PREGNANT PRINCESS DIARIES......... TWO

BACK IN BAMA

2011-11-03T20:54:00.002-04:00

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!

on the road again

2011-07-30T21:02:00.002-04:00

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!

nomadic living

2011-07-10T21:20:00.002-04:00

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.........

3 months old

2011-04-09T13:49:00.002-04:00

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.

And away we go..............

2011-03-15T14:18:00.002-04:00

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 month ck up

2011-03-09T19:28:00.002-05:00

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.

Two months old.... Weighing In

2011-02-27T20:58:00.000-05:00

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?

Two week check up

2011-01-19T15:26:00.002-05:00

Tuesday I took Callen for his two week check up. He is doing great.

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.

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!

Callen David Sund

2011-01-14T12:34:00.006-05:00

Callen David Sund
Born January 3rd, 2010
At 9:03 a.m.

update

2010-12-26T19:33:00.005-05:00

According to my ticker..... 5 days to go....

I went to the emergency room on Saturday, December 18th. I was in excruciating pain. I knew it was just a pulled muscle/ligament, but I needed something to help relieve the pain. I pulled this same ligament earlier in the pregnancy, so I was fairly sure what was wrong and I was not too concerned. Of course, Jon is not employed, so this time I did not have to go alone. We drove all the way to G-ville, waited for 3 hours in L&D while my doc delivered two babies. She came in for 5 minutes and gave me a belly brace and a script for loratab. Well worth it. My mom is in town, so I did not have to take the girls. It was not a bad day, all in all, except for all the pain i had to endure. But the brace was amazing and I have even been walking on the trail since I got it. I think they should issue these to pregnant ladies on their second and third babies... It is a must. lol.

I went to the doc last tuesday and he checked me. I am not effaced. I do not seem to be moving at all... but the baby is back in position, with his head where it should be. He has not dropped, but he is in position. I am one to two centimeters dilated. Everything else looked fine.... blah blah..

I am one miserably preggo girl. I am big and uncomfortable. I was really hoping to have this baby while my mom was here to help me. But he is obviously not ready to come out. I am showing NO signs of getting ready. I have not had NOT ONE contraction. Nothing. At this point, I would welcome painful contractions. I will be one mad lady if I go all the way to my due date.

I did ask my doctor how long past your due date they will let you go. He told me they would induce me next week (which would be this week) if I wanted too, they do not follow the practice of allowing you to go up to two weeks past your due date. Which I was relieved about. I think it is crazy for doctors, now-a-days, to allow you to go two weeks over.... for many, many reasons that I will not list. I kinda wanted to have him in 2010... for obvious reasons. I go back to the doctor on Tuesday, see what happens... I am so hoping and praying he comes naturally like the other two did.... by friday.......... hahaha

37 weeks.... standing still

2010-12-15T13:53:00.002-05:00

37 weeks along. According to my ticker, 16 days to go. Sounds good... but maybe not.

I went to the doctor yesterday. Before he did the exam he said all was good and he was ready when I was to have this baby whenever I was. (cause your considered full term at 37 weeks... so you can have that baby anytime after that.)

But, when he did my (now weekly) exam, the baby was no longer in position. He was very concerned, He stated that we would need to schedule a C-Section if the baby is improperly turned. So, he did an immediate ultra sound. That little man is curled up under my ribs, his head is just floating around in there, he is no longer in position, but he is not in a dangerous position. So, we wait til next week to see if he is moved back down to where he needs to be. There is nothing dangerous happening, but that means I am no where near going into labor. I am not dilating or moving forward cause he his is not in position. This is why I am so miserable and cannot breath and cannot get comfortable, he is literally in a little ball right over my lungs up under my ribs. As I type this, the pain and tightness in my upper stomach/rib area is intense.

Sigh....... I say, it just figures. I was so hoping that things were moving along and next week would be the time. I certainly do not want a C-section. Never had one, but I know surgery is the last thing I wanna do. I am not sure what will happen at next weeks appointment (except I know I will be violated.... hahaha). If he is still curled up, will the doctor insist on surgery? Or let me keep going to see what happens? This just kinda sucks. I just wish he would move down a little, it feels like my ribs are gonna crack.

Some things I wanna remember:

I crave Cherry flavored drinks... Juice mostly. My favorite is Welch's Cherry Burst. It is awesome and I could drink it all the time. I also like cherry 7-Up, pretty much anything cherry flavored..

I MUST.... CRUNCH.... ICE... It is not a want, it is an absolute NEED. I go nuts if we are out and about and I cannot get to some ice.. I crunch on it three or four times a day. It satisfies something in me, I just HAVE to HAVE IT! I did not do this with Shay, but with Alysha I remember crunching it some, but not to this level.

Day -Cation

2010-12-10T14:17:00.002-05:00

We decided to skip school and responsibilities and take a little day trip this week. We went to the Villages. This is simply a big retirement town down here where everyone drives around in tricked out golf carts. There are roads and bridges specifically designed for the carts to drive. There are places to eat and shop and it was just somewhere we have never been, thought it would be cool to see. Getting out of the house for a few hours sounded great!!

We had fun, but I will say that those retiree's drive crazy.. they are seriously mean. I have never seen so much honking and ugliness than I did those few hours we were there. They just whip through there in their golf carts and fancy cars and expect you to get out of their way. Four times someone just pulled out in front of us and we had to hit the brakes. Seriously, if they are tired of waiting, they just GO! I did not enjoy that part, but we had a great spontaneous day as a family.

This is us walking in the downtown area, just checking it all out.

I played peek - a - boo with Shayla in the restaurant. She did not want to get out of her stroller, so we just pulled her up to the table and she ate. We had mexican.

We headed over to the Barnes and Nobles and had a coffee and let Shay play in the kids section.

Daddy sitting in the kids section with Shayla. Interesting note.... I could not fit in those green chairs, but Jon and Alysha could. :(

I regret not getting a picture of the golf carts all tricked out. The streets in the downtown area are all lined with golf cart parking. That is all there is, golf cart lined streets, and it is a hilarious site.

Nesting

2010-12-07T18:51:00.003-05:00

Okay, I had my nesting spell on Monday!! One HUGE spurt of energy where I cleaned like a mad woman. I felt GREAT!! It is so awesome to feel SO GOOD!! Why can't everyday feel that good? I rearranged my whole walk in closet and got everything put together and ready for a baby boy to arrive. I cleaned my bathroom from top to bottom, my baseboards are shining. I cleaned my kitchen the same. I was running and jumping and just feeling awesome in general. I accomplished amazing things. It is the best day of the pregnancy!! I love it! (Hila, I got your gift packaged and mailed - Merry Christmas!)

The only bad part is that I was so busy RUNNING around the house, I forgot how clumsy I still am and just went to fast. I stubbed my foot and broke a toe.......... hahahaha... seriously. It turned a nice black color. :( It hurts so bad. But at the time I just kept on going. Cause when I get that energy spurt I feel to good to sit down. I had a rough night though, trying to remember it and not accidentally touch it or move the other toes around it. Extreemly painful.....

On a fun and interesting note...... I looked up in my blog when I "nested" with Shayla. I had my spurt of energy on the 18th and on the 30th I had her. Twelve days.

That would put me having this baby right around my birthday on the 20th. If it were to be about the same. The thing is, I have had a problem with their due date from the beginning. I believe it is wrong. I was based on the baby's size at my emergency ultrasound. When I looked at the calendar, I knew that I could not have possibly conceived around that time. I have believed from the beginning that I am at least a week farther into the pregnancy than they calculated, simply based on when I could have possibly conceived. I have always felt I am a week farther along than they figure.

So, I guess we will see. It really does not matter either way, this little man will come when he is good and ready. I just pray for another easy and safe delivery for me and little man. The first two were so smooth. This one I hope goes the same, whenever he comes. (I do secretly hope he does come before my birthday or a few days after it. Not on New Years. :)

36 weeks - The final countdown

2010-12-05T21:11:00.002-05:00

I feel like a whale. In one week, my belly went straight out. My medium maternity shirts now have belly hanging out the bottom. The fabulous red-neck pregnant look. So, now it is larges and long mediums only, further limiting my clothing choices. Of course, if this one goes like the other ones, I am only looking at three more weeks or so. Both of my first two were born at 39 weeks. I am well aware that that does not mean it will happen this way this time, but - a girl can dream.

As of December 2, my husband was no longer active duty military. It happened suddenly and without warning. We are now without an income. I know there is not "good" time to be without that very important thing, it does seem like it happened at the worst time in our lives. Nine months pregnant, twenty days away from Christmas. We have no job prospects simply because we were not expecting this to happen in the least. Hubby is applying for jobs. We are not limited by geography, we will move anywhere. I think he is focusing on federal jobs, they tend to be military friendly and all his military training transfers to alot of these positions. These kinds of jobs take time. (I will clarify that this was a voluntary, honorable seperation - they offered us a terrible billet and said take it or get out....)

I would definitely say that this situation is much harder for me simply because I am pregnant. I am more emotional and easily overwhelmed, so I have cried alot. We saw alot of our plans and dreams simply disappear with this sudden life change. We are at a loss of what to expect from our future.

This is what we do know: The Lord led us here. We were given an ultimatum and God spoke CLEARLY as to what choice we were to make. This was one of the hardest decisions we have made, to give up income and security for the sake of our family. Family comes first, paychecks come second. That is a very noble statement, but when you are sitting here without any idea how you will pay for anything, with a baby on the way, it is very scary. We are trusting in the Lord. HE led us to this point, and HE will lead us the rest of the way. We are simply trusting in HIM. We have already seen fruits from this decision in our family, we have been blessed and brought together in a way we have not been since joining the military. We know we are sitting where HE wants us to be. It is the not knowing where we are going next or how in the world we will get there that is so very scary.

This has been a turbulent month in my life and in this pregnancy. Jon did sign up for the reserves, but we are waiting for a billet, which means we had to buy some insurance to cover having this baby boy.... which equals an obscene amount of mula... something we no longer have coming in... hahaha. (this was not funny two weeks ago, but now I have come to accept it and it is so surreal it is comical to me.)

You wonder why God allows things to happen the way HE does sometimes. In my selfish timing, I think his plan should have involved me having the baby, THEN getting out... But, the Bible says, "His ways are not our ways." So, for now I am just focusing on having this little man and taking each day a step at a time. We are all healthy, we are all together, and we will soon welcome a new little addition to our sweet little family. I am truly blessed!

35 week check up

2010-11-29T21:07:00.003-05:00

Went back to the doctor today for a check up and an exam. I am one centimeter dilated and the baby is in position. Does not mean anything but my body is getting ready and it is right on schedule. I actually had contractions last week, but they were fake ones. I am moving right along and I am feeling pretty good. I am uncomfortable pretty much all the time, but that is normal too. I gained two more pounds, which puts me at 19 total.

My mother informs me that I need to have my bag and the baby's bag all packed up. I am apparently falling down on the job. It has not even occurred to me. I have not even picked out a coming home outfit for baby boy. I will do that this week, but I think I still have plenty of time... (famous last words..)

We did accomplish something this week. Shayla is officially out of her crib and into her big girl bed. It is so awesome. Gotta give kudos to Jon, he did it all. He has trained her the whole time. She sleeps all night in her big girl bed. She lays there and calls my name to come and get her when she wakes up in the morning and from her naps. She is so big and grown up.... Time sure does fly............

My little shadow

2010-11-20T08:28:00.006-05:00

Little girls are the best!! My Shay is just like my Lysh was at this age. She likes to do everything mommy does. She "helps" me with whatever I may be doing....

When I do the laundry, she "helps" me. Which, of course, means I have to refold what she has attempted to do, and it takes twice as long, but I love it still. Love teaching her and spending time with her.

When I sweep, she holds the pan so I can sweep the dirt in it.She even has her own little broom so she can "help" me sweep.

When we vacuum, she likes to be right beside us, sometimes holding the cord, pretending to do it too. She especially likes to help wind the cord back up after we are done.

She is right there with me all day. When I get ready for the day, she "gets ready" with me. She brushes her teeth with me, puts on deodorant, and pretends to put in contacts, just like mommy. She especially likes it when I put on make up. I let her sit on my dresser and she pretends to put on some make up too. I let her hold the blush brush, and she copies everything I do. I always put some lip gloss on her. (I do not use lipstick, but just a light gloss). This is her favorite part, and mine, cause she puckers those sweet little lips out for me to put it on her.

