Back To The Lands Of Heat And Humidity.

So, we're moving again...

And not even to somewhere remotely awesome. Sigh. I've been dragging my feet on posting about this. You know. Because I might have been thinking, I'll wake up one morning and, it'll all be a dream? Yeah right... I hate it, because this goes against my usually positive self, but I fight a dreaded state of being at least once a week from this and I probably ask the hubby once a week if there isn't ANNNNNNY way we can get out of these orders. Sigh. But alas, we have orders in hand and so. We're moving. I know nothing about Louisiana, other than Duck Dynasty hails from it's swampy, hot, humid depths. WHICH, does give the state a bit of appeal :)  

I can't even think about how much I LOVE our current duty station, town, house and surroundings without being heart broken. We hadn't been in our new home more then 2 days when R got the news. I mean, seventy percent of our boxes remained packed still and we barely had the cable turned on! Any plans I had to Pinterest DIY projects for our new home? Gone. Talk about total buzz kill for nesting and unpacking. Sheesh.  

But, contrary to what I've said above, I've actually made 90 percent peace with the move...Even though I've come across like I'm upset and whining, my hearts just not in the whole "woe is me mode" anymore. That is until I talk with others who are going to places like Hawaii and Germany, ha! But honestly, we've had a few months to be sad, upset, dreadful and sad again so I'm over it. Most days. I think back on our first year in Washington and remember how unhappy I was with a lot of things here too. Obviously that has changed, as I've adapted, gave it a chance and made the unfamiliar, familiar. The same will happen at Ft. Polk too. I know it. 

 This move does mean good things for R's career though. He'll most likely pick up his E-8 as well as be non-deployable for the time we're there. Hello relief! Especially with this whole Syria business unraveling. I'm also happy, because this means I'll be a lot closer to my family. Still a 12 hour drive, but so much more do-able then the many miles apart we are, currently. There isn't anything around us at Polk, really, but if we're willing to drive 1-4 hours we can be in places like New Orleans, Houston, Lake Charles and Baton Rouge. I've always wanted to visit New Orleans and I hear Lake Charles is pretty neat so I can get excited for some road tripping and sight seeing! 

Those three years will be pretty quiet for us, it sounds like too. R will be home a lot (so we hear) and be working sham-tastic hours. So we're looking forward to just focusing on our little family, maybe consider adding to our family (no excitement from family just yet because we are still torn on this) as well as buckle down and knock out some serious undergrad credits. I've managed to find a few good groups on Facebook already which have been so helpful. I have to say, I've been blown away with the women on those pages! They seem so real, genuine, very low drama and very eager to meet new friends. I haven't really come cross that a lot in our other two duty stations. It could be the lack of going on's that makes everyone approachable and friendly, but either way, I don't care! R and I are horrible about making friends and staying connected, so Polk seems perfectly receptive for us to work on that. 

 January 2014, we'll be in our new state of residence and hopefully, pleasantly surprised and happy! Feel free to offer up any input if you've ever visited or lived in Louisiana or was ever stationed at Polk! Or well wishes and general "your going to love it" comments work too ;)

P.S If you love my photoshop skills here, let me know and I'll give you the awesome free template I found of the map. I dissected it quite a bit, for this post, but it comes with so much; originally an "Oh The Places We've Lived" template. Being military, I KNOW I'll be using it again and again. Let me know!      

8 Months

 Happy 8 months & 1 week SugarCube! 

It's hard to believe that 8 months & 1 week has passed, already, since I held you for the first time. You were such a tiny, soft and beautiful angel baby; snuggled deep in my shaking new mommy arms. And now you're all wiggles, giggles and "let me explore mom!" 

I couldn't believe it then and I still can't believe it now; what a blessing daddy and I were given all those months ago. The day you entered our world and we truly became your parents, was the best day of your mama's life SugarCube!

You remain to be the sweetest and most loving baby  ♥ Daddy and I say all the time what a good kid we have. And we mean it! You hardly cry. You rarely whine except when your REALLY REALLY tired which usually means mama missed your attempted signals. You go to sleep with a smile on your face and you wake with an even brighter disposition. Your such a tough baby too. Full of curiosity and life!

