42 days and counting

Well it has finally happened. Aaron’s orders got handed down, as they say. He checked online, but has not signed for them yet. He is still trying to have his assignment changed to 10^th group and that will be a lot easier if he hasn’t actually gotten his orders in hand, because now those must be changed, if they so choose to change the assignment. It is incredibly doubtful that the Sergeant Major will change his orders, so I am totally not getting my hopes up about it. Hopefully we will have final word by the end of this week or at least the beginning of next week, so we can arrange for a place to live and the move out there. He must report to group at Fort Campbell no later than October 10^th, 2011. That gives us 42 days from today to get there and be moved. Not unpacked, just moved.

Aaron is almost finished with the fence he started last week and it is looking great so far. I have no idea how we survived this long without it. It feels so much more safe and secure and not to mention the increase in privacy, praise God!…here is how it looks so far…

crappy picture taken through the window...setting the posts in cemet

Man tools used to dig the holes for the posts

Screwing in the pickets, 100s of them

Thus far, the backyard part

I have been staying busy with what I do best, cooking! I am considering starting a blog dedicated to just cooking/baking and getting more into the photography of things, and actually blogging they way one should. Not starting anything right now though, probably not till after we are settled in Tennessee…

I have also been running and trying to lift and remember to do 8-min abs. I am really serious about not having anymore babies, even though I love them so darn much!!! Everytime I look at Layla or Kelly my heart just melts… >!<

Today we went back to the Doctor, this time for me. I needed refills on my meds and wanted to get another referral to resume PT if we were going to be here a while. Since we are only staying another 6 weeks, I probably won’t start it, too much to do to get ready, especially since we are going up to VA beach for another Beach Fantastico! I am also having an X-ray of my pelvis and sacrum done, so we can finally hopefully shed some light into why I am in constant pain all the time. The doctor also prescribed Celerex and DC’d the Motrin. No refill for the good stuff that actually works, but oh well, I will try the celebrex and see what happens. I just want it to go away! I think if I had to say a #2 reason not to have anymore babies, the pain in my bones is probably it. I really can’t take this. Lately its been hurting while I run too. I hate admitting that, because I will not give up my running, it means more to me than all the pain poopla in the world. I will just deal with it.

Running just 5 days a week is not too much and just enough for now. I have found that when I run over 4.5mi in a single run I get quite dehydrated and make less milk, thus prompting a meltdown from Layla-bug. I have been supplementing her as it is with frozen breast milk as it is for the past several weeks, just after one feeding, I offer her a bottle of 2-4 ounces and she drinks what she wants and I either toss the rest or save it for later. Sometimes before bed we give her a whole bottle, like 4-5 ounces and she drinks until full or asleep. And she only wakes up once at night, so just pump every night, no matter what, before I go to bed. If its been at least 2 hours since I last nursed her, I can usually get anywhere between 4-5.5 ounces, maybe more if I was more patient. So, so far I Haven’t had to ask my mom to send my stash from her freezer. There is probably 3 or more gallons frozen just waiting. LOL, it makes me laugh when I think about it. I have done much better with staying ahead of the demand in that way, just too bad I don’t always have enough in there right when I need it.

Things have been going well. We have pretty much the same routine everyday.
Wake up around 7-730, go to the kitchen, Kelly eats breakfast (either cereal+fruit or eggs, sometimes both), I have my standard PG tips and toast or cereal; get Kelly dressed, by then Layla wakes up, get her clean and dressed, clean up, Layla plays on the floor, usually her gym, until she rolls away, Kelly plays in her kitchenor colors or both. Eventually Layla nurses, then we leave and go straight to the Y. They go to the childcare, I run/lift, pick them up, go home, sometimes run an errand on my way home. Usually Layla falls asleep in the car on the ride home, so I lay her down, feed Kelly lunch, clean her up, by now Layla wakes up, and is usually hungry, so I nurse her. The clean them up, let Kelly play for about 30-60 mins, lay her down for nap, then try my hardest to tire out Layla for nap, and if I am lucky I can have them both tandem napping at least for a while, so I can either nap or get stuff down around the house. They are both awake up 3pm, then we play and after Layla nurses again, usually by 4 or 5, we go run errands if we have any or make dinner. We eat around 6-630pm, clean up Kelly and either Aaron or I bathe Kelly while the other rocks Layla, and usually Layla is in bed by 7:30. Then its finish up Kelly’s bath, and start books and we read, the same 2-4 books every night, then lay Kelly down, say our prayers, and I always lay with her for 1 minute (I tell her its minute, sometimes longer, usually never shorter), then kiss her good night and she is lights-out by 8:00-8:30. Then, and only then can I truly relax. Usually with my love pants on the couch, eating ice cream and doing mindless TV watching or talking about our days.

