Well, we finally landed........... in Alabama. It just did not turn out quite like I thought it would, but life seldom does. We looked and looked for houses in North Ga and Tennessee. The problem was that the rentals were small and high priced. So we prayed long and hard and I finally gave in to search in North Alabama. The rental prices were much less and for lots more house. We found a 4 bed, 2.5 bath for two hundred dollars less than the 3 bedroom houses we were looking at in Tenn.
So here we are in Bama. Moving was quite the nightmare, but after 2 weeks I am proud to say that I am done with all the boxes and we are settled. All my kiddos have their own room and I have a Bay Window (which is something I have ALWAYS wanted). I love the house and I am really loving the neighborhood and the area. It is nothing like the part of Bama I grew up in, and for that reason it is really growing on me. I just never, never, never pictured myself moving back to alabama.
Meanwhile, Callen is now 10 months old. He crawls around everywhere talking and breaking stuff. He has become quite the fussy little man, but I think it has to do with all the teeth he is getting. He has two front ones on the bottom and his two outer ones on the top. It looks like fangs. :)
Shayla's vocabulary has increased dramatically. She and I have started doing school together and she is absorbing and learning so fast! I love teaching my children. She is doing good sleeping in her own room, but she sometimes gets up in the night and goes to her big sissy's room and crawls in bed with her.
Alysha is working hard on school. She has lots of work and lots of homework. She is ready to get plugged in here and meet some other homeschoolers. She will be sixteen in 3 months. That really blows my mind. My baby will be 16!!!
That is life in a nutshell. It was a crazy fun summer. We ended up staying in Florida for 2 months while Jon was working out of jax. I went swimming at Rainbow Springs every day almost and I got a nice tan. Nice way to leave, with great memories!
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Saturday, July 30, 2011
on the road again
Today I spent the day packing. We are officially heading down to Florida for a month. Jon completed his three weeks of training and now he goes off to work in the field for three months. He will work all over, but for a month he will be Jax. We are so excited. Since we still have the house down there, he can come home on the weekends. He is working monday thru thursday and he will come home every thursday night and leave again sunday night. This is a temporary training position for three months. We are so blessed by God that for the first month he will be in Florida.
So, I packed up all our meager belongings and we head out to make a home for a month somewhere else. I have only been here in ala for 6 days. We were just waiting to hear where he is gonna be, to know which way to head (to Ga or to Fl).
All our homeschool curriculum has come in but math, so we will start school this month in florida. I am worried about how much of a challenge this will be, since we do not have a permanent home, but we are going to jump in with both feet. Alysha is taking Chemisty, Geometry, Economics, art appreciation, and english/literature. It will be a challenging year, but a very exciting one. I love homeschooling.
Shayla and Callen are growing up so fast! Got together with some special friends and Shay got to play with a sweet little boy named Levi. She has been asking for 'Levi' and "miss kisty" ever since. She has a blast. I did too. It was the best trip to D-twon I have had in over a year.
Off we head to air mattresses and a big empty house, and I cannot wait to get there!
So, I packed up all our meager belongings and we head out to make a home for a month somewhere else. I have only been here in ala for 6 days. We were just waiting to hear where he is gonna be, to know which way to head (to Ga or to Fl).
All our homeschool curriculum has come in but math, so we will start school this month in florida. I am worried about how much of a challenge this will be, since we do not have a permanent home, but we are going to jump in with both feet. Alysha is taking Chemisty, Geometry, Economics, art appreciation, and english/literature. It will be a challenging year, but a very exciting one. I love homeschooling.
Shayla and Callen are growing up so fast! Got together with some special friends and Shay got to play with a sweet little boy named Levi. She has been asking for 'Levi' and "miss kisty" ever since. She has a blast. I did too. It was the best trip to D-twon I have had in over a year.
Off we head to air mattresses and a big empty house, and I cannot wait to get there!
Sunday, July 10, 2011
nomadic living
I started this blog solely for the purpose of keeping a record of my pregnancy with shayla. I wanted to be able to look back and remember the little stuff, the stuff you forget about. I was so excited to be pregnant and I wanted to remember every little detail. I am really glad I did it, but now I question whether I will keep up this blog. It seems with two little ones and a teenager running around I just do not have the time or inclination to sit down and write about mundane things, like what we did that week. But until I decide for sure, here is an update......