She is learning all the time. She is striving for her independence, wanting to do things herself. She wants to open her juice cup so I can pour in her refill, turn out the lights herself when we leave the room, carry her "purse" (a.k.a diaper bag) when we leave the house, get her own utensil out when it is time to eat.... etc. If you forget and do it for her, she gets upset. She is learning and growing up so quickly.

She plays independently really well, but she likes to be in sight of me. She does not venture off by herself. If I head into her bedroom or mine to clean up, she comes toddling in there with her toys she was playing with and sits on the floor and plays til I am done. She just wants to be near mommy or sissy.

Speaking of Sissy.. she LOVES her sissy. Lysh with get on the floor and rough house with her and she just laughs and screams. That is her favorite time! Lysh will hide in the hallway and "roar", which makes shayla scared, but she LOVES to be scared so she will just scream and run into the hallway!! Lysh will hide and jump out and scare her and Shay just eats it up, she LOVES it. Sissy is so much fun!

Her most favorite thing in the world is to help me cook/bake. I put her on the counter as I prepare food and she gets her own spoon to stir and "help". Sissy bakes alot, so she really loves to help stir the batter and then she gets to lick the spoon afterward, which is good and sugary. Cooking dinner is her favorite time of the day. Just like everything else, she slows me down, but they are only little once........

She is also a very prissy little one. She does not like for anything to get on her hands. She comes to me, hands out in front, saying "oh no, dirty". Which is so funny cause most of the time there is just a little something on one little finger. But she feels dirty. When we go outside to play in the sand box, she would be ready to go in after 30 minutes cause she was dirty - haha. (I hear boys are just the opposite). My other sweet girl was the exact same way, just mommy's little shadow. Shay is more adventurous though, she will leave my side, whereas Lysh was a shy little thing and never ventured far from me when we went places.

I do love little girls... Did i say that? They are sweet, sweet, sweet!

MY GIRLS

2010-11-15T13:14:00.004-05:00

Shay in the laundry basket!

Lysh and her bestie at halloween

My very grown up looking girl - soon to be 15!

Shay loves to hold the camera while you take a picture. We have many, many close up pics like this... cracks me up!! Loving this age!!!

32 weeks - another doctors visit

2010-11-07T12:05:00.003-05:00

This picture is just one of the things I will miss and NEVER again be able to use once this baby boy arrives. I love Maternity parking... hahaha... I am easily pleased. It is just a "perk" of being big and uncomfortable. Not many stores around here have it, unfortunately, so I make it a point to go to the ones that do. All for a parking spot. :)

I went to the doctor today and all is well. I have gained a total of 17 lbs. I am gaining less with this one than with Shay, which is normal since I do not have the diabetes this time. I go back in three weeks. It is really going by fast now. The end is coming up soon and I just cannot believe it is almost over. I am trying to remember it and enjoy it, since it is my last one.

November so soon?

2010-11-04T18:42:00.002-04:00

I really cannot believe it is November. The weather is typical of Florida, still warm and hot. Still shorts and flip flops. Which is fine cause I do not have alot of long sleeve maternity tops, but I have a load of short sleeve.

I cannot believe I am 32 weeks. I have not accomplished things I wanted to, specifically with Shayla. I really wanted to have her potty trained and in her big girl bed by the time this baby comes. Neither of this has happened. I do believe she is ready to start potty training in some ways, but I am so big and uncomfortable that is seems like such a chore. I gave it a great big try this week. She woke up with her diaper all dry and I put big girl panties on her and gave her lots to drink. She peed once before naptime... on the floor. We did spend alot, alot alot of time sitting on the potty. She enjoys the potty, enjoys wiping and feeling like a big girl. She simply does not understand when she has the urge. Of course, when I laid her down for her nap, with her pull up on, she woke up with a full pull up. Could she really have held it?

My baby sleeps til 9:00 everyday. Then she plays in the crib for an hour almost every morning. This is why I have not moved her over yet. I love sleeping in a little extra. Once I put her in a big girl bed she will get up immediately upon waking and come to me. I know she is ready, I am not ready. I like the crib. I like sleeping in. I do not get much sleep as it is, so sleeping in a little is a nice treat for me. I am too big and uncomfortable to rest now. I pee three times a night. I have to HEAVE myself to change positions. This is all normal, I remember this with Shay, but it is definitely no fun.

On a funny note, my teenager says to me this week, "you no longer have a cute baby bump, now it just looks like you have a watermelon strapped to your tummy." Gee Whiz, thanks. :(

halloween

2010-10-30T06:59:00.005-04:00

Just a picture of my oldest in her costume this year. She wanted to be a fanatical gator fan...

Since When..........

2010-10-22T17:56:00.003-04:00

...........is it Okay to insult a pregnant lady? People are crazy... old people in particular. The bigger you get, the more people feel like it is acceptable behavior to comment on your size. This was particularly frustrating last time I was preggo, even though I only gained 20 lbs.. that last two months I always got the reaction of "your huge, your gonna go anyday." I am now 30 weeks and my belly is nice and round. I have gained even less lbs with this one, and yet I am getting the SHOCK FACE from people. Twice this week. Once in a department store, the check out lady - who was nice at first - commented on my pregnancy and then asked when I was due... no big deal. (This is normal, see my previous post - the secret club)

She then proceeded to moan and groan and act like she was just shocked.... I got the "you look like your gonna pop any second" spiel. ?? Any second? I was polite, but that kinda stuff ticks me off.

My second encounter this week was at a dollar store. I wait in line ten minutes to buy TWO things - holy crap- and the check out lady is making small talk about my being preggo... blah blah- yes it s a boy.... blah blah.... i have two other girls....blah blah. The usual. The old lady behind me makes a comment about being due soon and I said, "I only have two more months to go." She about blew a gasket, or her last brain cell, heehawing about how HUGE I am and how I am gonna go ANYTIME.

Now, let me ask you... If these people feel it is perfectly acceptable to make these rude and crazy comments to my face, am I obligated to be polite back? there are alot of women who gain LOTS and LOTS of weight... I wonder what they say to them?

I was always nice with the last pregnancy, but now I am older and wiser, or simply more fed up. I absolutely do not think I am going to be able to hold it in. ("It" being my sarcastic responses)

I am not very big.. every time I hear this said all I can think is, "you ain't seen nothing yet, this baby is gonna get big!" He is only 3 lbs, he is gonna get up to 7 or 8. When I have THAT belly, then you can comment. I am short so my belly just goes straight out. :) This little "round mound" I have now is nothing!

I just wonder when it became perfectly normal for perfect strangers to say things like that to your face... seriously?

Here is a side shot pic of me in my jeans and a tight maternity shirt. Shows my belly nice. :)

29 weeks

2010-10-16T09:44:00.002-04:00

I went for my doctors appointment this week. I have now gained a total of 12 lbs, which my doc and my nurse were so happy about. :) The best news I got was that I passed my Diabetes test. No finger pricking for me this time. I am measuring perfect with the time line every time go, which is good. Basically this one is going just like the other two. I am having no complications or problems, and for that I am grateful. I love how easy my pregnancies and births always go, hopefully this little man will come out without a complication. :)

I was told that once you get diabetes, you get it every time. I was concerned that I passed the test this time, but I was reading up on it and only 33% of women get it the second time around. Only 5 % get it the first time. I did NOT have it with my first or my last, just my middle one... Strange? Shay was just too much for my body to handle. :)

This little man is feisty. He is only 3 lbs now, but he can hurt me - seriously! It is quite painful sometimes, which makes me so nervous cause he is so small. What will it feel like when he is 6 or 7 lbs....

The Secret Club

2010-10-05T20:12:00.003-04:00

It is a funny thing about being pregnant, you are suddenly thrust in the spotlight. People notice you wherever you go. When I walk into a store or restaurant, people look at me or at my belly. Their reaction is always funny. I am pretty sure they are trying to figure out how far along I am. I know I do the same thing to other preggo ladies... I always stare a little at their bellies.

Strangers are perfectly comfortable coming up to you and making conversation. There is no other time in my life where I talk to more random ladies than when I am pregnant. Today is a good example. I went to eat with my friend, and then we went to Target and Walgreens. In Target, I was looking through the junior section for my teenager, cause she wants some leggings. A lady I do not know strikes up a conversation about my belly. Of course, I always get the same first question, "when are you due?" Usually proceeded by, "is this your first?" We then proceed to have a little conversation about babies and having babies and so forth. It always happens pretty much the same way. We had a nice chat, she congratulated me on my first boy, she shuddered that I was having my THIRD, and went on her way. When we get to the check out counter, the check out girl asks me the infamous question and makes "baby" conversation. Then we head to Walgreens, where the check out girl is psychic and makes her prediction and proceeds to tell me what I am having.... a girl.... WRONG. She claims she is never wrong..... ahem.... I just smile. I mean, what is an appropriate response for me? I saw the ultrasound and there was definitely a "third leg." hahaha. But she was polite, so I just smiled. This is completely typical of my experience EVERY TIME i go somewhere. Especially of check out girls, they have nothing better to do than chat, so they love to make small talk and ask lots of questions about my belly. I always get a really BIG response when I tell them my due date. (which is New Years' Eve). Everyone seems to think that is soooo cool; however, I am thinking I wanna go way before then. :)

It just strikes me as funny that ladies - complete strangers - feel comfortable talking to other pregnant ladies, our own little club. I always notice the nostalgia in their eyes, when they think about their own pregnancies. It is a special time in a woman's life and I am not taking it for granted. I have enjoyed this second trimester to the best of my ability. I enjoy the looks, stares, and smiles I get from strangers. I am carrying life, a little piece of me and Jon, and that is exciting. I am happy to share my excitement and happiness with anyone.

Here is a picture of me in Savannah, GA. :) I recently took a vacation there with my BFF hila. We had an awesome time!!

Doctor's visit

2010-09-21T15:56:00.003-04:00

Went to the doctor for a my check up. This time I made the appointment five weeks out from the last one, just cause. No reason to show up there every 3 or 4 weeks for nothing. It is an hour's drive for a 15 minute visit. I do love my doctor though, so it is worth it. We had a really great experience at that hospital too.... Not really impressed with the ones in the county we live in.

The good news is I only gained one more pound this visit. That puts me at 9 lbs total for this pregnancy. I am doing really well, go me!! The heart beat was 140, perfectly normal. Jon went this time so he could hear the heartbeat and so we could register with the hospital. The active duty service member has to be there or they will not do it. Tricare is so picky. I was joking with the doctor that when I get to heaven they will not let me in unless Jon is there with his Military ID and I have a referral from my PCM. :)

On a funny note.. this morning Jon and I were getting ready to go and I was standing over the sink brushing my teeth and jon was behind me. My hubby makes this comment, "The way you carry babies is so funny, standing here looking at you I cannot even tell your pregnant." :) The way he said it, it was a compliment. He is impressed with how I carry. You really cannot tell I am preggo until I turn around and my big buddha belly is visible. I would like to think I am short and cute, not short and fat. :)

Another interesting note from the hubby is that it just hit him the other day that we are about to have our third kid and it is a boy this time. REALLY...... It just really "sunk in". Crazy man. I guess it is different when you are not the one carrying the load... so to speak. :) I thought that was rather humorous.

kicking right along....

2010-09-07T19:17:00.003-04:00

This baby is a kicker. The neat thing about this baby boy is how random he is. Shayla was so routine, even in the womb. She had her "happy time" in my tummy about the same time every night. She would be still for hours, and then do her "exercsises".

Not this one. He is active on and off all day long. There is no set time of movement. He just kinda flip flops around in there all day long. I like it.

I want this one to be different from the last. Shayla lives off of her routines. Shayla is afraid of alot of stuff. i.e. the merry go round. She wants to go on it soooo bad, then when we get on it, and it starts to move, and the little horsey goes up and down, she gets upset. Her whole little life she has done that. We went on the merry go round today and I thought since she was older she would be more fun. But she is the same little baby girl.. still afraid.

But my boy..... I am thinking he is gonna live a NO FEAR lifestyle... which will have its upside and downside. I am looking forward to the difference. Both my girls were cautious and shy and sweet. A boy will be a whole new world and I am looking forward to it. :) As long as I have Jon there with me, I can handle this little man. It is gonna be a great adventure!

