Meet Luna!

Meet the newest member of our family! Her name is Luna. She is a white miniature schnauzer and she is 10 weeks old, born on October 14, 2009. Just three days before daddy's birthday. After 20 years of each of us always having furry friend around, Jeff and I felt it was the right time to adopt a little one for our family. We spent days searching online together, trying to find the right puppy. We didn't agree on hardly any profiles before we saw this little girl. She is just perfect for us. We've always loved schnauzers. Thanks to my mom's dog, Heidi. And to Marcy and Jeremy's baby girl, Daphne. So thanks to you both for introducing us to a great breed! Luna is already doing very well with Jack. (Would have been a deal-breaker if she hadn't). And she's been very good about going outside to pee. I got Luna her own bed, it's in the corner in my room right beside my bed. But she was still a little scared last night I think, and ended up in my bed. Then Jack started getting fussy in his crib around 4am. So by morning I had both babies in my bed. I have to say, as a mommy I do like having all my chicks in my nest. But we are going to have to work on this dilemma because when Jeff gets back, they are sleeping in their own beds :)

Quick Update

Okay I've been a VERY busy woman lately, so here's whatcha get.

Kate:
-has been sick lately, but is feeling much better now. Went to the doctor and got some medicines for the dizzies that have continued since pregnancy. It seem to be working so far. An echocardiogram was run on Monday Dec. 21st and the results came back normal.
-is on winter break from college. Also I'm trying to decide what classes to take in Spring quarter. Any suggestions?
-is depressed because of her failing weight loss mission. All my fault. No one else's. I really need to buckle down.
-is exahausted. Six Christmas celebrations down. Two to go.

Jack:
-is smiling like you wouldn't believe. He is a very happy boy these days.
-laughed out loud for the first time on Christmas Eve. At grandpa Kevin!
-is officially spoiled rotten. The amount of toys this kid has is seriously ridiculous.

Jeff:
-is staying put at his FOB. As far as we know he is NOT moving anymore. So MAIL IS A GO! Send as much as you want and often.
-is absolutely loving all the boxes he has recieved. Thank you to everyone that has helped make this holiday season a little bit more bearable for him.
-has been told that he will have orders by February 5th at the latest. Everyone in the Brigade is supposed to have orders by then. This means that by this date, we will know if we are staying at Fort Lewis, Washington for the next 3 years or if we will be PCSing (moving) to a new post.
-is AMAZING. And his wife loves him very much :)



The end.

I'm right there with ya, little one

How I feel today:

A Little Readjustment

I'm sitting in Jack's room waiting for him to fall asleep right now because of two reasons. One: he has a cough. Two: he has become much too used to sleeping in mommy's bed. Yesterday it took me 2 hours to get him to sleep in his crib. We're only just now going on one hour tonight and he's pretty close to dream land. So this is a big improvement from last night. I am a little worried about his cough and I think if its not better in the morning I will call the pediatrician. Just to be safe.

Daddy is supposed to be calling sometime tonight but we have yet to hear from him so far. Oh well. I know he will call if he can.

Avery and erin are in the living room watching "madeline" through my free trial of netflix. I found the converter box I needed to hook my computer to the tv. So they are watching the movie right from the internet, but they are watching it on the television. Isn't that cool? I am turning in my cable box to time warner either tomorrow or Friday. I just don't watch cable that much at all. (Only for my weekly guilty pleasure of "Bad Girls Club" on the Oxygen channel, but I will survive). Netflix is great for me. And the offer full past seasons of tons of tv shows. And the best part, its MUCH cheaper this way than paying for cable.

Okay this wind is crazy! The rain was comforting, but this wind is insanity. One of my favorite quotes came from a book I got at Hallmark for my soldier. "You look up and find a dark cloud overhead. It makes you feel sad. But then something starts to fall from above. It's rainshine, and it came straight from the silver lining." So in this case I guess the rainshine, err windshine is that I'm pretty sure I won't have to year blush for the next couple days.. wind burn makes a fairly good rouge!

I just tucked Avery in and the house is quiet. Jack is finally resting peacefully and Avery is well on her way to sleep in my room. I'm cuddled up on the couch with a hot cup of tea getting the very last of my Christmas shopping done. Prayers go out to my mama today. She is not feeling very well. May God heal your aches and make you new again. Love to all and goodnight!

Insomnia

It's five in the morning and my sleep cycle is ALL messed up. Jack has been out since about 2300 and I'm still awake. Obviously the fact that my hubby wakes up for his day around midnight our time has something to do with it. I just can't bring myself to go to sleep when A) I'm not really tired and B) I could be talking to him instead of staring at the ceiling in the dark trying to fall asleep. I think my plan for tonight, er, this morning is to just stay up. I might as well. I'll hope that this will make me tired enough to fall asleep around 2100. I'm hoping to get Jack and I on a 2100-0500 sleep schedule because thats what daddy's is when he's working in the states. We will see how this works out.