Took Cal for his six month check up this week. He is 15 lbs and 27 inches. He got some shots and all is good til his nine month ck up. woohoo!
Jon starts his job this week. He was supposed to start three months ago, but there was a hang up with the medical department. They had some concerns about his shoulder, and he had to jump through some hoops and do some testing. That is all behind us now and he is officially employed and working starting this week. He left me today. We will be apart for at least 3 weeks. He has been home with me and the kids for seven months so this separation feels really hard. I miss him fiercely. I like having my hubby home every night. This is temporary and we both know it, since this job is a day job, he just has to get thru a few months of traveling and training.
Home is wherever we are staying that week. We had the military move our stuff to storage, thinking he was about to start work. BUT... life always throws you a curve ball so we have been staying at the Florida house, my parents house, and at my aunts house in the mountains of GA. It has been an adventure to say the least, living like nomads, and I am glad to be almost finished. Hoping to move to tenn around sept, but that is still up in the air. We are really not sure where we will be stationed with the RR, we are looking at two moves in the next 8 months b4 we "land" for good.
Alysha got her permit. She will not be getting her license at sixteen, but we let her get her permit and get her feet wet driving a little. You can actually keep your permit for 4 years. It is a good ID card anyway.
Shay is talking more and more. She is almost completely potty trained. If we could get somewhere permanent to live, we would be done.
We head to Florida this week. I am excited. I have no pics to post cause I have no way to upload them. One day soon.........
Took Cal for his six month check up this week. He is 15 lbs and 27 inches. He got some shots and all is good til his nine month ck up. woohoo!
Jon starts his job this week. He was supposed to start three months ago, but there was a hang up with the medical department. They had some concerns about his shoulder, and he had to jump through some hoops and do some testing. That is all behind us now and he is officially employed and working starting this week. He left me today. We will be apart for at least 3 weeks. He has been home with me and the kids for seven months so this separation feels really hard. I miss him fiercely. I like having my hubby home every night. This is temporary and we both know it, since this job is a day job, he just has to get thru a few months of traveling and training.
Home is wherever we are staying that week. We had the military move our stuff to storage, thinking he was about to start work. BUT... life always throws you a curve ball so we have been staying at the Florida house, my parents house, and at my aunts house in the mountains of GA. It has been an adventure to say the least, living like nomads, and I am glad to be almost finished. Hoping to move to tenn around sept, but that is still up in the air. We are really not sure where we will be stationed with the RR, we are looking at two moves in the next 8 months b4 we "land" for good.
Alysha got her permit. She will not be getting her license at sixteen, but we let her get her permit and get her feet wet driving a little. You can actually keep your permit for 4 years. It is a good ID card anyway.
Shay is talking more and more. She is almost completely potty trained. If we could get somewhere permanent to live, we would be done.
We head to Florida this week. I am excited. I have no pics to post cause I have no way to upload them. One day soon.........
Saturday, April 9, 2011
3 months old
Callen is three months old! I cannot believe he is so old. Some updates on Callen:
I put him in Size two diapers this week. Sniff sniff, he is growing so fast.
He is wearing size 3-6 month clothes. He is so tiny, but so long! I love how light he is.
He laughs out loud everytime I change his clothes. For some reason taking his clothes on and off, over his head, makes his just laugh and smile.
He goes to bed every night at the same time and sleeps 7-8 hours. He goes down at 10 p.m. and he gets up around 5 or 6. He takes a bottle and goes back to bed til 8 or 9. I am not terribly impressed with this, not to complain, but I really think he should be sleeping 10-11 hours by now. Shayla was at this point.
He NEVER makes a sound. This is HANDS DOWN the quietest baby I have ever seen. He is so quiet I forget he is there about once a day. I get shay down for her nap and sometimes I go lay down myself before I remember Cal is hanging out in his seat. I am so afraid I will leave the house without him one day. He is so laid back. If I did not keep him on a schedule, he would never eat. He never cries when he is hungry or wet, he just lays and plays.
He lays and plays for hours at a time. He does not require much. He coos and talks ALOT. It is so sweet. He obviously loves the sound of his own voice. He yells and howls. Lysh will "howl" at him and he will "howl" back. It is so cute!
He has outgrown his bassinet. His is just too long for it. Into the crib he will go, as soon as we get where we are going.
He is particularly strong. He can hold his head and body up like none of my girls could at this age. He is awesome!