FOR SALE

2010-09-03T17:14:00.001-04:00

We are up for sale again. This time it is a Short Sale. We are looking at getting orders in the next two or three months. We found out our house is worth less than half of what we paid for it four years ago, so the mortgage company said our only option was a Short sale. So here we are!!

I am excited about it. We had heard horrible things about short sales, but it is not as bad as it seems. There are so many people in the same situation as us, that the mortgage companies are taking what they can get to avoid foreclosure themselves. It cost the bank around $25,000 to foreclosure on people, so this saves them money in the long run.

The best news is that we do not have to pay capital gain taxes on it. They do give you a 1099C, but since it is a "C", it cancels the debt, whereas if it was a regular 1099, we would have to pay taxes. We had decided that paying the taxes would be cheaper than coming up with sixty thousand dollars in the difference in what we owe, so we were ready to do it. Luckily for us, this is going to work out better and not destroy our credit. No foreclosure, no bankruptcy, and keeping our credit . . . . answered prayer.

I will now have to keep the house clean, clean, clean, but I am excited to show it. The last time we had it up for a year and it never showed once. This time it should. :)

I am excited to just be moving forward in the future. Things are not standing still, it feels good to be doing some proactive moves, something we felt the Lord calling us to do. HE gave us the nudge, and we obeyed, now it is a wait and see game again. Seems to be how this whole year has gone.... God is good!

6 months

2010-08-17T21:35:00.006-04:00

Finally half way thru!

I went to the doctor last week. I gained another four pounds. Which means I have gained a total of 8 pounds so far. The doctor said the average for six months is 10 pounds, so I am under that, which is good.I am actually feeling better. I am active all day. I still feel the need to sit alot, but I do not sleep all day. That is so much better.

I am actually at a good point in my pregnancy, not big enough to be really uncomfortable and not sick at all. I am planning to enjoy these next few weeks. I have been pressure washing my driveway for the last two weeks. :) Trying to stay active and busy while I can. :)

I have a nice round baby bump now. I am showing nicely. We had company all week, Jon's cousin from California. Here are some pics. In case your are wondering, I am the big round one by the two skinny ones.... hahahaha! Alysha and Allison look exactly the same.... Allie is 22, but Alysha looks so grown up you cannot tell. They are beautiful girls!!

All Things New

2010-08-09T22:01:00.006-04:00

It's a boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We had our ultrasound Tuesday. Jon, Alysha, Shayla and I all go back to the room. Shay and Lysh sit in the two chair and Jon stands by the bed with me. We are all staring at the 42" flat screen. :) That little baby comes up and it was so awesome! She takes some head shots and moves around and I am looking at the full body shot and I asked her, "Is that what I think it is?" She just smiles. I know I have never seen that on an ultrasound before. So she puts the arrow on the baby and says, "Can you see that dad?" It's DEFINITELY a boy. :) hahaha. It was so funny. Lysh squealed, Jon laughed, and Shay is saying, "TV, TV" She was enthralled with the big ole tv on the wall.

Then she turned up the heartbeat so we could all hear it and Shay Shouts, "BABY" :) how cute is that? How did she know that was the baby's?

All in all it was a good day. Baby is doing great. She changed my due date to December 31. We had a great time and now we know it is a boy!

The first picture shows us that it is a boy. :) There is an arrow pointing to where you need to look. haha
This is a profile picture. Just his little head, looking down on him. :) Pretty neat. Looks like an alien to me....

5 months

2010-07-29T11:02:00.003-04:00

Alysha told me I had to take a belly shot, like I did with Shayla. So here it is:

This week I am officially five months along. I am getting excited about this little baby bean.

I have just started showing so I am officially in maternity smalls and med shirts. I was so blessed that two different girls I knew were giving away their maternity clothes and they gave me two full bags. I got some really cute stylish tops and stuff. I am excited to have more choices in what I wear everyday... for free. :) I still do not look preggo as much as I look like I gained some weight in my middle. I think I just look fat... my tummy is not rounded yet. I remember blogging about this last time...it looks like I have half a watermelon under my shirt....I like it when my belly rounds out and all my tight maternity tops fit just right. :)

I am feeling the baby move almost daily now. I felt this baby move really early in this pregnancy. I have been feeling it for weeks. In the last few weeks it has started happening more often. I LOVE this part of pregnancy - feeling that little one rolling around in there. :) It is a little miracle.

I am dreaming vividly again. It is amazing how being pregnant affects you. My dreams are so emotional and realistic. I remember this from last time... dreaming like crazy every night.

The babybean Adventures

2010-07-27T21:07:00.004-04:00

If I had thought of it sooner, I would have named my blog... BABY BEAN ADVENTURES.... That is soo cute. (My nickname is Juliebean.... in case you did not get it... )

I had a terrible weekend. On Friday night I had a tightness in my left side in the abdominal area. I went to bed thinking my muscle was just tight. At 2:00 a.m. I am awake and in excruciating pain in my left side. I can barely sit, stand, or walk. It really feels like a pulled muscle to me, simply because there was one position I could get in while sitting or laying that would alleviate the pain. I reasoned that if it was a kidney stone or something terrible, I would find no rest or reprieve from the pain.

BUT, I am pregnant, so I was worried that something was wrong with the baby since the pain was in my abdomen. Of course, this was my hubby's weekend to work, so I call his barracks and wake him up. I am debating going to the ER. Unfortunately, he says they are working a skeleton crew and he cannot leave at all. poo. This is the hard thing about being military and moving around, I have no family to lean on.

My only choice is to wait til morning and leave when it is light outside. I wake Alysha up about 8 and she helps me to get dressed. I am not exaggerating to say that it took me a solid hour to change clothes and walk to my van. Whew! I am in SO MUCH PAIN! I can barely move. At this point I am a little afraid for my baby.

I drive myself to the ER. I had to park in the back forty and walk, I use the term "walk" loosely, up to the door. I am extremely lucky that there is no one else in the waiting room and they take me on back. The poke and prod me and take all my bodily fluids. An hour later, the diagnosis was simply, "we don't know whats wrong, come back if it gets worse." All my tests were fine, they did a simple ultrasound and the baby was fine. It was rocking around in there with a steady heartbeat. Their best guess? My Uterine wall was contracting. When they are releasing me, Hubby shows up. :) I love my hubby. I have cried alot laying there all by myself, it is good to have him there.

I am blessed I was literally only in the ER for an hour and a half. Total. They gave me pain pills, which was N-I-C-E. I did not know you can take this stuff when preggo. I called my OBGYN, just to double ck. His over the phone diagnosis of my description of my pain, "Your uterus is growing and it can be very painful." ? what's up with the Uterus?

I am blessed to have Alysha. She completely took care of Shayla and me for the next two days til dad could come home. (he immediately went back to work.) I popped pills and slept thru Sat and Sunday. By Monday I could walk and sit and move without horrific pain. Today I am all better. Was it my uterus or my muscles? Maybe it was a uterus muscle... down by my pelvic bone... hahaha.

Final beach pics

2010-07-25T14:32:00.004-04:00

This is the cutest little body shot. I saw this everyday on the way to the pool. That little body would walk down the hallway to the elevator. She was so excited. :)

Me and my beautiful 14yr old. Look how tall.
My girls at the shopping/eating place. :)

Jon came down for a day and hung out.

I got Lysh a Henna tattoo. It was pretty, but a big waste of money.

Everytime we would hit a stop sign, Lysh would take our picture. So funny. We look like sista's

four months along

2010-07-21T16:17:00.003-04:00

Went to the doctor today. Heard the baby's heartbeat. She said all is well. These appointments strike me as pointless. You show up, pee in a cup, stand on a scale, see the doc for two seconds... then your done. Of course, don't forget about the endless waiting in the waiting room and the exam room. Big fat waste of time... and speaking of fat....... I have gained four pounds. That would be total for my whole pregnancy. Four pounds in four months. It really does not sound too bad when you word it that way... But really it is four pounds in the last four weeks since my last useless appointment. :)

I told my doctor that I am tired from sun up to sun down and I sleep ALOT during the day and still sleep all night. It is so funny that every time I tell them I have an immediate problem they just send off for tests or cultures or whatever and I get nothing to help me feel better. So, her diagnosis of my unnatural tiredness? Thyroid. I have to go get bloodwork - I assume it is blood work - since no one explained to me. I just have to go to quest and either pee in a cup again... whoopee ... or let them stick a needle in my arm.... again. So, that means I wait until my next appointment... four weeks away.... to find out what is wrong. What do I do in the meantime? Sleep my life away? Luckily Shayla is so good and docile and likes to just play on the floor wherever I am napping. (and I have a teenager to keep an eye on her). sigh.

I did make my appointment for THE ULTRASOUND. The one where I should find out what it is. It is August 18th. I am excited about that. This is the exciting part of pregnancy for me. I love this ultra sound. Jon and the girls there with me as we find out what the new addition to our family will be. Sweet memories. I remember vividly the day we had Shayla's ultrasound. It was awesome. Since this will be our last Ultrasound Day, I will enjoy it thoroughly.

To end on a happy note... I got two new bags full of maternity clothes. Two different ladies I know were giving them away!! They are so cute and stylish!! i am wearing maternity now just to get some use out of them. Alysha is jealous cause I look so cute!! :)

beach trip part 2

2010-07-20T16:21:00.003-04:00

Look at that white body. Luckily for me, she does not burn easy. I forgot sun tan lotion and she did not even get a little pink. Look at that belly!!

Sisters.........:)

so pretty!

This girl loves to laugh.

beach trip part one

2010-07-18T20:14:00.002-04:00

Just some cool shots of my girls from our week at the beach.

She loved the pool. She just laid back in my arms all peaceful. We went to the pool everyday.

my girls

2010-07-07T10:36:00.000-04:00

Shayla likes to put my shirt around her neck and dance around. :)

Isn't my teenager pretty?

This is my girls at KP Hole, a local spring. Shay is hot and tired, we had been there almost two hours.

There is my good looking man. :)

Getting things done

2010-07-01T21:57:00.004-04:00

I am finally feeling back to my old self, except that I am VERY TIRED. My sickness went away, but my energy level is still pretty low. I feel like I am accomplishing more and more every day, instead of less and less. :) Let me just say, it feels good to feel good!

I have ordered our homeschool curriculum for next year. My baby girl is in 10th grade!! There was much debate this year on what we wanted to use. Kinda tired of the boring old textbooks that give the same boring information in the same old BORING way. So this year we went with Sonlight, which we have never used before, but it encompasses english, bible and history. We chose teaching textbooks for math, Abeka for Biology, and rosetta stone for language (spanish).(thanks Linda for all your suggestions!)

That might be boring for ya if you don't homeschool, but I am stoked. It was VERY Expensive this year. That is the most I have ever spent. I know it will be worth it though, especially with the new baby coming. I needed curriculum that I can lead, but she can do mostly independently. I think Sonlight is going to meet our needs. By the time the baby comes in January, we will have done school for 18 weeks and Lysh will be in the swing of things. I will be able to be more hands on the first half of the year, before Junior arrives. :)

Coming up in my world: I am letting my girls go to my parents to spend 5 days without me next week. I am excited, but mostly apprehensive. I will enjoy the peace and quiet of JULIE time, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE my girls. I will miss them intensely and the thought of being apart from them makes me a little nervous and sad. :) I think that makes me normal.

Also coming up is our week at the beach!! My cousin gets a free condo every year and invites us. We leave on the 10th (minus Jon) and get to spend 7 glorious days at St Pete Beach relaxing. Shayla is older this year and will be SO INTO the sand and water. Last year she was prissy and did not like the way the sand felt. She is much different now. Her sand box is her favorite toy!!

Finally, Jon is taking Alysha to her first Nascar Race. Jon is a HUGE Nascar fan, so he has been many times. She is a little unsure whether she will like it. I have been trying to convince her that either way, she can say she has been to a race and had the experience. who knows? she might LOVE it. It will be me and the monkey all day and night, cause it is an all day experience. They got FUNZONE passes, so they are leaving early. I am looking forward to chillin with my monkeylove. I do love my family life. :)

Here are two pictures of Shayla from the Beach Last year -

God Gave Me You

2010-06-27T21:25:00.003-04:00

One goal of this blog is to remember the important stuff. I have been wanting to post this for a long time. . . .

