HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!!!
Today is my 33rd birthday. I can’t believe it. And oh what a frustrating day it has been!! We had an appt to look at one house at 12 noon so we went out to check it out. It was a decent house with plenty of room but it was a ways out from the base and it needed work. The lady said the family that had it before did a number to it and you could tell. It needs new carpeting for sure and so minor improvements. We are not jumping on it yet because we still have a few more to look at but it is not off our list.
We also went to a few realtors today and that was such a headache. Basically they all told us that because we are here more than 30 days before we want to occupy a home, we wouldn’t be able to find one. I don’t understand how they can’t project which houses they will have available and which ones they won’t. They each said “It is so nice to have someone actually use their house hunting leave but you are here too early”. We looked at 2 houses but they were so small. The houses here are really tiny….ugh!! By the time it was time to head back to the room, the kids fell asleep in the car so Lee and I decided to drive around some and see what we could find. It is going to be so weird to live here and not have things right there available to me.
For my birthday, the kids gave me a pair of earrings with my birth stone and Lee decided to give me money so I can buy what I want. I am going to put it toward a new cell phone since I need one bad. I wanted to go to a seafood restaurant for my dinner but the good ones were all a bit of a drive so we ended up at Red Lobster. HUGE MISTAKE!!! The food as not good and way overpriced!!! I was so annoyed by the time we left. We stopped and picked up some cupcakes so I could at least have some cake for my special day and then headed back to the room.
It has been one of those days that I just want to end so I am going to try to sleep since the kids are both passed out. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day!!!
Lesson(s) learned: Don’t go to a chain restaurant just because it is easier. You don’t always get what you pay for!!!
Just because you are doing the right thing, doesn’t mean it will be the easiest thing.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
House Hunting Trip Day #2
We made it to North Carolina!!! WOOOOO HOOOOO!!! I forgot how much of a culture shock this is going to be once we move down here. Everything is sooooo spread out. We got up this morning and hit the road early. Of course we got here early and couldn’t check into our room until 3pm. So we drove around and checked things out. Then once we got settled into our room, we went to Wal-mart and got a few things for the week and went to drive past a few houses on our list.
Our room is actually pretty nice. I was a little afraid when I made the reservation because it is the Staff NCO TEQ but it is a suite which is really nice and it suits us perfectly. Noah has his own little bed to sleep on (a pull-out love seat) and we brought Jordan’s pack and play. We are right on the water here too so we went for a walk tonight and showed Noah all the things he doesn’t get to see living in Chicago. I think the most exciting part for him though was seeing the helicopters flying and doing ops. He loved it!!
Well time for bed, tomorrow is a very busy day!!!
Lesson(s) learned: Don’t prejudge some place just because of your preconceived notions.
Don’t leave too early if you only have a short way to drive or you may end up having to entertain yourself before you can check in your room.
Our room is actually pretty nice. I was a little afraid when I made the reservation because it is the Staff NCO TEQ but it is a suite which is really nice and it suits us perfectly. Noah has his own little bed to sleep on (a pull-out love seat) and we brought Jordan’s pack and play. We are right on the water here too so we went for a walk tonight and showed Noah all the things he doesn’t get to see living in Chicago. I think the most exciting part for him though was seeing the helicopters flying and doing ops. He loved it!!
Well time for bed, tomorrow is a very busy day!!!
Lesson(s) learned: Don’t prejudge some place just because of your preconceived notions.
Don’t leave too early if you only have a short way to drive or you may end up having to entertain yourself before you can check in your room.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
House Hunting Trip Day #1
Well we are finally on house hunting leave. I can’t believe it. We left this morning at about 7:15. The original plan was to leave by 5 but Lee turned off the alarms. Thankfully Noah is an early riser or who knows when we would have left. We made it about 650 miles before we stopped in Princeton WV which is right on the border of WV and VA. The hotels here are so expensive and it took us a little bit to find one that was reasonably priced. Once we found a place, we went to dinner at Cracker Barrel and then came back to the hotel to take advantage of the indoor pool. It was nice to play in the water as a family and let the kids burn off some energy.
The drive overall was pretty uneventful. I packed breakfast and lunch so we ate breakfast in the car. After a bit and once the kids got a little fussy, we stopped at a rest area and let the kids run around while we ate lunch. They needed to stretch their legs and not be cooped up. That was the best decision we ever made and we will definitely do it again when we come back down for the final move.
At the end of every day, I am going to write out what lessons I have learned from this trip (if any) mainly for my memory but also for anyone else who may be planning an extended trip any time soon. Also, since I don't have internet access, I am going to draft these and have to publish them all at once when we get home.
Lesson(s) learned: Plan where we are going to stop before we even leave and make a reservation online since it is usually cheaper.
Make sure we pack our traveling meals again. It really helped!!
Helping Daddy plan the route...
Sleeping travelers
The drive overall was pretty uneventful. I packed breakfast and lunch so we ate breakfast in the car. After a bit and once the kids got a little fussy, we stopped at a rest area and let the kids run around while we ate lunch. They needed to stretch their legs and not be cooped up. That was the best decision we ever made and we will definitely do it again when we come back down for the final move.