I am so blessed that he is such a sweet happy-go-lucky boy. Since this is my last one. I know, I know, I have said that before. This time we did some permanent fixing.... no more babies for us! I do not feel any pangs of regret about this. I am enjoying this little man immensely. He is a joy to be around and to take care of on a daily basis. I never had my screaming colicky baby. Lysh was as good as Cal, and shay was high strung, but none of my babies were screamers. I just knew one of them would come out screaming and keep on going for the first few months. (at least this is the story you hear from other moms). None of them did. Shay was by far the most demanding, but she was not colicky and particularly fussy.
I put him in Size two diapers this week. Sniff sniff, he is growing so fast.
He is wearing size 3-6 month clothes. He is so tiny, but so long! I love how light he is.
He laughs out loud everytime I change his clothes. For some reason taking his clothes on and off, over his head, makes his just laugh and smile.
He goes to bed every night at the same time and sleeps 7-8 hours. He goes down at 10 p.m. and he gets up around 5 or 6. He takes a bottle and goes back to bed til 8 or 9. I am not terribly impressed with this, not to complain, but I really think he should be sleeping 10-11 hours by now. Shayla was at this point.
He NEVER makes a sound. This is HANDS DOWN the quietest baby I have ever seen. He is so quiet I forget he is there about once a day. I get shay down for her nap and sometimes I go lay down myself before I remember Cal is hanging out in his seat. I am so afraid I will leave the house without him one day. He is so laid back. If I did not keep him on a schedule, he would never eat. He never cries when he is hungry or wet, he just lays and plays.
He lays and plays for hours at a time. He does not require much. He coos and talks ALOT. It is so sweet. He obviously loves the sound of his own voice. He yells and howls. Lysh will "howl" at him and he will "howl" back. It is so cute!
He has outgrown his bassinet. His is just too long for it. Into the crib he will go, as soon as we get where we are going.
He is particularly strong. He can hold his head and body up like none of my girls could at this age. He is awesome!
I am so blessed that he is such a sweet happy-go-lucky boy. Since this is my last one. I know, I know, I have said that before. This time we did some permanent fixing.... no more babies for us! I do not feel any pangs of regret about this. I am enjoying this little man immensely. He is a joy to be around and to take care of on a daily basis. I never had my screaming colicky baby. Lysh was as good as Cal, and shay was high strung, but none of my babies were screamers. I just knew one of them would come out screaming and keep on going for the first few months. (at least this is the story you hear from other moms). None of them did. Shay was by far the most demanding, but she was not colicky and particularly fussy.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
And away we go..............
On December 2nd we walked away from the only source of income we had. Jon and I knew without a doubt that the Lord was leading us this way, although we had not idea how we would pay the bills. It has now been almost four months and we are doing very well. God provided for us financially, we never even touched our savings account. I cannot believe what a blessing this time has been.
Two weeks ago Jon went for an interview with a company out of Chattanooga. It was very competitive, forty men competing for the job, and they picked Jon! We are very excited. We knew we wanted to be in the North Alabama - Tennessee area. Jon is actually drilling in Nashville, since he is still in the reserves. So, this job is perfect.
The military will move our stuff back to our home of record (alabama) and we are going to move it the rest of the way. They come pack us up on April 5th. Our stuff arrives in Alabama on April 11th, where will meet it and head up to TN that weekend. We leave next week to house hunt in TN.
In less than three weeks we will no longer be Floridians. We are sad, excited, and nervous all at the same time.
God is so good. The job is an excellent paying position with amazing benefits. They even have tuition assistance. It is ALOT like the military, but it is civilian and he will be coming home almost every night. We can move around, but only as much as we want to, we will not have to. It has everything we prayed for and more and we are very excited to see what God is going to do next.
Two weeks ago Jon went for an interview with a company out of Chattanooga. It was very competitive, forty men competing for the job, and they picked Jon! We are very excited. We knew we wanted to be in the North Alabama - Tennessee area. Jon is actually drilling in Nashville, since he is still in the reserves. So, this job is perfect.
The military will move our stuff back to our home of record (alabama) and we are going to move it the rest of the way. They come pack us up on April 5th. Our stuff arrives in Alabama on April 11th, where will meet it and head up to TN that weekend. We leave next week to house hunt in TN.
In less than three weeks we will no longer be Floridians. We are sad, excited, and nervous all at the same time.