On Mothers Day this year, Jon was at work the whole weekend. He gave me a present when he got home Monday, it was a gift certificate for a pedicure. (which I loved!)

BUT, on Mothers Day, he sends me this email. It was awesome and heartfelt, telling me how wonderful a mother and wife I am and how blessed he is to have me. In the email he sends me a link to this song. He said it describes how he feels about me and how he feels about his family. I had never heard it before, but it was beautiful. The words are pretty powerful...and could apply to anyone in your life.

GOD GAVE ME YOU FOR THE UPS AND DOWNS
GOD GAVE ME YOU FOR THE DAYS OF DOUBT
WHEN I THINK I HAVE LOST MY WAY
THERE ARE NO WORDS HERE LEFT TO SAY IT'S TRUE
GOD GAVE ME YOU

This is my favorite part of the song.... These words really touched me, they describe how I feel about my marriage perfectly.

on my own
i am only half of what I could be
I cannot do without you
we are stitched together
and what love has tethered
I pray we never undo

Here is the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7M7cJ4DydQ

So, this was my sappy post, which I don't normally do. This mothers day was really special. This Mothers day was the one where I woke up deathly ill and spent all the next week thinking I was dying of some bacterial infection. Turned out to be a baby instead. :) I was actually too sick to look at the email til late that night, I never got out of bed all that day. This will be a great memory to smile about later. :) I love that man.

doctors visit today

2010-06-23T21:28:00.002-04:00

Today I went to G-ville for my doctors appointment. It was the first time in two pregnancies I have gone alone. Jon was off, but It was an exam, so he could not go back anyway. Since Shayla had been in the car alot lately, I told him to stay home with the girls. He never missed one of my appointments with Shayla.

It turned out to be awesome!! She did another ultrasound - JUST FOR FUN! I happened to be in a room that has a machine (many of their rooms do), so she said we would take a look. My first ultrasound was at five weeks. It did not look like a baby, it was tiny. This time, I could make it out. It's little legs and arms - so cute! I watched it's little heart beat and watched it move around. The baby had its legs crossed! It really made it more real for me and it actually made me excited about the baby for the first time. I mean, like I cannot wait to meet him/her excited. That is something I have not felt as of yet, although I knew it would come.... eventually.

I have gained back all the weight I had lost from being so sick, but I have not gained any weight yet... so that is good. Now it begins. Hopefully It will go like my other two and I will not gain much. I only gained 20 to 25 with the other two. we shall see........

It was a great visit and a good day!! I am feeling pretty good this week. Still sick sometimes, but feeling good more often than not. Whew!!!!

TWELVE WEEKS - Pregnancy Update

2010-06-21T16:48:00.002-04:00

I would like to say that it has been flying by........ but it has not. The good news is that I am not AS sick as I was before. I am still sick, it just seems to be getting more bearable. My moods are not getting more bearable. I seem to be more irritable. I think Jon and Lysh are ready to kill me. In my defense, they are really annoying people..... lol.

In two weeks I will be in my second trimester. According to my old blog posts, it is right about this week that the sickness goes away completely. I have my fingers crossed. (I was disappointed to learn 2nd trimester does not start til week 14, I was thinking thirteen.)

I am getting thick in the middle. All my shorts fit, but they are tight in the waist. I have noticed a pooch for a while now, and I know it is too soon to be a baby pooch. I was reading one of those pregnancy books in B&N the other day and it said that if you have recently had a baby, and get pregnant again, that your stomach muscles are all stretched out and you will see a pooch sooner. Basically, it is a pooch of fat. Nice......

I am unable to multi task. This was normal for my last one also. What is it about being pregnant that suddenly makes you unable to handle more than one thing at a time.... seriously?

I have been sucking down sweet tea like a mad woman. I cannot seem to get enough! Sugar is soooo good!! I think I am trying to make up for all these years of doing without it. :) Whatever it is, I am in sweet tea heaven!

I go to the doctor this week for a physical exam. :( Joy. Gone are the once a years. Now they have free reign to put you in the stirrups - at will. Let's don't and say we did.

On a positive note, I found lots of maternity clothes at goodwills and thrift stores in GA while I was visiting my favorite Aunt Sara. I got some cute little maternity dresses. This pregnancy I wanna look like those cute preggo girls that wear those cute dresses. I do not care how fat my arms are, I am gonna wear dresses!! I got 4! I also got some very nice jean shorts and tops. For 50$ I got a wardrobe for the next nine months. (Well, assuming I do not get HUGE.)

My Girls......... My Girls.............

2010-06-08T16:32:00.002-04:00

My babies........ 2 and 14.....

Going with the flow

2010-06-01T12:58:00.003-04:00

My last pregnancy was very exciting. I read the books constantly, learning what was happening to my body and what baby was developing that week. It was all very exciting.

The good thing about all that is I kept a very detailed blog about my pregnancy experience. I have really used that this time, looking back to see what to expect. This pregnancy seems to be following the same pattern, and for that I am grateful. I really did blog everything about being pregnant last time, and I have enjoyed reading it. The last pregnancy pretty much devoured my whole life - it was all about being preggo.

This time, ehh, not so much. I want this pregnancy to flow with the rest of my life, not consume me. Plus, it is not "new" and "exciting". It is old hat. So, I will enjoy my time with the baby while he/she is in my tummy, cause this will be my last time experiencing this miracle.
(Now, remind me of that in my last month....)

Taking it one saltine at at time......

2010-05-31T16:39:00.003-04:00

I count it a good day when I have managed to make it through the day without running to the bathroom to hurl.

BEFORE:

The five weeks before I found out I was preggo, I had started a rigorous workout routine. I did 30 minutes on the elliptical, usually right after I woke up the teenager. When I put Shayla down I would go outside and WORK in my yard. It needed some serious work. I have three beds that were neglected, and the whole yard cause my hubby is still hurt. I also worked out with weights during this time every other day. In the afternoons I would get 30-40 minutes in on the treadmill. I was determined to lose five pounds and get in better shape. So, I stayed as busy as possible.

AFTER:

Now, I just try to make it from the bed to the couch. Then I sit long enough to let it all settle (while eating saltines) and I go make shayla's breakfast.Then I sit again. Shayla is up and waiting for me, I can hear her the whole time talking and hollering and simply waiting. After I have eaten more crackers and feel like I can move again, I go get the monkey up and thus begins my day. It takes me about thirty minutes to make it through this routine every morning. How different from a few weeks ago. Isn't life funny?

The rest of the day I simply endure, until bed time. I do what I have to do to take of Shayla and keep myself from feeling so bad. I do walk on the treadmill everyday, it makes me feel better for about 30 minutes afterward. It did with my last pregnancy. Of course, I cannot go over the speed "3". No running for me. I move very slow.

I eat my saltine and my toastachee peanut butter crackers all the live long day. It is not going by too slowly now, like it was before. Like the little engine that could, I must remember, "I think I can, I think I can........."

The Good News......

2010-05-29T19:40:00.003-04:00

I may not be overly excited about having a baby at this time, but I have managed to find the positives in my current situation. My first thoughts were very negative about having another one so close to my last, but it turns out to be working in my favor in many ways.

1. I have all the Big Ticket items I will need. The crib, changing table, high chair, baby swing, car seat/stroller combo, bassinet. I am set as far as the expensive stuff goes and that is a HUGE plus in my book, since all this stuff was very expensive. I am proud that I let Jon choose the decor as classic Pooh in light green color, cause no matter what I have, it will all work. If I had used pink..... I would not be so lucky if it were to be a boy.

2. We will get a permanent fix IMMEDIATELY upon having this one, so I KNOW I am done. That is exciting to me. I can give away all the baby stuff as soon as I am through because I know, without a slightest hesitation, that I will not be having another one. :) That is an exciting thing. (I will be 32 when I am finished having babies.)

3. I kept some of my maternity clothes, just in case. So, I do have a good start on my maternity wardrobe, which makes me happy. I could not find any of the pants I had, which were nice ones, and that sucks, but I have lots of shorts. If we stay in Florida, that will work out great.

4. They will be almost 3 years apart and they will be able to play with each other. I think that is a good age separation. I have noticed how Shayla LOVES kids who are 5 or 6. She does not like to play with kids her own age, she feels threatened, but older kids she just follows them around and copies them. Maybe these two will play together. Alysha was, in essence, an only child, so she never had anyone to play with. This will be kinda cool. Two other friends of mine, who had babies within months of Shay, are trying - on purpose. So, this really is a good time to have another. :)

See, I can be positive. :)

I am what???

2010-05-23T19:59:00.002-04:00

Two weeks ago......

Sunday, Mothers Day.... and I am deathly sick. I cannot get out of bed and I sleep all day.

Monday, day after Mothers Day.... Still sick, not getting out of bed if the house burns down. I am sure I have a horrible virus.... except that I am not throwing up and my tummy is not upset...weird. I slept all day and all night.

Tuesday and Wednesday I am feeling better but I am nauseous still and I just feel bad all over. What a weird lingering bug. Wednesday morning, I am sitting up in bed eating crackers before I even step onto the carpet. I make a joke to hubby that it feels like I am preggo.......

I break down Wednesday afternoon and call the doc for an appointment. I am so upset to still be so sick. I tell my hubby it does not feel like any virus I have had before, it feels weird. I am really afraid something is really wrong, really wrong. My stomach feels bloated and tight all the time. I am getting no relief. I made the mistake of starting this new book my hubby wanted me to read called, "the Makers Diet". It talks about all the diseases you can get from eating the wrong kinds of foods. It is all about eating biblically, which is cool, but it scared the crap out of me. I was convinced I had some kinda bacterial infection in my stomach.

WARNING: FEMALE SYMPTOMS APPROACHING - Men read at your own risk

Thursday Morning - still not much better. I remember something... I have had extreme breast tenderness. They seriously hurt. I tell my husband how ODD this is, along with all my other symptoms, I have all the symptoms of pregnancy. We laugh and joke about this, it is pretty funny. We KNOW I am not because I have an IUD. But, it is a weird coincidence.

Thursday Lunch time - Alysha, Randi, and I all head out to quiznos for lunch. (hubby was keeping the baby for me to have the afternoon off to go to the doc and have some girl fun). I am able to eat a little bit and I joke with my friend Randi about being pregnant. She thinks it is funny, til I tell her how my tata's have been so sore.... she seems concerned, but she continues to joke with me about it. We go to wal mart and I let my 14 yr old pierce the cartilage in her ear, she has always wanted to.

Thursday afternoon - Doctors appointment. I arrive on time to my appointment. They take me back and tell the nurse all my symptoms. I remark that I have all the symptoms of pregnancy, but that cannot be because I have an IUD. She tells me her horror story about how her IUD ripped out and how she had to go to the emergency room....why do people do this..... but she recommends I pee in a cup so we can rule out pregnancy.

I leave my sample and go sit back in the room. It takes the doctor thirty minutes to come back in. He walks in the room and says... well I have news, I don't know if it is good or bad, but your test came back positive for pregnancy!!!!

Shock. I just sit there and say "WHAT?" over and over and over. He was so nice and sympathetic. I just kept saying "this just can't be". He tells me some stories of patients who got pregnant with and IUD and everything was just fine. That is a good health care professional. He was concerned though, because IUD's cause ectopic pregnancies and that is very dangerous for me. I get an emergency referral to my OBGYN, I need an ultrasound immediately.

Alysha is waiting for me in the waiting room. We walk out of the building and I tell her I am pregnant and she is as shocked as I was. She just cannot believe it. As I am driving home, Jon calls. I lie and say it was a sinus infection. I wanna see his face when I drop this bomb.

Thursday night - 5:00. I get home and talk to Jon for a few minutes. Alysha and I look at each other and then I tell him the truth. We are having a baby! He was neither happy nor sad. He just looked like he was not sure what to think.

Friday morning - Doctor's appointment in G-ville. It is an hour drive to my doctor. We are kinda somber, hoping everything is fine. I am still hoping there was some mistake and I am not actually pregnant; although my symptoms say otherwise. I love my OBGYN. He comes into the ultrasound room (which is a 4-D machine. I love that thing), and he says I am definitely pregnant, now we need to see about this IUD. He begins the ultrasound telling me how if you get pregnant with an IUD, it can cause birth defects and other bad things. He shows me the baby, which is located in my uterus and says all looks great. the good news is that the IUD simply is NOT THERE ANYMORE!! It just fell out at some point.... JUST FELL OUT. You've got to be kidding me! He says that he sees this kind of thing in about two percent of cases, where it falls out. BUT, 99% of the time, the women come in because they KNOW it has come out, not because they are pregnant. sigh.........