I do enjoy things now, and look forward to what is in store for us in the future. I have already decided that when Aaron gets deployed one thing I am going to do is pick 1 or 2 recipes from my cooking magazines and make them, hopefully blogging it along the way. It will keep me busy and help freshen up my array of meals. I think it will be fun too! Something to do any ways J

Layla 4.5 months update

She is cuter than ever!

Stats:
Weight: 12lbs 4 ounces, 10^th percentile
Heights: 24 inches, 27t percentile
Head circumference: 16 in 32nd percentile
Wears size 2 diaper (poops through the 1‘s, lol), wears 3-6 months cloths, some 0-3 months still fit too.
Diet: all momma’s milk, every 3-4 hours during the day, eats once during the night and sometimes first thing in the morning and will fall back to sleep for an hour or so
Bedtime: between 7-8pm, she lets us know when she’s ready ;)
Naps: 2x/day if they are longer,otherwise 3 short 45min or less ones
Awake: 3-5 hours at a time

She is very social, follows objects when moving, smiles at the sound of my voice and Kelly or Daddy, laughs her heart out at her wild-child big sissy, rolls, everywhere-everywhere, you put her in one place, leave the room for a min and she is 10 or more feet away! She loves sucking her fingers, grabbing for toys and putting them in her mouth. I let her hold veggies while I am cooking dinner and she tries to eat them, haha! She babbles and screeches, and is always smiling. When she does cry she is either wanting to cuddle, bored, hungry, or tired. She still enjoys her swing, and from time to time I let her nap in it, but usually I swaddle her (only her extra large blanket works) and she naps and sleeps in her crib. We still give her the paci when she gets feisty or is getting ready for a nap it helps to sooth her to sleep. I usually always rock her to sleep, during the day if we are home I do it before her nap, and always before bed. Cuddle time is my favorite time.

She also got her 4 month vaccines and took them like a champ. Kelly still talks about the "shots!". She cried a little, but developed no knots or bruises the way her sister used too. Just a couple more rounds and she will be done for a while.

Still no teeth yet (Praise God! she still tries to bite me while I nurse her anyway though!). I will be starting the cereal sometime next month at the earliest, maybe even wait until after we move, by then she will be six months and then its one less thing to worry about between now and then, we'll see how "satisfied" she stays.

I love this girl!

been busy

Still no word on when we will be moving, let alone the official where. Aaron wrote another letter requesting his assignment be changed to 10th group at Fort Carson in Colorado Springs, CO so we could be closer to family and live in my mom's house, to help her out (she'd be able to afford the mortgage with our supplemental income to her from our BAH (basic allowance for housing) and she'd be able to help us out (nanny so I can go back to work and further my professional aspirations). We'll see what they decide.

If we end up moving to 5th group at Fort Campbell, KY, we will live in Clarksville, Tennessee. In a way, I almost wouldn't mind. Keep in mind I have never even been there, so who knows, but everyone says its way better than here, so it could be alright. We have been looking at housing options, and haven't made any final decisions yet, but it looks like living in a townhouse or condo is the way to go. And of course to rent. We found, online only, what appears to be a pretty nice place in downtown Clarksville. Its on Madison Street, brick, 2 bedroom townhouse with 3 or 4 bathrooms, formal dining room, living room, fire places, almost 2,000 sq ft, etc. It looks kinda fancy, lol. And it has a garage. Basically we need at least a 2 bedroom/2 bathroom with garage. Aaron was way too much army gear not too, and he still has a motorcycle he refuses to sell, despite the fact that he hasn't ridden it in over 6+ years. The crappy part is, our BAH is going down with a move to 5th group. Apparently the cost of living is lower, however, we have not found more than a handful of suitable living areas that meet our price range.

I am more than willing to go back to work if I have to, in order to live somewhere nice. We found one house that was gorgeous! And huge, and with a POOL in the backyard. It would probably require me to work, because the rent was about $350 too much per month, and farther from post. I would do it though! Seriously though, I actually have no desire to work right now. I am enjoying my time while I can. I know in a few months I will probably feel restless and bored and need to work to stay sane, so probably by Janurary...By then Kelly will be 2 years 8 months (and hopefully potty trained!!!), and Layla will be 9 months (and probably weaned!). I have to find the job thats right for me though.