God is so good. The job is an excellent paying position with amazing benefits. They even have tuition assistance. It is ALOT like the military, but it is civilian and he will be coming home almost every night. We can move around, but only as much as we want to, we will not have to. It has everything we prayed for and more and we are very excited to see what God is going to do next.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
two month ck up
I took Callen for his two month ck up this week. He is now 11lbs 10 ozs. He is 23 inches long.
He got his shots today and he did good.
He is a sick boy. He has an upset tummy and he is throwing up. I have never seen a little bitty baby throw up before and it is awful! Weird cause noone else in the family is sick. Cal is never around anyone but us, and we are all fine. Poor little man. He is actually fussy. He has been the quietest little baby ever, up until the last two days.
The good news is his baby acne cleared up, but he has severe cradle cap. I even resorted to putting olive oil on his head, which is yucky. He looks like his head is wet all the time. The doctor told me to put Vaseline on his head. I had tried that already, but I guess I will do it again.
I looked back at Shayla's stats and at two months old she was 13 lbs and 25 inches. She was a big big girl!! They do look alot alike though. Just the same little face. So sweet.
One big difference with this baby is I have LOVED the first two months. I blogged about how I did NOT enjoy shay her first two months of life. A big part was the fact that I had the baby blues. This time Jon and I have tagged team this little man and he has been super easy and fun to be around. I was able to enjoy him from the very beginning. I do give much of that credit to my husband being here to help out. It really has been an answered prayer.
He got his shots today and he did good.
He is a sick boy. He has an upset tummy and he is throwing up. I have never seen a little bitty baby throw up before and it is awful! Weird cause noone else in the family is sick. Cal is never around anyone but us, and we are all fine. Poor little man. He is actually fussy. He has been the quietest little baby ever, up until the last two days.
The good news is his baby acne cleared up, but he has severe cradle cap. I even resorted to putting olive oil on his head, which is yucky. He looks like his head is wet all the time. The doctor told me to put Vaseline on his head. I had tried that already, but I guess I will do it again.
I looked back at Shayla's stats and at two months old she was 13 lbs and 25 inches. She was a big big girl!! They do look alot alike though. Just the same little face. So sweet.
One big difference with this baby is I have LOVED the first two months. I blogged about how I did NOT enjoy shay her first two months of life. A big part was the fact that I had the baby blues. This time Jon and I have tagged team this little man and he has been super easy and fun to be around. I was able to enjoy him from the very beginning. I do give much of that credit to my husband being here to help out. It really has been an answered prayer.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Two months old.... Weighing In
I took Cal for his one month visit and he weighed 9 lbs 15 oz. He was 22 inches long. My cute little boy. The doc said he looked great. He has baby acne, which is no big deal and at this point he was sleeping 4 hours at a time at night, which was great!
That was over 3 weeks ago. He will be two months old this week. He is now sleeping all night long. going to bed at 10:30ish and sleeping til sometime between 6:30 and 8:00 a.m. I am a very happy mommy! He is a great little man. My other two slept thru the night from 12 weeks on, but this one is doing it really early. He is still the quietest person in the house. He just grunts and squirms when he get hungry, otherwise he lays around being sweet and smiling. Seriously, he smiles all the time now. I am enjoying him immensely!
He is still wearing size 0-3 clothes. He is a small little man and I love it! He is taking 4 ozs every 3.5 hours or so. He is in a great routine, which makes life easy. He falls asleep immediately when we get in the truck, which is just the opposite from Shay, who NEVER slept in a vehicle. I am so glad my very last one is so very agreeable and I am able to really enjoy every moment of the baby stage. I do not want this one to grow up, not looking forward to the milestones, cause that means he is growing up and I want him to stay this little man in my arms forever!
One thing I am not enjoying is my post preggo weight gain. I gained 30 lbs with this baby, the MOST I have ever gained. I gained half of it the last two months. I was in so much pain and so very tired, I just lay around. It was misery. Apparently, I ate and ate, although I do not remember eating THAT much. As of now I have about 20 pounds to lose. I have never in my life weighed this much... NEVER. I have always been around the same size, give or take five pounds. The most unfortunate part is that my shirts are all too small. I have always worn a medium, but now they fit skin tight. Sigh
The only reason I posted this is so that I can post my weight loss, because I will be losing it and getting back down to the real me! I am excited to get started on my new workout plan. I happen to LOVE exercising. The only time I do not do it regularly is when I am preggo, and I never have the energy to.