Again I say, "You've got to be kidding me."

I am due January 2nd. I will be renaming my blog, in honor of my condition. I am currently deathly ill from the time I get up, till I go back to bed at night. This is normal and lasts till the thirteenth week. I am seven weeks along, so six more to go, maybe, hopefully.........

How is that for a Mothers Day gift??

Updates

2010-05-16T17:46:00.002-04:00

Seems like I never write much anymore, just putting up pictures. So here is an update of our lives:

Jon moved rank this month. He was very proud. MK2 Sund. Great job Jon!! Our pay also goes up, which will be nice.

Our kitty, Lucky Sunshine Sund, ran away. He has been a member of this family for over four years. He has only gotten out of the house twice and the second time he breaks free, he gets lost. We looked everywhere and put up posters. I even went to the pound, but no luck. He is gone.

Last week was alysha's final week of school! She just graduated ninth grade. I learned how to figure a GPA and made her a transcript. All very cool! She will continue to do spanish through the summer, simply because I do not want her to forget all she has learned. We used Rosetta Stone and I have really liked it.

My uncle died this weekend. He will be greatly missed. I wish I could travel up there for the funeral, but it is not possible with all going on in our lives.

We had no luck selling the house. Something we are praying about. My husband and I do not see eye to eye. I am leaning towards a short sell, he is not on board. But, the bottom line is that we will never sell for anything near what we have in it. I always thought people who foreclosed or did short sells, were people who went out and bought a house they cannot afford. We can afford this house, we can make the payments. The problem is that we are military and we will be forced to move in the next year and we cannot make this payment and a house payment in another place too. We cannot rent it out for what we need to make it either. It is quite a rough place to be - stuck between a rock and a hard place.

We still have no word on if we will get orders or not. We might move in August, we might move next year. There is a few million different ways this could pan out. We are just waiting and praying.

We are trusting in the Lord for all our decisions.
"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, Lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge HIM and HE will make thy paths straight."

Life is hard, but God is good.

Shayla second birthday!

2010-05-10T21:45:00.007-04:00

I am way behind in posting this! Shayla turned two on April 30th and we had a special day! She is such a big girl. She ate her cake by herself this year.

She got some princess shoes and some Tiarra's to play with. She likes to wear fake jewelry and play dress up!
We had her first tea party. It was so awesome. She LOVED pouring the tea (a.k.a water) into the little tea cups and using her tea set. She is such a sweet little girl!

I even covered the chairs in purple. The whole day was very fun! She is growing up so fast. She says new words everyday! I am amazed by how fast they change and grow. I am loving these girls!

shay's first sand box

2010-04-28T11:08:00.008-04:00

I got Shay her first sandbox. It is a turtle! Of course, I got in for $5.00 at a garage sale. They cost $30.00 at the store. She loved it. She is so cute!

Sissy got in on the action. Sand is fun!

easter 2010

2010-04-11T15:08:00.001-04:00

My girls

2010-04-05T11:29:00.002-04:00

Alysha's new hair cut, with bangs pulled back

Alysha's hair cut with bangs, which she hates........ I like it!

Pictureles Update

2010-04-02T18:36:00.003-04:00

I went to my pictures to find some new ones to blog and much to my surprise.........

there aren't any

What have I been doing since my last blog? (March 15)? The answer is simple.... ALOT.

So, a simple run down of the latest and greatest from the Sund family is all I will blog.... without the pretty baby pictures.

1. Work around the house is never done... I know all the women are shouting.. "Amen". Seriously, I am constantly working and I never feel caught up. Although I know alot of that has to do with the new responsibility I have... which brings me to number two...

2. Chauffeur. I am the official family Chauffeur. My hubby had his surgery and he is still unable to drive so I am carting him around to PT every other day... and anywhere else he needs to go. This is, of course, on top of all the other duties I have.... which is why I never seem to get anything done.

3. Hubby is doing great. He feels better now than he has in the last two years since his accident. This surgery was great. He will be back at work and behind the wheel starting April 12!! He has been going a little stir crazy sitting around here not being able to do anything. ( and maybe driving m e a little crazy too....)

4. The USCG officially delayed our transfer. So, we will not transfer out of here until November or even next July. This is a relief in many ways. It was also a let down. We were 50/50 on the whole thing. I wanna see Jon get all better and not push him getting Fit for Full duty to meet a deadline. Now we have plenty of time.

5. The house is off the market. One year on the market and no hits. This is a relief in a way too. I just want to wait and see what happens. We will consider listing it again in a few months. We have a few things we want to do to it, which I am excited about. I love projects that make my house prettier!

6. I have gained weight. Not a massive amount, but enough that all my clothes are tight. This sucks. I need to lose ten pounds so that everything will fit me how it should. The problem is I stopped working out. Why? I am so busy this last month, pretty much since Jon's surgery, I have not had the time or energy to exercise. I am tired... tired..... tired at the end of the day, and I am not getting any "fun" physical exertion in. I hit the ground running and I crash at the end of the day. The problem is I have zero desire to get on the treadmill or go for a walk.

7. My baby girl is turning two this month. TWO! I am so amazed. I look at my oldest, who is now 14, and I remember vividly when she was this age and it makes me sad to see how fast it all flies by. I love these girls! I wish I could hold them forever..........

I will get some pics of easter. I hid eggs for the baby today and she had a blast finding them all over the house. I love having a happy little toddler around the house......... makes life interesting!

Shayla Shots

2010-03-15T18:34:00.000-04:00

She is such a little thing, but she makes huge messes.... daily.

Shay's first time licking the beater.

Lysh and I kept the Shay's age nursery last Sunday and there was this little girl, who was about 4, in there with her mom. This little girl just loved the little kids and kept wanting to pick them up. She really liked shayla and asked her mom if she could "pick the baby up". Her mom answered, "She is not a baby, she is a toddler" . . . . . . My little baby girl is not a baby anymore... It makes me sad..................

surgery

2010-03-07T22:08:00.003-05:00

There is my hubby rockin' his "man-purse". lol. At least, that is what he called it. He had a pain pump inserted internally that pumped pain meds right into his shoulder once an hour. He was pain free for the first four days after surgery. The only downfall is that I had to remove the catheter on day four. Let me just say, I could never be a nurse. Saying that it made me squeamish is putting it mildly. But, I love my hubby, and it had to be done.... so I did it.

Hubby is doing great. His surgery was very successful and much smoother than the first one. What a great experience. The first time around was awful. It was such a relief this time. Now we move on to the land of Physical Therapy. I have taken on two new roles.....Physical Therapist and Chauffeur. He cannot drive until he is out of the sling, which will not be for another month and a half. He also has to do his therapy twice a day at home, along with the daily therapy visits to the actual PT office. Fun. So add to my already overflowing day of homeschooling, taking care of a very active toddler, and all my other wifely duties.

This is the stuff life is made of......and life is good. I love that good - looking man up there in that picture. :) And like my mother always says..."This too shall pass..."

How sweet they are................

2010-02-19T21:02:00.007-05:00

What is it with teenager girls and their cameras? Lysh loves to take pics of herself with different poses, different hairstyles, or different ways she does her make-up. This is normal behavior, but it still is so hilarious to me. Somehow, when you get older, you no longer like to see yourself in pictures.....

Isn't she pretty?

This is my big girl feeding herself eggs at her big girl table. This was Lysh's table when she was a toddler... sniff, sniff.

My girls are so sweet. i love to see Shay in just her diapers. That little body is so sweet. I am loving the toddler years. She is like a little sponge, constantly learning and growing. She just went up a clothes size, cause she got taller. ( umm... sniff, sniff.... again.)

Updates..................

2010-02-16T13:26:00.007-05:00

Life is one big roller coaster ride. These past few months have been a series of twists and turns and steep drop offs. I am happy to say that our lives seem to have plateaued out a bit. Here is the latest news in the Sund home...............

Jon was sworn in for three more years in the Coast Guard. It was a gut wrenching decision, we almost got out for good, but the Lord had other plans. We prayed fervently that we would know the right path to take in our lives and HE answered. The decision was actually taken away from us, we HAD to re-up. The reason why we had to sign back up takes me to my next update....

Jon is having revision shoulder surgery. He had surgery last May, but has not gotten any better. In fact, he is in much worse than before. He has been in more pain and finally he went to a different doctor that ran a different test that showed a rotator cuff tear. The worst part is that the first doctor supposedly fixed that, hence the revision, so we are starting from scratch and doing it all over again. yuck! We will be going to Gainesville to have a second surgery on March 3rd. Keep us in your prayers.

Through this up-and-down experience I have felt the Lord teaching and molding me. I have learned some new truths in my life and in my walk with the Lord. The most important thing He was teaching me was perseverance. As I read my Bible and prayed during this time of trial, He kept leading me to these scripture that spoke to my heart and helped to teach me what He wanted me to learn. These times of refining are always so painful, yet when you come through to the other end, you have grown so much. I am always humbled that my Savior loves me so much to continue to use me and touch my life that way. It is just too bad it has to hurt so much to grow..........

Our future is still completely up in the air. As it stands right now one of two things could happen. He could have the surgery, get better, and transfer out in July of this year.
(This is our fourth and last year at this station, so we were set to transfer out.)
or
He could not get completely better and the military could put him on a medical hold and then Med Board him right out of the coast guard, which would take six months to a year to accomplish.

We have no idea what is coming up next, but we are trusting God to lead the way. Me especially with my newly found skill of perseverance. I am not stressed out or worrying anymore. I know the Lord is working in all this. I have seen Him answer so many prayers in the last two or three months. God is so good.

happy valentines day!

2010-02-14T13:39:00.000-05:00

Alysha's 14th birthday

2010-02-06T15:29:00.004-05:00

On Tuesday, February 2nd, my baby girl turned 14. I am still in denial that she could possibly be this old. Where does all the time go? I love this girl! She will kill me for this picture below, but I took it RIGHT AFTER she rolled her lazy butt out of bed on her birthday!

We were in Dothan visiting my family, so we decided to go to Panama City for the day to shop and celebrate. My mommy kept the toddler, so it was ALL about Alysha!

Alysha likes to take pictures of herself. The above pic is of her in the back seat on the way home. She is wearing her new shirt she got from Maurices. She had so much fun in there. She had a personal shopper helping her out. The lady waited on her hand and foot She was quite the princess.
We love this chocolate place! We always get something sweet and good! This time she got blueberry ice cream and it was Delicious!!! (It is called Kilwins)

So we had daddy, who is in the back seat, take a picture right before we pulled out. The birthday girl got to sit up front. Poor daddy in the back....

This picture is all of us at Hunt's restaurant in PC. Alysha wanted crab legs, and this place is very good. I had it one other time and loved it. It is an oyster bar, so daddy had some nasty oysters and Alysha and I split a plate of crab legs. They are alot of work, but So good!!!

Shays first doll

2010-01-24T15:07:00.002-05:00

Shayla got her first doll and she LOVES to feed it! It is so cute to watch her take care of her little baby!

Peek A BOO

2010-01-13T13:15:00.004-05:00

Shayla likes to play in our blinds. It is soooo cute!! First she hides behind them as best as she can. She thinks she is "Invisible".

Then she jumps out and shrieks!!!
Then she stands there and laughs like she did something really great!!!

I love having a little toddler around to keep me entertained.

Happy Birthday Week to me!!

2009-12-20T12:35:00.004-05:00

It is my birthday!!!! I have been celebrating all week.. seriously. My mom and I have this tradition where we give each other about five days of gifts to open the week before the actual birthday. It is small little things, usually stuff I pick up at garage sales, just things I know she loves. The point is not the gifts, but the fun of waking up every morning and opening a present. This year I got some a note card set, a journal, a pampered chef pot, spa set, and the grand finale: Croc Sandals!! Awesome!! The last gift, the ACTUAL birthday gift, is always the "biggie". It is a great tradition and I love it.

