to Trey while we were eating that it probably WAS NOT a good thing that I was introduced to that place... that could be dangerous! We spent the rest of the night watching the Olympics... we are such an exciting couple aren't we??
When I said not much has changed, I was referring to the fact that we are sprawling around on opposite couches, me blogging, him napping! Almost the same scenario as last year :) And instead of going over to my parents house in a bit (man how I wish we were!!!) we will be going over a friends house who is making a roast, veggie soup, and cornbread. Different house, same home cooked meal... what can I say... I'm spoiled!
To all of you who are spending this day on your own - here's a biiiigggggg (HUG) me!!
Oh yeah ~ and happy 12 weeks to us ~ only 2 more weeks in the first trimester :)
After taking two pregnancy tests out of pure hope the 2 weeks prior to our vacation (really, I had no business even taking them.. crazy girl), I decided I wasn't going to buy anymore tests until after(if) I was actually late. Of course it was hard to stick to that rule, but the day before Christmas Eve I decided I definitely wasn't going to because I even felt a little crampy.. like I was getting ready to start. I just couldn't stop thinking about it though, and when my mum sent me out to buy some Christmas cookie platters on Christmas Eve, I just couldn't help myself. Especially with the $2 off coupons I had that expired on the 31st burning a whole in my wallet. Besides, if I was, I wanted to know by Christmas so we could tell our parents in a cutesy way!
I took the test as soon as I got back to my parents house, fully expecting to only see one lonely little line. When that 2nd line came up... I don't even know how to explain how I felt! Shock. Disbelief. An adrenaline rush maybe? I was shaking and had the hugest smile ever on my face when I called Trey to come upstairs. He knew right away from the way I said his name. We did the happy dance and hugged for a bit then went back downstairs and acted like everything was normal for an ENTIRE DAY. How.. I'm not really sure. It was actually kind of fun to have that secret to ourselves for a bit though. We spent the entire day at his parents house and said nothing.
When we got home late that night, my mum was rushing me to put all of my wrapped gifts under the tree so she could bring the Santa gifts out. I made cards for both her and my dad and wrapped them up in a box. The card had a poem on it. I forget exactly what it said, but on the front, the last line said, "blah blah blah... but I hope you can say..." Then they opened the card and it said in big letters all across, "you're happiest to know you have a GRANDCHILD on the way!" and I'm pretty sure I added a smiley face. I had them open this at the same time and made sure they were right on key together. To say they were excited doesn't do their reactions justice.. especially mom's. I believe her first words were, "are you serious???" ( to that, my sarcastic side so badly wanted to respond with "nope.. just kidding.. merry Christmas) followed closely by, "I have to get on Facebook", which I immediately shot down. She then hugged Trey and told him... get this... that she was so glad he had such strong swimmers. Nice mum :) Ohhhhh gotta love her. My dad was a little less vocal, but gave me a huge hug and shook Trey's hand. He later in the day was playing Wii and got a high score with something, darts I believe, and put his name in as Grampy <3 Since my mom was not allowed to tell anyone yet, she told the refrigerator repair man (becuase the it broke in the middle of the night Christmas EVE), the 17 year old male Walmart cashier, and the Walmart greeter. And her sisters without permission ;) I can't blame her.
The next day we went to his parents house. We printed out a picture of my beautiful positive test and put it in a Xmas bag covered with tissue paper. We set it on their kitchen table and waited for them to notice it. I told them Santa must have gotten confused because he left them a gift under our Christmas tree. They opened it together and his step mom (she's more like a plain ol' mom so I'm leaving step out in the future) was a little confused as to what the picture was. His dad said, "I think that's their way of letting us know we have another grandchild on the way". There was more excitement, hugs, and squeals going on there and before I could say anything she had her whole family on the phone as well! It's going to be an interesting Christmas at their house next year, if we get to go, that's for sure! Trey's sister is due in just a few weeks so there will be 2 babies next year! Hopefully and boy and a girl (she's having a girl) :)
Thank you all SO SO much for all of your supportive comments yesterday. Each and every one put a great big smile on my face! I can't wait to share this journey with you!
The second half of our trip was spent much like the first.. spending as much time possible with as many people as we could. The day after Christmas we went to a baby shower for our friends Brandon and Emily (you were introduced to them yesterday). They are having a little girl whose name will be Reece and are due on March 17th.. St. Patty's Day! It was a fun night.. very relaxed... the majority of our friends all together again.. and lots of pizza. All factors add up to a good time!