The past couple days have been filled with reconnecting with friends I hadn't seen in a while. Mainly, Dustie. Dustie and I have been best friends for quite a long time. We kept in contact when we graduated high school but not as much as we should have and wanted to. It's so good to be around him again. I need trustworthy friends that would help me no matter what if I needed it, and friends that are good with Jack. He definitely fits that description. (And I think my mama is glad to see him again too).

Ashley is another friend that I have missed. Of course I was still seeing her every once in a while, but again like with Dustie, not as much as we wanted. Laura and John watched Jack on Saturday so Ashley and I could head to River Valley mall to get some Christmas shopping done. We had a blast and found tons of really good deals, and I can fully say (with the exception of Ashley and Erin) I'm done with Christmas shopping! Woo! Go me! Well I guess I still have to get Jack's walker but other than that, completely done! AND, everything is wrapped! I know, I'm on a Christmas roll. I'm expecting a recruiting call from the North Pole fairly soon actually.

It's deployment update time! Jeff is, as usual, doing very well. He has recieved most of the boxes that you all have sent out so far. And he would like to say thank you. He loves getting mail and boxes. As most of you are aware already Jeff got word that his platoon will be moving locations. This could be a good or bad thing communication wise. We are not sure yet of the amenities that this new FOB will/does have. Only time will tell I suppose.I have been spreading the word to stop all mail going to Jeff until further notice. Well new information says you are now allowed to send mail to his current address until Friday, December 11th. After the 11th, please hold off on sending anything else until further notice to insure that Jeff will recieve your letter/box. Please pass these instructions along. To end our deployment update I would like to let everyone know that this past week Jeff, along with another medic, was named "Hero of the Week" for his unit. He was recognized for his efforts in helping at the aid station a few locals showed up with severe injuries from an IED. Our soldier is doing his job very well over there and even his superiors are noticing. Congratualations Jeff! Here's a picture of Jeff working on a howitzer that he sent me a couple days ago.

Jack is just over a week away from being 3 months old! I cannot believe my eyes sometimes when I look at him and see how much he's grown. He is now wearing Pampers #2 diapers for infants 12-18 pounds. Just little things like that make me realize how much time is flying. I need to enjoy and document every little moment. The precious moments I experience with him now will be replaced by others soon and I don't ever want to forget them. He is getting very strong, holding his head up to investigate his surroundings constantly. He still is a fan of his swing but usually only when he's sleepy. He loves the new mobile mommy got him as an early Christmas present. It runs on batteries so mommy doesn't have to keep re-winding it. It plays classical music, nature sounds, or a heart beat and has the traditional mobile hanging animals as well as a projector that provides circulating images on the mobile's underneath.

In closing, I'm offering big thanks to everyone that has been in contact with my mama and is donating a blanket to Jeff's unit. We are so blessed to be surrounded by such loving and caring support group. My prayer request for today is for all those military spouses going through the Christmas traditions alone right now. As civilians, most of my readers would never think something as small as putting out your snowman cookie tin would upset you. But the truth is holidays hurt for us and there's no way around it. My prayer is just that God will help you all to find peace this holiday season and love with friends and family. Love to all!

Washington visits Ohio

I know everyone is hating this weather we've been having, but I have to say I feel right at home. Welcome to Washington my fellow Ohioans! This gloomy, gray, wetness we've been experiencing is pretty dead on. I actually miss it sometimes, so it's been quite refreshing for me. Yes, I know, I'm an odd one. I'll admit it.

With the big announcement of my weight loss journey yesterday, the daily journal I usually write was mostly overshadowed. Yesterday was a fairly normal day. Jack and I hung out here at home. He was awake most the day and played with his baby gym. I really need to invest in a different model of that gym. The one he has just has one bar that extends over him, and because there's only one, it often gets knocked over by my son's curious arms. I would like to get him one that has to bars that criss cross overtop him. They bars are connected, therefore they are harder to knock over. We will see, maybe for Christmas. We talked to daddy all morning over Yahoo Messenger and webcam. Jack was very intrigued with the keyboard but he looked right at the camera for daddy for a while too. And of course Jeff loves being able to see him. I asked him once if it made it worse when he sees him. He replied with "It makes it harder, but I love to see him anyways." So, every chance I get, Jack sits right on my lap and gets to see his daddy. We love you daddy!

At 2pm Jack and I headed out to Southeastern to pick up Avery from school. The first conversation I had with her in the car went like this:
Avery: "There's Caleb! And there's Caleb's mommy!"
Me: "Oh yeah? Do you like Caleb?"
Avery: "No! He spits on me at circle time!"
Me: "He spits on you?"
Avery: "Yeah, when he says tooth..PASTE!"

Oh my, too be young again. She and Jack are the light of my life. I can't imagine what she'll be teaching Jack in a couple years. And add Justin as an instructor too.. Oh man Jeff and I are in trouble.