Over the years, I have taken it a step further - some might say overboard - and started making myself Princess for the week! This year was no different. It was great! I am pampered and I can get away with pretty much anything..... and I milk it for all its worth. In fact, by the time my birthday comes around, my family tells me "It's OVER tomorrow!" Hahaha. I think they get tired of hearing me say, "but it's my birthday week......". I use it often and alot to get out of doing anything I do not want to do.

So, my husband woke me up Wednesday (the official kick off of this year's b-day week) by singing happy birthday to me before he left for work. He is truly the best! I had something special planned for each day, something to look forward to. I will not list all my goings-on here though. It was a pretty fun week. The best day was Friday, when my friend Randi took me to Ocala to eat and shop. She gave me the greatest gift, which I will use every year. Check out my boa and head piece. The hearts on the head thing say "birthday princess". The thing in my hand is an old persons decision maker. You spin it and it lands on things like, take a nap or dye your hair blue, or drive real slow.... Randi likes to tease me cause I am two years older than her.

It really is alot of fun every year, even though it sounds a little... well... self-indulgent. It would not be at all possible if my family was not willing to pamper me and make a big deal over me. So, I am blessed with a sweet family who lets it be "all about me" for a few days out of the year. (Also thank you to all my friends who called or texted me everyday to tell me Happy Birthday Week... Randi, KDarling, and Nilla... and of course, my mommy!)

O Christmas Tree

2009-12-14T19:06:00.001-05:00

This year we got out our fake tree we have had for a very long time and we decided it had had it. It was pitiful.

So hubby decided to go get a real one this year. I was thinking I would buy another fake one at the end of the season when they are cheap. Look at the difference in the trees!

That sucker is HUGE! Takes up the whole corner. We love it!!!

My girls are so sweet! Shayla LOVES to color. That little table was Alysha's when she was a toddler, I think she may be too big for that chair now. lol!

HAPPY THIANKSGIVING

2009-11-27T19:05:00.002-05:00

This year we smoked a turkey. This was the first time we have done that. It was so juicy and moist!!! GO JON!!!

Shay was still napping.... I am so blessed to have such a wonderful family!!

18 month check up

2009-11-23T15:55:00.007-05:00

Sissy thinks it is funny to put my bra on her and take pictures.

Shayla had her 18 month check up today. She weighs 29 lbs and she is 33 inches long. That puts her in the 95% for weight and the 75% for height. In plain english, that is one BIG baby. They say she is well within normal range and she is healthy. That is all that matters. What a sweet little thing. She also got a shot, the last one til her second birthday. Can my baby really be turning two?? sniff, sniff.

Shay and Friends

2009-11-15T22:12:00.004-05:00

This is my sweet little baby girl and her best friends. Abby Cadaby, Mr Bear, two of her kitties and Minnie is under there somewhere. I don't know where Elmo is, she is probably sitting on him. This is one happy little girl. :)

Sitting in Daddy's chair, hanging out with her best friends. Life is great!

Shayla shots

2009-11-09T22:15:00.004-05:00

This is how Shayla eats her breakfast every morning... with all her friends stuffed in her high chair beside her. She now insists on feeding herself, she will not let me help her at all. She LOVES her little animal friends. Too funny!

18 months old

2009-10-29T16:41:00.002-04:00

SHAY is 18months old today!!! I don't know why, but this seems like a milestone age. It is exciting. She really is a "big girl" - More toddler than baby. I love it. She is super sweet! She gives kisses and hugs on demand. There is nothing sweeter than Shayla Sugar..... Did I mention I love this age? She is speaking alot, still not all of it understandable, but she has a wide vocabulary. It is easy to teach her stuff, she's like a little sponge.

The other day, I put her in the laundry basket and tied a belt to the end. Then I would shout "ready, Go" and pull her. Everytime I would stop I would teach her those two words and by the end of the game she was saying "eeedddyy GO!" It was so fun! Jon taught her how to give a high-five. They learn so quick!

She is also copying what she sees us doing. That can be good, and that can be bad. I was in the kitchen fixing her lunch and I spilled something on the floor. I had a rag already down there, so I used my foot to wipe up the spill with the rag. Shay is just standing beside me. I go back to fixing the food and I see her take her foot and push the rag around over the floor. SOOO CUTE!!

She loves to read. I read her the same books over and over and over again. She loves it! Sometimes she "reads" to me. She will turn the pages and take my hand and rub them over the words and pictures. Toddlers are so smart!!

She is a cuddly baby. She loves her stuffed animals. Every morning, and after every nap, when I go to get her from her crib, she is hugging her three stuffed animals. When I pick her up, we have to get the stuffed animals (Minnie mouse, Pooh, and a teddy bear), and take them with us to the den. It is an armful, but she LOVES them. In fact, every morning while she is eating her cereal, she has them stuffed into her highchair beside her while she eats. She has NO room for herself, but she just smiles and looks at them. They are her little friends. Is your heart just melting yet?

She is still going down for two naps a day, but I think she will soon cut one out. She only sleeps for an hour or less, she stays in there for two hours or more. She sits in there and plays. I listen to her through the monitor. She talks and squeals and laughs. It is soo cute. I need to get a recording of it, I know ten years from now it would make me smile. I love those sweet sounds. It also gives me lots of free time.

PS: HAPPY 29TH BIRTHDAY HILA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LadyBug Shay

2009-10-25T18:38:00.000-04:00

We took shay to a church "Trunk Or Treat" tonight. It was so fun! She is so cute in her ladybug costume. She left her hat thing on the whole time. She had a blast walking around.

My beautiful girls. Alysha wore one of dad's ODU's, just so she would have an outfit. Some of her homeschool friends were gonna be there and they were dressing up too. :) That was the best we could do on short notice.

SWEET!!!

BRACE FACE

2009-10-21T18:40:00.004-04:00

My baby girl has had her braces on for two years............... this week she got them off. Here is her before picture:

Here is a picture of her Brand New four thousand dollar smile. Isn't she pretty? It was a big day! Her teeth look great...as they should for that obscene amount of money they charge. I cannot imagine having lots of kids and lots of braces to pay for. Ouch! She is now living in "Retainer Land". She already hates those things.....

A day at the Park

2009-09-30T17:12:00.007-04:00

This was shayla's first time at the park. She was so cute! She was shy at first, but she warmed up to it!This is Shay and her future boyfriend, Lane. He is three weeks older than her.

Standing at the top of the big kids gym, looking down at mommy.

She had a blast, until the very end, when she fell and hit her face. She cried, but she was not hurt. It was so a fun day.

Shayla's first sprinkler adventure!

2009-09-22T22:15:00.006-04:00

Friday night we decided to have family fun night. We decided to get out the sprinkler toy and see how Shayla liked it. She has a BLAST!! She was so wet and covered with grass and dirt by the time it was over. Sissy got out there in her bathing suit and played with her, while I took pics and daddy controlled the water. :)

Check out those dirty legs.
She just walked around the yard for an hour, laughing and having a good time. She would fall down, and then get right back up and keep walking. She never stopped moving. I hosed her down before we went inside, but the tub was still full of grass and stuff. She had fun getting dirty. (This was Friday two week ago, since mommy and baby have been very sick all last week. I now feel all human again. ) "Firsts" are so fun!

shayla shots

2009-09-04T15:14:00.000-04:00

USCG Day 2009

2009-08-15T21:12:00.007-04:00

This year Jon and one of his other shipmates headed up Coast Guard Day. He did a good job. It was a lot of work and it all turned out really great. There were over 200 people there! This is a pic of Jon presenting a plaque to the previous and current OIC's.

This is a picture of Jon and his current OIC.

Jon giving his speech. He did great!!

My girls, sitting outside under the tent. It was so hot outside! Shay did really good.

MaaaaaaMeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

2009-08-10T12:28:00.002-04:00

Mommy. Shayla says that all the time now. I do love to hear her call me in the sweet little sing song voice.

Shayla loves sheets. When I wash sheets, she gets them out of the clean clothes basket and just lays down on them and sucks her thumb. It is so cute!!!!!!!!!!

She likes to hold it while she sucks her thumb. When she gets tired she will do this with just about anything... a dirty sock on the floor, any cloth she can hug while sucking her thumb. I have given her the pretty little "Lovey" blanket things and she wont hug them.... she prefers Jon's dirty boxers... figures right?

I Love this age. She sits in my lap, she is talking all the time (although unintelligible), she is so sweet. She gives kisses and loves all over ya!! Oh man, I love this sweet girl!!

Walt Disney 2009

2009-08-01T08:27:00.003-04:00

We just got back from a week at Disney. We hit Epcot, MGM, Magic Kingdom and Typhoon Lagoon. It was pretty awesome. Shay stayed with her meemaw and we took my niece CC with us. Those girls had the best time!!!

The high light of the trip for me was meeting Mickey Mouse!! When we finally got into the back room to meet him, I got a little starstruck. I mean, It is is MICKEY!! No joke, I got nervous. It was pretty cool, like meeting a movie star - (except it was some person in a costume.) Jon gave Minnie a kiss and the whole room made the wooooooo sound and mickey put his hand over his mouth, like my hubby was kissing on another woman. It was so funny. So she kicked her foot out in the picture, must've been a good kiss.

The teenagers - looking cool on the way to a park. Aren't they styling?

a little vacation

2009-07-11T16:34:00.006-04:00

This is not a baby anymore.... look at my toddler.
The picture below is shayla in my laundry basket. Alysha tied a belt to it and pillow-ed it up and she pulls shay around in it. so cute!!

I am going on vacation. Well, the girls and I are going to a condo on the beach for a week. Jon is going to California. Of course, he is going to a school for the USCG. Not a vacation for him.

I am going to relax and tan. I am hoping Shay will LOVE the sand.

We will not have internet access.
No checking my email.
No facebook
No blog stalking

whatever shall we do without our technology?

see you next week.......................

My honeymoon weekend - part 1

2009-07-05T22:32:00.008-04:00

FRIDAY:

We headed back to Florida from Alabama.... no kids. I was driving my new-to-me 2005 Ford Freestar that we purchased right before we left (I will blog about that later). Jon in our Honda.
We decided to stop at a few places along 19 that we never get to because we are either in a hurry or because of the kids. First we stopped at Fanning Springs state park. I have always wanted to go there. It costs money, so we just got a map and walked around the Fort Area, but one day I would like to do a family fun day there, swim in the spring and lay out on the "beach". lol.
Then we stopped at this winery I have always wanted to go to. Unfortunately, they had just closed. :( Oh well, at least we tried.

By now it is five o clock and we are hungry. (remember we left late cause I had a hard time leaving the kids... it was lunch time before we left. ) Since we have lived here, there is this restaurant that Jon talks about. Apparently, whenever they get underway, they always stop and eat at this place... it is the Burger House. It is only open weird hours, so it NEVER open when we are traveling by. This time it was!! I was so excited!! I took a pic from the truck.
It was good. It is a little mom and pop h-burger place. Much better than any fast food place could be. Really greasy. Jon and I sat outside on a bench and ate our greasy burgers and fries and had a great time. How relaxing not to have a schedule. No where to but and nothing to do, but enjoy each others company.

We got home after six o-clock. We decided to look up the local fireworks displays and see when they were scheduled. The one in Inverness was that night, so we decided to go. We just got up and went. No diaper bag to pack, no teenager to wait on, just us. We just got in the car and went. It is amazing how I was not worn out from the trip when all I have to worry about is me..... this pic is from my camera phone. pretty good!

Saturday, we got up and went to the first Saturday Festival they have every month in Dunnellon. I have lived here three years and I have always wanted to go and never have. It was really fun, not much to it.... kinda like a big antique yard sale. I did get some great Birthday week presents - cheap. We had a really good time, just walking around holding hands, looking and talking. Then it was off to walmart to buy the food for our dinner. We got steaks, baked potatoes, and the stuff to make a Greek salad. We grilled out for the 4th and really enjoyed an intimate dinner - just us.

Two pieces of turtle cheesecake. Yummo!!

We were sitting down to eat and Jon jumps up and goes to get the camera. He comes back and takes a picture of his food. I just watched and I asked him why he did that. He answered, "For your blog". OOOHH yeah, i got him trained..... for the record, he has never read my blog once. But the sentiment of it touched me because he knows that keeping the blog is important to me. What a sweet man! It really is the small things in marriage that we do for each other that speaks volumes.... don't ya think?