On the 31st, we left to come back home. It was hard leaving my family again. I was already crying as we were driving away, but as we were passing the house, I looked over and saw my dad and brother waving out the window which made the tears flow even more so! It's just not easy at all for me to be away from them! I do have to say though, as we got closer to our home away from home (back here) I got more and more excited. It was good to be back. It felt great to be back in our apartment and sleep in our bed again, and it'll be good to get back in a routine. And I SO have been enjoying our new coffee maker <3 This weekend was full of spending time with our friends here which has helped immensely. I cannot express how much my friends mean to me... on both sides of the country!
Trey and I didn't get to see the ball drop this year, as we were sound asleep 2 hours before. Life is changing.. all for the better! I'm excited about this new year and new decade. I'm not making any resolutions for once. I just plan on taking a lot of time to reflect on the changes I want to make within myself and to carry those changes out. Nothing physical, although I do want to be healthier...not so I can fit into those size 4 jeans... so I can feel wonderful about myself.
Why oh why does time have to go by so quickly?? I had such a great time over the past 2 weeks, but it sure did feel like it only lasted 5 minutes! Needless to say we enjoyed every minute of our time back home with family and friends. I'll sum it up the best I can without making this a 10 page post.. it's a pretty daunting task coming back after being away for so long...
We left in the very weeee hours on Sat. the 19th. They didn't let us leave at midnight after all, but could sign out at 5. So that's exactly what we did and drove straight through.. and didn't get home until a little after midnight. Will NEVER do that again no matter how anxious I am. It's a wonder I didn't throw myself out of the car and out onto the highway. But the welcome of my family after they stayed up waiting for us - made it MORE than worth it.
We got up verrry late Sunday morning and started preparations for the 1:00 Patriots game. Our friends Brandon and Emily came over to watch with us. We feasted on my mum's own little rendition of one of Olive Garden's soups (the one with the crumbled sausage and potatoes.. I forget the name) and some sloppy joes.
My dad, Brandon, and Trey. And of course Cayce hanging out with the boysThe next couple of days went by in a big *wonderful* blur. Monday was a full day with my SIL. We did some shopping, eating, pampering, and I went with her to one of her now weekly doctors appointments until the baby is due. Monday night was dinner at Za's with some of my favorite girls from work. It was great catching up with them. Tuesday, I had lunch with my old bosses from work which held plenty of laughs. They are a mess.. I don't really know what else to say about them! Trey's grandfather came in so he spent the day with him and his dad. Tuesday night we met with our good good friends Chris and Julianne. It was the first time I got to meet Mr. Mason, they're alllmost 3 month old little boy!There he is! This is NOT mama, but it's the only picture I snapped of him. I really didn't take too many pictures. Was too busy soaking up every minute!
Wednesday I saw everyone at my old office for lunch (see a theme here? food?) then went home to bake cookies with mum all day. We did pretty dern good for ourselves and I must say I think I'm the best cookies baking assistant there ever was. I don't know how she manages without me ;) Christmas Eve was spent with Trey's family. A nice laid back day and I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves: My very pregnant SIL and MIL
Trey with his crazy grandfather.
We spent Christmas Day at my parents house. We got up early, opened presents (I'm soo happy that Santa thought I was a good enough girl to give me our single cup coffee maker.. it's already been put to great use), and very unhealthy egg sandwiches that may or may not have been cooked in bacon grease :\ and played lots of Wii darts and shuffleboard. I'll just say my dad and I are a power house and are an unbeatable team. I didn't take many pictures at all...
Cayce sniffs out her gift every year!
I am about picture uploaded out so I think I'll save the rest for tomorrow. Plus, if I sit around in my PJ's while Trey is being over-productive, I'll start to feel really bad.
I've been reading through every one's posts all this time and it sounds like everyone had a great Christmas and New Years! I'll get back to commenting soon. I will say we had a very calm, great New Years Eve. I'm very excited for what this new year has in store for us!!