So, that is my "catch-up" blog. I have had this blog in my head for weeks. Where does the time go?
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Two week check up
Tuesday I took Callen for his two week check up. He is doing great.
Some interesting facts:
To me he is still tiny though. Shayla always seemed big, maybe cause she had a big head, but this one is so tiny and is always curled up in a ball. He is like a little bug. This is the quietest baby I have had. He rarely makes a noise, and when he is upset he just wiggles and kicks his little arms and legs. He looks like a beetle bug that has been turned on its back - ya know how they kick and squirm.... that is my baby boy. haha!
He was circumcised a week after leaving the hospital. Apparently the insurance companies consider it cosmetic, so the hospital where i delivered no longer does this for you. So we had to pay out of pocket for it - $200.00 - and wait til we got to our doctor. (I do think my insurance covers it, so they are gonna file for me and try to get my money back.)
Since Jon is still currently unemployed, we have been tag teaming taking care of him. He sleeps in between bottles at night, but he is up every two hours, he does his longest sleeping stretches during the day...a common thing among newborns. I am trying to wake him up and all that jazz, but the first two weeks it is kinda pointless, they are SO SLEEPY! Both my other babies slept thru the night by 12 weeks, so I am confident I will have this monkey man doing the same, it just takes time.
At this point, I am just enjoying this baby. The feel of his little curled up body in my arms, the smell of a sweet baby..... I love it. He has just started to outgrow his Newborn size clothes...and it makes me sad, I wanna keep him small forever. I do not want him to grow up! I am loving the fact that I am so well rested. Having Jon home everyday has been amazing and wonderful! I almost don't want him to get a job and leave us... (but income would be nice... :)
Shay is loving this baby. Every morning she wakes up she asks for "the baby" and she goes looking for him. She loves to hold his little hand and "help" feed him by holding his bottle. She has not had any real jealousy issues yet or acted out in any way.
Cal seems to have come into our family and FIT into place. There was no ripple or major adjustments, like he was meant to be here and has been here all the time.... how blessed!
Some interesting facts:
Callen was born the same weight Shayla was: 8lbs 1 oz
Three days after leaving the hospital, Callen went to the doctor and he weighed 7lbs 8 ozs - which is the weight Lysh was when she was born
At his two week check up he weighed 8 lbs 13 oz
He was 21 inches long... he went up an inch.
Three days after leaving the hospital, Callen went to the doctor and he weighed 7lbs 8 ozs - which is the weight Lysh was when she was born
At his two week check up he weighed 8 lbs 13 oz
He was 21 inches long... he went up an inch.
To me he is still tiny though. Shayla always seemed big, maybe cause she had a big head, but this one is so tiny and is always curled up in a ball. He is like a little bug. This is the quietest baby I have had. He rarely makes a noise, and when he is upset he just wiggles and kicks his little arms and legs. He looks like a beetle bug that has been turned on its back - ya know how they kick and squirm.... that is my baby boy. haha!
He was circumcised a week after leaving the hospital. Apparently the insurance companies consider it cosmetic, so the hospital where i delivered no longer does this for you. So we had to pay out of pocket for it - $200.00 - and wait til we got to our doctor. (I do think my insurance covers it, so they are gonna file for me and try to get my money back.)
Since Jon is still currently unemployed, we have been tag teaming taking care of him. He sleeps in between bottles at night, but he is up every two hours, he does his longest sleeping stretches during the day...a common thing among newborns. I am trying to wake him up and all that jazz, but the first two weeks it is kinda pointless, they are SO SLEEPY! Both my other babies slept thru the night by 12 weeks, so I am confident I will have this monkey man doing the same, it just takes time.
At this point, I am just enjoying this baby. The feel of his little curled up body in my arms, the smell of a sweet baby..... I love it. He has just started to outgrow his Newborn size clothes...and it makes me sad, I wanna keep him small forever. I do not want him to grow up! I am loving the fact that I am so well rested. Having Jon home everyday has been amazing and wonderful! I almost don't want him to get a job and leave us... (but income would be nice... :)
Shay is loving this baby. Every morning she wakes up she asks for "the baby" and she goes looking for him. She loves to hold his little hand and "help" feed him by holding his bottle. She has not had any real jealousy issues yet or acted out in any way.
Cal seems to have come into our family and FIT into place. There was no ripple or major adjustments, like he was meant to be here and has been here all the time.... how blessed!
Friday, January 14, 2011
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