I almost took a picture of my food, just to show the personality differences. My plate WAS NOT pretty. I hulled out my mashed potatoes and mix them all together. I am not all about presentation.... his looked like it does when you are served at a restaurant. That is so funny.

I have really enjoyed our quality time - just us. This is just part one... I will blog Sunday soon... it includes a sea world trip and a Nilla Wafer visit.

PRE - 7 year anniversary honeymoon

2009-07-04T00:10:00.001-04:00

I am home without my babies. It is just me and Jon for a whole five days!! I left them today in alabama with my mommy. It was hands down one of the hardest things I had to do - leave them behind.

Our anniversary is not until August 10th, but this is technically our celebration. Simply because we will not have a babysitter that day. We will celebrate that day as a whole family. This weekend is a private celebration, just Jon and I.

Tonight we went to a fireworks show and tomorrow we will grill out steaks and Jon will make his famous greek salad. :) We are also going to the first saturday festival in Dunnellon - something I have always meant to do since we moved here.

HAPPY FOURTH TO EVERYONE!!!

shay 14 months

2009-06-27T09:19:00.004-04:00

My piggy is growing up so fast!!

She is not a baby anymore, she is a toddler

Some cool things about her are:

1. She walks everywhere now. She is all over the place!

2. She eats the food we eat. This is the awesome. We were traveling to dothan the other day and stopped at Mcd's for food and Shay had her first happy meal. (I know, SO unhealthy!) Still so cool that she can sit at the table and eat whatever I cook or eat.

3. She copies everything ya do. this is good and bad. For example, alysha thought it would be funny to stick her tongue out at her while shay was eating. So, of course, shay sticks her tongue out - with food in her mouth. Bad big sissy. One the other hand - when I feed her something hot, I blow on it first. She copies me and puts her finger near her mouth and "blows", while I do it. Haha!!!

4. She talks and communicates so awesome. She repeats things we say. Alysha hurt herself and said "ouch". So shayla started saying that and repeating "ouch" over and over that whole day. She "sings" with her toys that have music with words. When they sing the alphabet, she "sings" along and it is pretty unintelligible until she hits G. The "G" is perfect.

Ck out that belly.
Shay and Alysha share a room. We have a curtain covering the crib side of the room. That is so Shayla cannot see alysha laying in the bed. Shay will lay in bedfor over an hour playing, but only if she does not see us. Once they see ya, they want out. She managed to get the curtain and poke her head through a hole. hilarious.

One year ago today.....................

2009-06-27T09:18:00.003-04:00

........... I was the passenger in an awful car accident. We were driving along 231, heading back home from a day at PC when a little old lady in her BIG old Cadillac decided to shoot across the street to the median from a side road. Unfortunately, she could not see us because we were in the inside lane.... long story short, the driver expertly swerved to avoid t-boning this lady - which saved her life -and we went for a little joy ride. We went airborne for what seemed like eternity, but in reality was only seconds. We landed on the concrete and the sound of the crunching metal will never leave me, it was awesomely horrific. We proceeded to flip three times and stopped facing oncoming traffic on the opposite side of the road. It sounds like I am talking about a story I heard on the news, not something I lived through. It is surreal. The driver and I are blessed to be alive and with our families, all in one piece.

I will not go into detail about the rest of that awful day because I do not like to relive it. Although there is one memory that always stands out in my head. I am strapped to a stretcher laying in the median and there is a girl holding my hand. She was in the car right behind us and saw the whole thing. We are waiting for the police to use the JAWS to get the driver out, her door was crushed shut. (did you know they actually tape your head down to the stretcher?)Anyway, the girl says to me "Man, you guys were in the air for a LONG TIME." Yeah, we were....

So, here I am in the picture below in my traction unit. What is wrong with me? From that experience I walked away with two bulging discs in my neck and WHIPLASH. I have been in physical therapy this whole year. I have had acupuncture, craniosacrial massage, therapeutic massage and chiropractic care. As of June 1st, they suspended it for two months, to see how I would do.

I learned ..

You have neck muscles that go all the way to the middle of your back. when I say "my neck hurts", I mean all the muscles starting at my shoulder blades and up to my neck, all the muscles on the top of my shoulders and all the muscles in my chest, down to my "tata's". It is awfully painful.
what referred pain is. When they work on my muscles, I have pain in other parts of my body.... referred pain... nice.
whiplash is a real injury. It is an unseen one, so you really get no sympathy. Kinda like a paper cut, it really hurts, but nobody feels sorry for you. I am in pain everyday of my life in one of the many muscles that surround my neck, but because it is not "visible" my family does not really understand. Now, if I had sling or a cast... then that would be something.
It is very easy to re-injure yourself after you get injured. Two or three times I have gotten better only to over-do-it a little and be back in ultimate pain again. Then I have to up my physical therapy to three times a week.... it totally sucks.
I learned how to sit, stand, drive and hold my baby. When you have an injury, your body changes to fit that injury. So I have to constantly think about how I sit, stand and lay. Basically, posture. If I dont sit a certain way, I start to ache after ten minutes. When I go to bed, I sleep on my side with a pillow between my legs and a pillow under my arm. That is all to keep my neck and shoulders in line. When I don't I wake up in the night in terrible pain. I mean, it is a constant thing to think about your alignment, trying to "retrain" your body to adjust itself. But it has become a way of life for me.............

How am I really doing now? Not so good. I am doing therapy at home, that is basically all that happened when they suspended it, cause I am still in pain everyday. Of course, it is nothing like the pain I was in for the first six months after the accident - nowhere near that level. I just HURT in some of those muscles at some point every day. I have three things I can do to relieve it

I use "wet heat". Apparently it is not good to use heating pads.. something I learned in therapy. I have the kind of pad you heat up in the microwave, and it is cloth, so you wet it.
I take a hot shower. That is a quick fix, it really only relaxes my muscles. They tighten up to the point that I just cry sometimes. So, a quick hop in the shower will help.
I get Alysha to massage it. She has become an expert at massaging out the knots. That is my biggest problem and causes all my pain. The KNOTS. Alysha has gotten really good at massaging them out - unfortunately she thinks it is gross. My muscles get so many that it tightens up to the point that I cannot handle the pain. Which is what my therapist always took care of it.
When all else fails, I get in a hot bath. That will relax them even more. But I only do that once a week, it takes to much work.

That is me sitting in the traction unit. It is supposed to pull my neck up so that my discs will pop back in place.

more tubing photos....

2009-06-26T10:36:00.006-04:00

I found some cool photos of us tubing down the river... I did not know jon took these. I forgot he brought the old camera.

This is an otter. I did not enjoy seeing a big animal in the water, really really close to me - harmless or not.... Hey, Hila, do you think it will bite me.... (private joke, but OH SO FUNNY)

That is me in the pink tube, alysha in the green and another little girl that went.
Me and alysha
Jon rode in the boat with his shipmate.

Fun on the River

2009-06-21T15:36:00.001-04:00

As I posted previously, we are trying to make up for lost time and do some of the fun local stuff before we move. So, we got together with one of Jon's shipmates and Jon, Alysha and I went floating down Rainbow river. It is a big thing around here and we have never done it. Sometimes I wonder what in the world we have been doing for the last three years we have been stationed here....

It was fun. It is a four hour float. That is another reason we took the boat, in case we got tired, we could all get in and speed down the river. I really enjoyed it more than I thought I would. It is a clear river, more like a spring. You can see to the bottom. I just lay out on one of the floats, Jon tied me to the boat and floated and suntanned for hours. There is a natural current that just pulls you along, at a nice leisurely pace. After two and a half hours, we got tired so we tied all the floats to the boat and Jon drove us to the exit. We had a blast!!

There were two casualties: Nick ran over his phone, before we even got in the water and Jon took his phone on the boat and it got soaked. (I was the only one with sense, cause I left mine at home.) Still, we had a great time.

This is Jon and his friend Nick tying up all the tubes and floats into Jon's Little jonboat. Jon is still pretty bad off since his shoulder surgery, so he got to ride in the boat, while everyone else floated. :)

This is me and Nick's girlfriend, sitting on the tail gate waiting for the men to get it all tied down.

This is all the girls. Look how tan Alysha and I already are. We look like sisters in this pic!! We took this right before we left.

Traditions and memories of the Nilla/Bean

2009-06-17T16:15:00.002-04:00

On a whim, while Hila was visiting, we decided to get our pics made together, since it had been exactly ten years. What a great new tradition and what a fun memory.

HILA AND JULIE
1999

HILA AND JULIE
2009

Ten years later
we look pretty good
if I do say so myself.
I look really tan (which makes Hila seem Mighty whitey). I think it was the lighting.

Goodbye to Shayla's best friend

2009-06-16T22:07:00.007-04:00

We said goodbye to another of Jon's shipmates. This time it was our really good friends that we hung out with all the time. His wife and I were preggo at the same time and our kids were less than six months apart. This little girl is so sweet!! I just loved her. We really miss those guys. Here are some pics of Shay and Alaina's last time hanging out:

That was Alaina trying to steal Shay's bottle, so Jaime is giving her one.

Check out their matching outfits. That was totally a coincidence. Alaina came over with the outfit on and I told Jaime that Shay had that exact same outfit, so we decided to dress them the same. Fun!!
That is me and Jaime. It is lonely without them here, we had such a good time together.
Jon and Phil. They have been stationed together and in the same section for the last three years. They got stationed in OHIO. This was Jon's best friend here, so it is just not the same. We are ready to transfer out... ...

80's party

2009-06-14T21:42:00.008-04:00

While Hila was here on a visit, we had an 80's party!! It was so fun. As adults, we just do not have fun, for-no-reason parties. It was awesome!

The food was: pizza rolls painted green in honor of TMNT, fig newtons, oreo truffles dyed pink and orange, reese's pieces, charleston chews and some TAB soda. There is also chips, dip and a strombli in the pic, but those are not 80's related, just for sustinence. (FYI - Tab soda is nasty.)

My hubby was dressed up as Mark Harmon from the movie Summer School. His Shipmate was Don Johnson from Miami Vice. HILARIOUS!!
This is Alysha, shayla, Me, Hila and Christy. I think Christy gets the award for the best outfit, but Hila gets the award for best 80's hair - she crimped it!! Ck out Lysh's leg warmers. (you can double click to make it bigger.)
We are the original 80's chicks. Alysha and I went to the Key training centers and bought our out fits for about $6.00 each. Accessories and all. The other couple that came did the same thing. We all really got into this party!! We played the 80's game (in the food pic) and watched Karate Kid. The girls beat the guys in the 80's game. Then we played Apples to Apples until like 1:00 a.m. It was so awesome. The only negative --- the other couple's dog threw up on my floor at the end of the night. Yuck!

A day at the spa

2009-06-09T19:10:00.004-04:00

For mothers day this year, I got a full day at the spa package. It was a "special Princess" package. Special because they changed it up and formatted it to fit me!! It was all Alysha's doing......... she is awesome!! My package included a facial with pore extraction, a spa pedicure, a spa manicure with paraffin dip, shampoo-cut- and style, and Lunch.

First, I had a facial, which I have never done before, but I absolutely LOVED!! I was nervous about the "extraction" part, but I have pretty clear skin so she did not have to work on my face. No little black heads on me... heehee. It lasted an hour and included a massage of my neck and upper shoulders. Wonderfully relaxing.

Next I went to my spa pedicure. It was nice, I have actually had one of these before, but she really took her time and I enjoyed it. Sometimes our feet need some pampering.....

Next I had a manicure. She only got halfway through before she had to stop, cause it was lunch time and my lunch had arrived. They have it catered from a local restaurant. They have a little cafe table set up and they had my food all laid out with place settings and cloth napkins. It was neat, all prepared for me..... the princess.

After I completed my turkey wrap and pasta salad, it was off to finish my spa manicure. First she did my paraffin dip, which was just OK. I did not like it so much. It was HOT. You dip your hand in this hot, hot, hot wax and let it dry(I say hot 3xs cause you dip it three times and each time hurts more than the last.). It dries like a latex glove on your hands. Weird. It was like watching my hands morph into some alien hand. Then they stick your hand in a plastic bag. They then take your plastic bag wrapped hand and put it in a soft cloth fingerless glove. So your sitting there like flipper... haha. Like I said, it was just O.K. It peeled right off after ten minutes and it made your hand slimy. Anyway, she finished my manicure and sent me on to the next department - my hairdo.