Your puppies and kitty remain to be your steady source of grins and giggles. It never fails. As soon as you wake, your focused on finding those furry pals and chasing after them. They're not so sure about you these days though, now that your crawling and able to corner them. A lot like last night at dinner! You had them corralled really well baby girl!

Piper (your brown puppy) loves to lick your face and fingers which has ruminates of your latest snack or meal, no doubt. And Bella (your white puppy) just stares at you with this look of uncertainty while sniffing your face. Which you then counter with a lick to her nose before mommy can stop you! And Peanut (your kitty) well he tries to steer clear of you most days. But occasionally he'll allow you to get close where he can paw your quick lil' hands. He's good about keeping the claws retracted though so I think that means he secretly likes you;)
   

And you made a new friend this week! 

Daddy brought home this lil' guy and you named him Roscoe. He's going to take daddy's place for the 9 months your papa's deployed and go with us EVERYWHERE! You already love Roscoe a lot which makes us smile so big:)  

I don't have your weight and height updates this time SugarCube. Mommy got a bit behind on scheduling your appointment so we won't know how big and healthy your getting until closer to your 9th month. That will be sometime, right before our big move to Arizona! However, I can tell you're gaining weight because the waist in your pants are fitting more snug and you've moved up to size 4 diapers! Daddy's also made comments about seeing more chunk in your thighs which I agree. This makes me happy because you've always been so petite. I'd love for your weight to finally be above the low teen's at your next appointment! Either way, your still so perfect!

Your favorite place to explore, these days, is your nursery and I love it! Mommy put a lot of love and time into creating the perfect little baby room. It makes me happy that you're able to enjoy it and even like it! You love your bookshelf because it holds the "bow and ribbon" basket which you dump on a hourly basis. You've also discovered your cow humidifier and frequently pull up on it. WHICH REMINDS ME! That is your newest milestone SugarCube! How could I miss that! You've been pulling up on most EVERYTHING that's waist level. Like the packed boxes around the house, or a laundry basket and mommy's knees while she's sitting on the floor reading you books:)

So lets see...You have your favorite pet (peanut because he's a little guy like you I think)  and your favorite room but you have favorite activities too! You LOVE when mommy takes you for walks in the BOB...

Which ultimately ends at the local park where we swing in the baby swing. You weren't so sure about the swing at first but now you love it! We're still working on the slide;)

You're favorite person is STILL your daddy. And I still love watching every minute of it! He comes home from work and you immediately light up. Over the weekend you learned to give hugs (which I have yet to receive) and play the kissing game which melts daddy's heart:) You were lying in bed with us watching Polar Express (mommy and daddy were trying to get a few more minutes of sleep while you thrashed and cooed. But who were we kidding. That wasn't going to happen) when you started planting wet open mouth kisses on daddy's cheek!! Mommy, of course, squealed in delight which made you want to do it all the more;)

We sure are going to miss that guy! But mommy has lots of plans for the time he's away baby girl. For starters, we're going on a BIG road trip with your puppies and kitty and Auntie Suzi to live with your Grammy and Grandpa "G" in Phoenix. From there you'll get to celebrate your first Thanksgiving and Christmas (SO EXCITED!)  and of course the big one. YOUR FIRST BIRTHDAY! Which, sadly isn't too far away! I've already started thinking about your cake, decorations and birthday theme;) We'll take many sunny shine shine walks, read books, play with toys, Skype with daddy, visit Auntie Suzi in Flag Staff and your Auntie Mary in Las Vegas! We're going to fly back to mommy's home in Tennessee so you can meet your other grandma and grandpa (my parents) and all your other aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews! There's a lot;) You're going to make new baby friends too because mommy plans on enrolling you in song and dance classes. And I'm sure you'll find your way in daycare a few times so mommy can get her sweat on;) Those are always good place to make friends! So you see. We're going to be VERY busy SugarCube but we'll have a lot of fun!