In case any of you haven't notice ~ I'm just a little excited to go and visit with family and friends! I started getting ready for our trip today and got more done that I planned to. Did bookoos of laundry which was a pain in my arse. Apparently, Wednesday mid-mornings are a very popular time to use the apartment's laundromat! Finally got that done with a little cleaning of the bathroom in between. -this whole house WILL be spotless before we leave, down to fresh, clean sheets. Very important to my sanity to come home to a clean house.- I made my packing list and even got a majority of the packing done (clothing wise at least). I didn't plan to do that until tomorrow. Trey's CO's are holding fast to the plan that we can't sign out until midnight Friday night. Seriously? You're really going to dismiss him around 2 and then we just have to sit around and look at each other for 10 more hours??? That's precious driving time. I'm still holding out hope that they get a touch of the Christmas spirit and let us leave early. Just in case though, we are staying up as late as our eyes will let us Thursday night and I will sleep as far into the day as possible on Friday. Trey will still have to get up at 5 for PT, but that's good for him. That way he'll come home and if we can't leave, he'll sleep until later in the night. Maybe I'll make some coffee around 9:30 - yes, pm - and maybe we can eat at IHOP before signing out. Grrrrr while reading over my shoulder, hubs informed me that we absolutely are not leaving before midnight, so operation stay up as late as possible and sleep all day Friday is on. I might as well make the best of the situation - it'll be fun trying to stay up tomorrow night. Pizza and movies it is. Wish. us. luck.
edited to add: my bad! I forgot a little piece of vital information regarding our trip. Hubs leave doesn't actually start until Saturday, hense the reason we can't leave until 12:01. Teehee.. Army 1, Jessica 0
Sorry to bore you with all that, but don't you feel better knowing my sleep schedule for the rest of the week? I may post one more time before we leave, but after that, I'll be on a holiday hiatus we'll call it. I'll be back after the new year with lots more talk and pictures of our trip home. I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas with your loved ones!! And if you have a spouse that is deployed during the holidays this year, I hope you are spending it with many friends and other family. Thank you so much for your sacrifices!!
Ohhhh yeah!!! How 'bout that SYTYCD finale??? I am more than in love with Russell. My feelings would not be hurt at all if either him or Katherine win! He has come so far, excels at every single style he attempts, and I just love his personality and heart out there. The only way I will be extremely ticked off is if Ryan or Ashleigh win. Ash isn't that bad, but I really don't see how or why Ryan is still on the show. And the whole "we're so much in love that we cry when we're together and can't stop hugging and kissing in front of the camera thing"? PLEASE don't tell me anyone is dumb enough to fall for that. THEY KNOW IT WILL GET THEM VOTES!! End Rant. Seriously, each and every one of those dances warmed my heart to no end. My favorites were: Kathryn and Jakob's contemporary ( I admittedly shed a tear or two on that one.. beautiful.. but can't find it on YouTube), Kathryn and Ryan's Samba (she made it.. not him), Russell and Eleanore's Paso Doble, and Russell and Kathryn's hip hop. Now you know I have to show as many videos as possible because I want so badly for you all to be just as enamored as I am :) Aren't you all glad I learned how to post videos??
That hot little Samba I told you about:
Russell and Ashleigh's Lyrical Jazz. He is so so great in this one:
So many other great ones, but those are all I could find... for now.. muaahhahahaha
Colored lights or white lights? If you had asked me this as a kid I would have said colored, but now white.. hands down.. no competition.
Real tree or fake tree? I haven't had a real tree for years, so I guess I'll go with fake. I always think I want a real one, but really it's so much easier dealing with a fake one. You don't have to deal with lugging it up the stairs, making sure it's watered, dragging it down after Christmas and having dead pine needles everywhere. Just light some Christmas Tree scented candles and pretend...
What is your least favorite thing about the holidays? There's little I don't like about the holidays, but I guess I'd have to say going into any store around this time of year. Can we say panic attack?
What is your favorite holiday smell? Any Christmas related candle scent
Who is your favorite reindeer? Dancer... I imagine he'd be pretty fun
What is your Christmas Eve ritual? I just really love the time spent with family. Hanging out, eating, drinking, baking, with all the Christmas decorations surrounding us. I used to love opening one present on Christmas Eve, but I don't do that anymore. I want more to open the next day :)
Are you a Friday after Thanksgiving shopper? See above when I mentioned crowded stores and panic attacks... absolutely not!