I have always said I wanted to go into L&D or NICU since Kelly was born. Last job I chose, or that chose me, was not in either area, and I still learned a lot and enjoyed it, but I really think I would enjoy L&D so much more. I think we would try to get the girls a Nanny too, a live-out Nanny. Aaron is usually really busy with work stuff, especially when he gets to a team, he will probably be gone a lot, and with the hours nurses work (usually rotating or nights), it would probably make the most sense. If we end up in CO, then their Nanny will be Granny, if she wants. I feel like if we are going to spend an arm and a leg on childcare, it might as well be as close to home-life as possible, right? Though, Kelly will need some preschool time too...IDK, I don't have to think about it just yet.

In other news, we had a fantastic Beach weekend 2 weekends ago,out at Wrightsville Beach, NC. I will say that the second beach day was a bit of a disaster, having an over-tired, power-hungry 2 year old is no fun no matter where you are, but once rested, long 3+ hour nap, she was back to her usual, happy self.

As of now, with all of Aaron's free time, him and a couple battle buddies are building a fence around our property. Its come a long way, all the holes are dug, all the posts set, and now they are screwing in all the pickets. Its going to look fantastic. And since he is more or less doing it himself, or rather not paying anyone to do it, we will save like $2,000.00 or something. I love that he is this motivated to fix up our house. We are getting it renter-friendly for renters with children or pets. Next step is power-washing house, painting (more than likely we will have too), trimming front bushes, and then painting the kitchen and guest bathroom. There are some minor things to fix, my faucet in the master bath and the shower head in the guest bathroom, and then of course have the carpets deep cleaned after we move out, and then its just about ready. We already have a potential renter, Aaron's friend Jason, who is deployed right now in Afghanistan...but nothing is set in stone yet, so we are preparing as if we may have to impress someone into living here.

I need to post pictures, but first must load them onto the computer....

much much to say

I REALLY HATE how this thing automatically saves, holy shit!!!!!!!!!

I just had the longest sum-up of events for the past 2 weeks, DELETED. ::sigh::

Alright I will re-write it later, I have much to do while the babies are in bed.
Basically our trip was great in New York, followed by really tough on our drive down to NC, but we survived.

Kelly really misses everyone, especially her UNCLE!

Wearing Uncle's shirt, just woke up in the morning.



Sometimes I forget she is still a baby!



Aaron finished Sage, graduated top of his class and also received some special award that has a long name to it.

Special Forces Hubby!

His Mom Pat, Him, Kelly, Mac, his Dad

Layla-Bug- her and kelly had matching dresses and hats, so adorable

He also got his group assignment...its not to Germany, but its also not to Colorado (sad face). We got 5th group, to Fort Campbell, Kentucky! Boo. At first, for like an entire day, the first day Aaron was home, I was not happy,rather I was just super anxious, it felt like an elephant was sitting on my chest and suffocating me. He put into have it changed, but I highly doubt it will happen. I have pretty much accepted the fact that we are leaving here (no matter how much I hate it here, it is still familiar and I still have 3 girlfriends here, which is 3 more than I have in KY) and we need to plant new roots in at our next duty station. This is the life my husband signed up for and he only has 2 more years and 3  1/2 months left on his contract. So its not the end of the world. Yes, its going to be shitty when he gets deployed and leaves us there, but I will make it work. I already hate it less here because I have been taking their girls to the Y everyday, except when we go to the beach or otherwise hang out with my chicas. So I can make it work anywhere!!

So we are now landlords, we signed a contract with a property management company to rent out our house. Now we just need to get it ready to rent, i.e. paint kitchen & bathroom, new blinds, power wash outside, mow & landscape front and have carpets cleaned. We can do it. The goal is to have it rented out by November. We are probably leaving before that, but we won't be able to afford our mortgage and rent in KY for too long before I will be forced to go to back to work for too long.

Babies are doing great. I have Layla's 4 month update coming with pictures too. Let me just say she is so lovable. She rolls everywhere, but especially from back to belly and then gets angry when she can't get back to her back after she's had enough. I haven't started solid food, I can trying to hold out as long as possible. She still nurses and takes a bottle like a champ  (YAY!). Kelly is very high energy and is always finding ways to make me laugh or want to scream, but I love her for it. Oh and we re-started cloth diapers on her. I have basically ran out of disposables and haven't made time to go to the store. Tomorrow I have to go though, Layla is nearly out of diapers too.

This was going to be an awesome post, but instead its only half interesting.