We sure do love you SugarCube and are so enjoying your cute lil' baby self and sweet smiles. How about working on some kisses and hugs for mama this month. K? Oh and saying "dada or daddy" before daddy leaves would be great too. But no pressure! :)

Love,    

Mama & Dada

Mumble Mumble, Deployment Rumbles

I feel there is SOOOOOO much I could blog about these days, that it gets truly overwhelming! So instead of dumping on the ol' blog and using it for it's purpose, I don't. ha!

I blame life right now. Which is seriously coming at us all too fast these days.
I feel like I'm living in a bubble of denial because if I don't, I'd barely have time to sneak a breath of air!

I've mentioned the rumblings of a deployment on here before but since it's officially upon us and (no seriously. I can feel it combing the hairs on the back of my neck, as it passes)  I'm more then feeling the effects of it: stress, anxiety, lack of sleep,  emotionally wanting to spend and then there's the obvious 1,000 moments of neediness I experience in a day. You know what I'm talking about ladies. "Honey, I need a hug, a kiss, a foot rub. Can we snuggle? Pillow talk? Do you love me? Do I make you happy?" Crazy laughter, then crying, then eating...Must I go on! Phew...Poor hubby!

I'm really trying to not allow my anxiety to over run what little time we've left, but it's hard y'all! Everyday I take mental pictures of my lovers smile, laughter, presence in our home and the feel of him sleeping in our bed but even those things send me into a UGLY-SAPPY-SAD mess...

 That's why, it's probably a good thing, the decision was made for SugarCube and I to move in with R's folks, in Arizona. I was going to be all independent and tough and stay. We have a nice house (rental) in a cute but large neighborhood (so excited for Halloween) that I could really see myself making a go of it here. But, I haven't made that many friends in a year (I'm so bad about that) and being a stay at home mom with no "responsibilities" or excitement to pass the time, didn't make it ideal to stay. However, I could have and would have found a way to spice up our life and pass the time, i.e go back to work part-time, join a gym, take a college class etc... However, it really came down to finances and R's peace of mind that his girls would be taken care of.

It's not all about the money, although we will save a TON and basically be debt free in 9 months. I really am excited! I get along GREAT with my in-laws. They are seriously the best people and I'm so blessed to have them. I also love my sister in-law. She's really out going and fun. The perfect pal for a time when I'll need distractions:) But the biggest perk is, I'm over the moon excited for SugarCube to have her Grammy G, Grampa G and Aunt Suzi so near. I loved growing up with my grand-parents down the walk, so if I can give that to Alyssa, I want to. Even if it is for a short time.

So! We're moving!

Bring on the boxes, packing tape, utter craziness of an 8 month old, 2 large dogs, a cat and of course, the 1400 mile road trip! Did I mention I'm doing this sans hubby? The only thing we're packing before he leaves is his garage. The rest of the house is mine. I guess I'll be earning my mil-spouse wings in true fashion!

Here's to the next year of more big changes, new adventures and stronger relationships.

CHEERS!

1 Month

Please shed a tear with me as I type "My Sugarcube is one month old!" Call me bias but isn't she just Gorg!

story time with mommy

In addition to being a month old, she's also taking pictures with her eyes wide open now!!! Everything about her is changing so fast and I don't think I'm ready for it...Sigh...

I love just watching her sleep

But she is doing wonderful and growing like a weed! So I guess that means I'm doing something right:)
I'm also super proud to say that we made it a whole month breastfeeding! I was completely prepared to exclusively pump and bottle feed if things went south, which I had convinced myself it would. But nope! I bonded with it right a way, after Sugarcube got over her sucking issues that is, and we've been trucking right a long ever since.

 I'm so glad I made the decision to at least give it a try because it's been a wonderful experience. I thank God for that huge blessing--- Sugarcube LOVES to nurse and it makes me feel extra good inside knowing that I'm doing the best for her that I can...I'm not talking negatively AT ALL about formula fed babies here. Baby girl would have been rockin the formula if this hadn't panned out! I'm just personally glad that it worked out for us and that we didn't have to spend bukoo bucks on that over priced cows milk. My husband and I do not have a money tree growing out back, ya know!