What is your favorite holiday food? I don't think we have all day to answer this one... but to name a few... cookies, cheesecake, dips, pies, apple crisp, celery and cream cheese. Every Christmas morning, my mum makes me a egg sandwhich. So what you say? What's so special about that? She fries the egg in bacon grease... lol... heart attack waiting to happen! Don't worry.. it's just once a year :)
How did you find out that Santa wasn't real? I don't remember exactly how I found out, probably some stupid kid at school. My parents always like to tell the story how I was sobbing in bed when I asked them and found out the truth. I yelled out afterwards through my tears, "I guess this means there's no easter bunny or tooth fairy either!"
Have you bought all your presents yet? I have 2 more to buy!!
Do you still make snowmen and snow angels? I haven't seen snow in years. If I had kids I probably would, but I don't do well with the cold so I don't see myself going out to make a snow angel just because.
Do you still have snow ball fights? Again, the whole no snow thing hinders me here. Yes, I'd probably do this. I'd deal with the cold to hide behind a car and whack Trey with a good snowbell when he least expected it!
What's your favorite Christmas movie? How can I chose just one?? Christmas Vacation, Elf, The Christmas Story, It's a Wonderful Life, and if you can count it.. Love Actually
What do you plan to do for New Year's Eve? This year I have no idea. I don't even know if we'll be back home in OK or if we'll still be on the road!
What's the most expensive thing you've ever gotten for Christmas? Hmm.. I really don't know to be honest...
How early do you wake up on Christmas morning? Whenever my little brother wakes me up.. usually around 7 I think..
What do you usually get in your stocking? Candy, gift cards, socks
What is your favorite religious Christmas carol? Oh Little Town of Bethleham
What is your favorite non-religious Christmas song? I'll Be Home for Christmas (see videos below for my fav. versions) and Baby, It's Cold Outside
How long do you leave up your Christmas decorations? They come down New Years Day or the day after
I seem to have hit a little bit of a blogging funk - hence the very uncreative title to this post even. I have little on my mind other than going home in ~10~ days. Trey made the mistake of letting me know that his leave papers say he'll be able to leave after the duty day is done (which as of late has been anywhere between 1300 and 1500 hours (1-3) since he is snowbirding. I know with the Army I should not be getting my hopes up about this, but toooo late. I'm there - they are way wayyy up. So with nothing else really to say, I figured I'd show the little bit of Christmas I have going on in our apartment:
You can't really see, but those napkins have a big N in the middle. I think they are so cute. I don't remember where they came from, but I got them last year. I don't think I've actually used them. And see my poor little snowman on the end? His light's gone out... it's been out for about 2 years and I've yet to find the motivation to fix him. Poor guy. I keep those Willow Tree angels out all year. My bff Sara, that lives in Massachusetts gave them to me a couple years ago and started my collection. I love everything Willow Tree. I have another one - husband and wife - that I keep in our bedroom. Those are always welcome as gifts for any occasion ;) I would LOVE to have the Willow Tree Nativity set!Here are our very empty stockings. I sure hope Santa swings by while we're in SC and fills them up for us!That is all. We didn't put a tree up this year. Don't really have room for one, plus the lights I have everywhere else satisfies me enough. We'll have our parents tree to enjoy in A WEEK AND 1/2!
We both adored Ft. Benning and really hope to get back there!
My dad, Brandon, and Trey. And of course 
The next couple of days went by in a big *wonderful* blur. Monday was a full day with my 
There he is! This is NOT mama, but it's the only picture I snapped of him. I really didn't take too many pictures. Was too busy soaking up every minute!
My very pregnant 
We spent Christmas Day at my parents house. We got up early, opened presents (I'm 
You can't really see, but those napkins have a big N in the middle. I think they are so cute. I don't remember where they came from, but I got them last year. I don't think I've actually used them. And see my poor little snowman on the end? His light's gone out... it's been out for about 2 years and I've yet to find the motivation to fix him. Poor guy. 
I keep those Willow Tree angels out all year. My bff Sara, that lives in Massachusetts gave them to me a couple years ago and started my collection. I love everything Willow Tree. I have another one - husband and wife - that I keep in our bedroom. Those are always welcome as gifts for any occasion ;) I would LOVE to have the Willow Tree Nativity set!
Here are our very empty stockings. I sure hope Santa swings by while we're in SC and fills them up for us!
That is all. We didn't put a tree up this year. Don't really have room for one, plus the lights I have everywhere else satisfies me enough. We'll have our parents tree to enjoy in A WEEK AND 1/2!