My hairstylist was awesome! She shampooed me and then gave me a scalp massage. I got sorta a new cut. She gave me lots of layers and side bangs. Basically she left it all long and layered it up! Here is a pic:

:) That is shayla after sissy put it up in a bunch of different pony tails.

This is me. Not a great pic. Doesn't really show my hair that great, but that is all I have uploaded. oh well....

How does your garden grow?

2009-05-26T13:46:00.006-04:00

I planted all Annuals this year in my three little bed I have out back. I LOVE gardening!! Before Shayla I would be out there all the time. Now I just do not have the time to do it. I have definitely been blessed with a green thumb, like my aunt sara.

This is Jon's watermelon he planted. They are growing nicely!

GLOW ceremony

2009-05-24T22:01:00.000-04:00

This is Alysha's end of the year ceremony for her GLOW group. She got ten pins this year for her sash. What an awesome job, lysh!!

my one year old - The Monkey Pig

2009-05-21T14:13:00.004-04:00

Shayla is an amazing little thing. She loves to laugh! Sissy can make her laugh out loud. Some new a cool things about her are:

She has eight teeth - 4 on top and 4 on bottom. Unfortunately she has started biting. Not hard, but just chomping on stuff, including us. haha. She also started grinding her teeth. Awful noise, but what can I do about that?

She is "walking" all over the place-- -- ON HER KNEES. She just goes all over the place on her knees. She does not even crawl that much anymore. How funny. I am so used to seeing it, it does not phase me. When I take her to the nursery the women always say how funny it looks. It is hilarious to watch apparently. I firmly believe she is just too lazy to get on her feet.

She is talking pretty good. When she sees Jon she says daddy. (it comes out daaadeeeee). She says momma, but only when she is upset and crying. She says hey/hi ALOT. She has play phones she puts up to her ear and says HI. She wakes up cooing in the morning and I can hear her thru the monitor saying HEY! When I go get her, I open the door and she is standing looking over the rail at the door, waiting for me. Of course, she says HEY again when she sees me, toooo hilarious! (Jon claims she said "hey daddy" one day, but that has not been confirmed.)

She LOVES to read. Her favorite book is the Ten Wriggly Wiggly Caterpillars. It has pop ups and everything. We have a nice nighttime routine where I read with her then lay her down. She is so sweet.

She still hates the car seat. She does not do well, even on short jaunts to town. Makes going places rough for mommy, just cause I do not like to hear her whine or fuss.

She will not eat her veggies. Peas are the only thing I can get her to eat. Kdarling gave me the great idea to put sugar on the sweet potatoes and I did manage to get her to eat those. Although I will say I have taken alot of flack for doing that even though it really did work. (who wouldn't like veggies dipped in sugar?) In my defense I put only a little bit, and I always say "Kristy told me too". So, Kdarling, you are in trouble with my mommy. hee hee. She did eat some collard greens at Aunt Grits house this weekend, that was cool. She loves fruit, especially bananas. She can eat a whole banana in one sitting - which is where the MONKEYPIG nickname came into play.

I put her in the pool this weekend and she loved it. I got a baby Kruiser float that had a top and she just sat in there and chilled out for an hour. She did not mind the cold water at all.

just because

2009-05-11T21:54:00.000-04:00

A week before mothers day, I got some beautiful flowers. I love flowers that are "just because". I don't want flowers on valentines day or any 'commercial' holidays. I think they mean more when they are for no other reason than I love you and appreciate you. *(disclaimer: I got these the day before my hubby was scheduled to have surgery. When he is facing going under the knife he tends to get sentimental. He thinks he is close to death so he gave me flowers. )

my sweet angel

2009-05-07T16:58:00.000-04:00

SHAYLA'S FIRST BIRTHDAY PARTY

2009-05-03T13:05:00.004-04:00

Shay had a great time at her birthday party. The theme was butterflies. She loved her new toys.

She liked to tear the paper off the present in little pieces. It was cute. She would start playing with the new toy and not want to watch us open more. lol.
She had her own little piece of cake. She really did not like eating it herself. She sorta smooshed it in her hands. She LOVED it when we would feed her some, she would not put it in her mouth herself. Everytime we would give her a piece she would smile really big!!

Shayla's best friend Alaina came to her party. This little girl is six months old. She is super cute!!

Alysha and I made a cake in the shape of purple butterfly. It turned out really good and was amazingly easy. I priced 1/4 sheet cakes and they were 30$. This cost me $6.00.

2009-04-30T22:59:00.002-04:00

HAPPY

BIRTHDAY

SHAYLA!!!

*Pictures are forthcoming..........

shay walking with her toy

2009-04-28T12:06:00.004-04:00

More Firsts

2009-04-28T09:00:00.001-04:00

Shay took five steps yesterday!! She did it a few times, it was soooo neat.
She just stood up by herself and walked!!

For the first time yesterday morning she crawled over and picked out her favorite book and brought it to me to read!!
How sweet.
That baby loves to be read to.

Random updates

2009-04-24T16:48:00.007-04:00

First let me say, ELKA - You are hilarious!! Thank you for my numerous comments. Beef Jerky made me laugh out loud!! (you have to read my comments on previous post to understand). One day, you, me and the Nilla will have to hang out.

Shayla took 3 steps. It was awesome. She has not walked again, but she did that over and over two nights ago.

My Baby girl will be one next week! I took her for her one year pics this week. I wanted her pic with the big ONE - unfortunately they did not have a big ONE, the had a little bitty 1 that they sat beside her. Oh well....

Speaking of pictures - These places are a racket. I went in there chanting my promise to myself. "I will only buy the 10.00 package, I will only buy the 10.00 package......." Of course, I bought a little more. They know they are gonna get ya, that is why they take so many pics. There is always one or two you just cannot pass up!! Shayla was in a BAD mood that day, but the girl still managed to get 16 good shots.

Nilla is coming to town and we are going to see NKOTB in concert. LOL. That is right, New Kids. How hilarious is that? I can't wait. I am taking Alysha too. This will be her first concert ever. I remember my first concert, it was Richard Marx. Great memories.

I took one of those email questionnaire's this week and there was one question that struck me. It was "How are U today". The girl who sent it to me answered, "fat". I did not think that was what it was asking, so I answered "fabulous". The next person I sent it too answered it "fabulous and fat". Hil-a-rious!

Speaking of fat... I do not feel fat, all my clothes fit great, BUT, when I see pictures of myself I look like a porker. Is my mirror lying to me?? I like what I see in the mirror, but not what I see in pictures.. Of course, I can always stand to lose a few pounds. Actually, I still need to lose five to be at my Pre-pregnancy weight.

Homeschooling is almost over for the year. I like this time of year, when it all winds down. Summer is just around the bend. Next year is 9th, high school. I am nervous about it, since I am going into new territory.

life in the sunshine

2009-04-13T13:35:00.003-04:00

I am on vacation. The USCG sent Jon to Honda School and we got to come along for free. A fabulously free vacation - courtesy of the military. I am sitting in my Hilton hotel room, relaxing. That's right, The Hilton. The CG gives us a certain amount of money for hotel room and food. Normally, I would choose a nice, cheaper hotel so that we would make money on the trip --- Not this time. I picked a very pricey 4 star hotel. Why? Because I am worth it!! We are always saving and cutting corners and doing the "right thing". This time, if we use all the money and make nothing.... who cares? This time, I was not going to do the responsible thing and go cheap.

We have a one bedroom suite right on I-Drive. It has hardwood floors and granite countertops. It has a state of the art fitness center, a huge heated pool and a free breakfast that makes golden corral look bad. During the week it has a free "light" meal and free wine from 5 - 7:00! I will have to go check that out today and see what that is all about. It is even has grocery service. You leave your grocery list at the front desk before 9:00 and they will buy them for you and have them in your room by 6:00 that night - for free. (you pay for the groceries, from publix) It is a home away from home. I love it. It is like a little apartment, it has it all. Oh, it also has two plasma screen tv's, one in the den, one in the bedroom.

We got here yesterday and Shay loves it. She crawled all over the place and inspected the room. There is not a coffee table, but a leather ottoman, which is great for a baby cause she can play on it. There is not alot she can get into, so i am not having to say NO all the time. Today we got up and hit the breakfast, the girls and I. (Jon is at school, he leaves early). Then we came back to the room and relaxed till shay's nap. Alysha and I napped while Shay did... because we are on vacation.... woohoo. I love to nap.

When shay got up, we all dressed in our swim suits and hit the pool. The cool thing about staying on I-drive is that all the people here are going to the parks. Even though the hotel is at full capacity, the pool is almost empty during the day. Since the pool is heated, I took shay in with me. She LOVED it. She splashed and laughed. At one point I accidentially dipped her head underwater, she got a little water in her nose. lol. It was her fault, she bit me!!

After we got tired of the water, we came back up to the 'apt' and I put shay down for nap number 2 of the day. As soon as she awakens, we will walk down I-drive to one of the 100 restaurants that are within walking distance and go eat something fabulous, since we get eating money from the CG.

This is pretty much how our days are going to go this week. lysh and I are planning to hit the fitness center in the afternoons, when jon is here. It is not a safe place for a baby that is on the go. Of course, we will go out to eat with the hubby every night. We plan to shop at all the different malls and outlets, cause there are a few, and basically see all there is to see in O-town. I would never live here, but it is a great place to vacation.

visiting family

2009-04-11T18:05:00.005-04:00

We went last weekend to my Aunt Sarah's house, just the girls and I. Shay had a blast. I put her toys and a blanket out there and she played while I tanned.

I bought a baby boat to put her in because the water was still too cold for her to touch. She liked it. Sissy pulled her around and around the pool in her little boat.

She got really relaxed while lysh was pulling her around and just layed back in the boat. It was so sweet.

At one point, she even closed her eyes.

Doesn't that look heavenly?? Complete relaxation.................................

11 months old

2009-03-30T21:07:00.004-04:00

We had baby dedication at church and this is the morning before we left.

Today Shayla is one month away from turning ONE! Wow! Sometimes it seems like it is just flying by! She is doing so much that it is hard to keep up! She is eating real food. She likes to chew, no more pureed stuff. I can pretty much feed her whatever I cook. She takes less formula, which is good.

She can communicate really well. She says momma and daddy. She is making other words too, which is so cool. It is awesome to watch her learn. She copies what you do, you can teach her stuff! Babies go through so much change in the first year, it just amazes me!

strawberry festival

2009-03-14T21:26:00.005-04:00

This year we went to the Strawberry festival in Floral City. We were not impressed. It was fair food and vendors. It was seriously CRAMMED with people. There are not rides at this one, so it was boring for the teenager. But, daddy was there, representing the USCG and that is why we went.
It was hot. The baby actually sweat out there. She did good though, she did not cry.

Here is daddy in his element. He is talking. That boy loves to talk. He was there to just answer questions about the coast guard and he loved it. The Number ONE question he got - Does the boat right itself? He said if he had to answer that one again he would scream. (In case your curious, the answer is NO. There are USCG boats that do, but not at his station.)
My pretty girls. We are sitting on the ground in what little bit of ground there is not covered with people. Yikes that place was packed.

GIRLS NIGHT OUT

2009-03-06T19:51:00.005-05:00

Alysha and I went out for a girls night. (Jon kept ShayShay.) We went to Ocala and had a blast, just the two of us. We found this dress for shay on the clearance rack, it is gorgeous! (Notice the matching hair thing I just had to buy, it was also on sale..... Now she just needs some black shoes....)

We did some shopping and then had dinner at Sam's. Yeah- Sam's the warehouse. They have the BEST pizza and it is super cheap. (two HUGE slices and a BIG coke is $4.65) We had a blast.

Day trip - Cedar Key

2009-03-02T11:15:00.008-05:00

We have decided, since we are looking at just one year left here, we need to see the sites. So, we took a day trip last weekend and went to Cedar Key. It is about an hour from where we are. Not much there, just a little touristy place, but it was fun. It was really quaint, all the buildings were neat to look at. Jon actually goes here all the time, the CG launches their boats there alot.

Hila, this is a pic of the library, just for you. :)

Jon wants to go to Kennedy Space center before we leave. I have heard that there is a neat little Greek district down in Tarpon Springs that is cool also. We definitely wanna see the area before we leave it. :)