Other than rockin the BF'ing scene, Sugarcube and I are just hanging out, bonding and I'M trying to glimpse some form of a daily pattern so I can plan errands, etc.
So far, it's hit or miss---Some days I get a lot done because she's on a (eat every 2.5 hours, change diaper, sleep schedule) but most days I do a whole lot of nothing because she cluster feeds a lot and LOVES to be held close...I don't mind most days--- except when self imposed pressure gets the better of me. You know those days where laundry is PILING high, the dust in your house could be seen from a satellite in space and a home cooked meal hasn't hit your table for days...Yeah, those are the days where I might have whined just a little about not getting anything done;)

In other news, we're moving!!! I wish we were moving to another duty station. Particularly a duty station with lots of sunshine but no...We are moving to another house! Our current land lady is wanting to put this house on the market this Spring so we're trying to be out by April 1st. Doesn't leave much time! We knew about the eviction---I was trying to do the right thing when we got here last August, informing our future landlord of R's deployment taking place, like now, resulting in a 9 month lease... However, he got moved to a different unit when we arrived so that deployment was pushed off towards this fall...So the lease is ending and we're moving--- And then we're moving again once he does deploy but that's a post for another time.
  I have a few homes we're looking at. The one is just PERFECT so we'll see if we get it! This means I'll finally have an extra room for Sugarcubes nursery!!! What plans I have already:) Can't wait to post details and pictures!

Tomorrow is Weigh In Wednesday but I won't be weighing in. I did TERRIBLE this week. I'll be the first to admit it...I had way too many sweet things and not enough exercise. Kind of really disappointed in myself:( However, R and I have been talking. We both have fitness and weight goals right now so we are going to get tough and help one another out! Right after I get cleared for regular exercise, in less than 2 weeks, I'm bringing P90X back baby!!! I used to do this program back in Georgia and LOVED it; it's a smoker! Just what I need:)
So instead of weighing in tomorrow, tomorrow I'm starting over! Don't you just hate the initial uphill struggle of weight loss...Once I have a good 2 weeks under my belt, I'm a golden goose! But until then, everyday, potential failure is lurking---

 I'm really sorry for the lack of commenting these days...I'm still adjusting and probably will be for sometime---Just know that I do read about your lives as much as I can and for those that still comment on my blog, I read each and every comment! I might not be replying personally through email as much but know that I cherish you taking the time to respond through encouraging, kind words!!!

P.S So excited for Jenn, Bonnie, Sarah, and Roxy's little bundles to arrive! Looking everyday for those baby updates:)

You're Appreciated!

Hello blog land!

This is going to be quick, but wanted to drop in and say hello to all my followers, new and old! It continues to amaze me how people like what I write and, more so, that ya'll stick with me through my long absences! Ya'll make me smile, truly, and are very appreciated!!!



Life here in Georgia has been hectic and not so fun this past week...I don't really want to say much because I'd love to write a decent post on it and get feedback from you all...You all take the time to really search yourselves and give good advise so I can't wait to get it posted and live for your reading! More to come...



I mentioned sometime ago that the hubz and I are wanting to rent a house for the remainder of our time here....After two months of hard looking I think I've found the place! We dropped off our application yesterday and are waiting for the green light...So pray we get it!

Exciting news here! One of my older sisters who I'm very close to is moving down here! We've had this in the works for severel weeks and its finally coming together...This is another reason for the house...She is moving in with R and I and we couldn't be happier! R likes it because I'll have someone for the next year while he is off playing big bad drill sgt:p I love it because I miss my family so much! It will be nice to have a sister with me:)

Also, I know this is very late, but I wanted to wish all of you mothers out there a very happy belated mothers day! I hope it was a relaxing and beautiful day full of being appreciated!

I'm going to try and write a few more posts before things get crazy with moving, but if not, definitely expect to hear from me in three to four weeks after we're in our new place!

Caio!