We continued from Southeastern to my mom's house so I could get some laundry done. Mom and Max got home about an hour later and did a quick change before heading out to a Symphany concert. The symphany played songs from Star Wars from what I understand, so that was right up Max and Mama's alley. I have not talked to either of them yet today but I'm sure they had a blast. Rick got home and I decided to meet Erin for dinner at my favorite restaurant, Bob Evans! Yum, yum! We ate our dinner, Jack ate his, and the three of us stopped by Wal-Mart before heading home. The rest of the night was pretty boring really, I got some homework done, and put away dishes, did my yoga, and Jack and I headed to bed. 

Nothing really on the schedule for today except our normal Thursday dinner at John and Laura's. I would like to wish Ashley good luck at her meeting today, and say thank you for everyone's great responses to my new lifestyle change and new blog. I will not be importing my weight-loss blog to facebook. So if you want to read it, you'll have to visit the site. The link can be found at the top of the right column on this blog. Love to all! And enjoy a glimpse of Washington :)

My Big Announcement

I stated a couple days ago on my Facebook, that I had made a big life decision and to stay tuned to find out. Well, I think I've let my readers suffer long enough. This may not be as big of an announcement as you were hoping for or expecting, but its important to me. I have decided to commit to losing weight! I am committed to succeeding. I have never said these words before, for fear of failing. But I will not fail this time. I'm self-confident and excited and the time just feels right to start my journey to a healthier lifestyle.

What difference does this make to you, you ask? I believe fully in helping others as well as yourself. I tried for days to think of something I could do to help others along my journey. I kept running around the idea that other people are probably struggling just like I am. Struggling to actually commit and say out loud "I want to and will lose weight." The thought came to my head while I was having a pretty rough day. I was feeling very alone, and was in need of some motivation. My thoughts quickly turned to my online community of army wives at ArmyWivesForums.com and how I loved reading their stories because it made me feel like I was never alone. There was always someone going through a similar situation to mine out there, and just reading their stories made me feel much better. That night I started yet ANOTHER blog in addition to this one. Except, this new blog is devoted soley to my weight loss and the inspiration for other's weight loss struggles. I hope you all will continue following my life here, and find the time to read about my "deployment mission of my own" as I've come to call my newly started journey.

http://www.mydeploymentmission.blogspot.com/

Here's to a long, hard, and hopefully rewarding next six months and beyond. Love to all!

Long Day

We started our day at 8am today. I wasn't really feeling well this morning, but it passed as the day moved on. We got to talk to daddy online and enjoyed a morning and afternoon with uncle Max. Maxwell was a big help to have around today. You can tell how much he just loves Jack. He hates when Jack cries and always wishes he could fix him. He also fixed me lunch today! Woo, my little brother rocks!

Upon taking a walk to the North River Place Apartments office to get our mail I discovered an envelope waiting to make me smile! A letter from Afghanistan, my favorite return address! I love getting mail, especially from my husband. It just makes my whole day. We returned to Apt D9 and Max and I played some cards. I kicked his butt, of course!

Adam came to see Jack and I today and I am so glad! Oh, I've missed him so! He looked good and was 30 pounds lighter. Basic training will do that to you I guess. I'm happy to see that he is happy. I hope he can find some peace here now. And the best part of his visit.. he agreed to make me some lasagna one night! WOO! I can't wait.

My dad came to pick up Max and visited with Jack for a couple minutes. After that Jack and I headed to Sam's Club to meet my mama and Avery. They needed pretzel chips, of course. I just tagged along to see what I could find. I bought a cooking magazine that was highlighting the top 100 holiday cookies/treats of this year. I hope to try some of these out very soon. We went to dinner at Bob Evans following our shoppin and Hannah and Aunt Kathy showed up too. Our food took quite a long time to get to us, which we were not happy about. Shopping for an hour makes for hungry stomaches! But eventually we tasted long awaited nourishment and enjoyed every last bite. I made a quick trip to Wal-Mart to pick up a few things I had forgotten the night before. Now exhausted Jack and I headed home, finally.

Ashley called and asked if she could come see her boy tonight, and of course I told her yes. She came over to find a sleeping Jack in his swing and waited and waited and waited for him to wake up. You can bet at the first sign of fussing, she was there to comfort his every worry. Jeff got back online after just waking up across the world. We got to chat with him for a couple hours and Ashley fed and put to sleep my baby boy. I'm thrilled to say that he is a much happier little boy at feeding times thanks to his new soy formlua, Similac Isomil.

Now, Jack is sleeping in his crib like the big boy he is and I am soon heading to my bedroom to lay my head as well. Prayers go out to a woman named Kelly and her daughter tonight. She is a friend of my friend Kyra and is going through some rough times dealing with illness in her daughter. Remember your blessings everyone, life itself is the biggest blessing of all. Love to all and goodnight!