At the end of every day, I am going to write out what lessons I have learned from this trip (if any) mainly for my memory but also for anyone else who may be planning an extended trip any time soon. Also, since I don't have internet access, I am going to draft these and have to publish them all at once when we get home.
Lesson(s) learned: Plan where we are going to stop before we even leave and make a reservation online since it is usually cheaper.
Make sure we pack our traveling meals again. It really helped!!
Helping Daddy plan the route...
Sleeping travelers
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Bittersweet
Did you ever notice how for every great moment, there is always bad one right around the corner? It doesn't have to be bad bad but it could be sad bad. Well we had one of those times this weekend. It started as a wonderful weekend....
Friday night, I opted out of girls night out because Noah wasn't feeling too well and was clinging pretty bad to me. So we decided to have a Family Movie night. We popped some popcorn and watch Wizard of Oz. Noah loved it!!! I was a little worried about him maybe being afaird of the witch but he loved it all and has even asked to watch it again.
On Saturday, we went to the Meet and Greet picnic for the new Chief selects. It was a lot of fun and the kids had a blast. Last year, when we went, it was miserable hot. This year, it was so nice out, perfect picnic weather. Noah played in the bounce house, on the swings and with the other kids there. Then they went on their first pony ride. They both loved it. I was afraid Jordan wouldn't but she was squealing with delight while she was riding!!!
Noah riding the pony
Jordan riding the pony
Noah loving it!!
After the picnic, we went home for a little nap time. Then when the kids woke up, we were off to Chuck E. Cheese. Noah earned the visit by pooping on the potty. They had so much fun playing the games and watching Chuck E. on the stage. Jordan loved playing skee ball and we couldn't get Noah out of the tunnels and slide. He also wanted to play the Virtual Bowling game all the time. It was a great night and we were there for almost 3 hours!!
Noah playing bowling
Jordie playing skee ball
Sunday was our sad day. I finally had an inquiry about Jade and arranged for the gentleman to come meet her. Well he came and fell in love with her immediately. So Jade has left our family to be with her new family. It was the hardest thing I have done and it has broken my heart. I raised her, sat with her everytime she was sick, took her to the vet when she needed it and she got me through a lot of rough times when Lee was on deployments. It was best for her and for the kids, but it doesn't make it any easier. I hope she adjusts quickly to her new home, I think she will. Franc seemed like a really nice man. Our house will never be the same though.
Bittersweet....that is the one word I can use to describe this entire weekend.
Friday night, I opted out of girls night out because Noah wasn't feeling too well and was clinging pretty bad to me. So we decided to have a Family Movie night. We popped some popcorn and watch Wizard of Oz. Noah loved it!!! I was a little worried about him maybe being afaird of the witch but he loved it all and has even asked to watch it again.
On Saturday, we went to the Meet and Greet picnic for the new Chief selects. It was a lot of fun and the kids had a blast. Last year, when we went, it was miserable hot. This year, it was so nice out, perfect picnic weather. Noah played in the bounce house, on the swings and with the other kids there. Then they went on their first pony ride. They both loved it. I was afraid Jordan wouldn't but she was squealing with delight while she was riding!!!
Noah riding the pony
Jordan riding the pony
Noah loving it!!
After the picnic, we went home for a little nap time. Then when the kids woke up, we were off to Chuck E. Cheese. Noah earned the visit by pooping on the potty. They had so much fun playing the games and watching Chuck E. on the stage. Jordan loved playing skee ball and we couldn't get Noah out of the tunnels and slide. He also wanted to play the Virtual Bowling game all the time. It was a great night and we were there for almost 3 hours!!
Noah playing bowling
Jordie playing skee ball
Sunday was our sad day. I finally had an inquiry about Jade and arranged for the gentleman to come meet her. Well he came and fell in love with her immediately. So Jade has left our family to be with her new family. It was the hardest thing I have done and it has broken my heart. I raised her, sat with her everytime she was sick, took her to the vet when she needed it and she got me through a lot of rough times when Lee was on deployments. It was best for her and for the kids, but it doesn't make it any easier. I hope she adjusts quickly to her new home, I think she will. Franc seemed like a really nice man. Our house will never be the same though.
Bittersweet....that is the one word I can use to describe this entire weekend.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Obstacles
So we have the hard copy of Lee's orders in hand. We are officially moving to North Carolina on October 9th!! I am so excited, nervous and frazzled all at once. The first obstacle we are hitting is finding a place to live. We have to get a place out in town since the wait list is 4-12 months for E7. We have written down what we are looking for and I have contacted a few Realtors so hopefully they can find us something. We are headed to NC for house hunting leave next weekend so hopefully we will find something. Which brings us to obstacle number 2....
There is not one place available for us to stay at for the entire week we are there looking for a house. For now we have a reservation on the Air Station but they are a Space-A facility so we can "renew" our room every night as long as they have the room available. It is so stressful worrying about where we will stay with the kids on a daily basis. Hopefully it will all work out.
The next obstacle really has nothing to do with moving but it is still an obstacle I trying to work out...what to do with Jade. She is not getting any better with the kids and is growling at them on a daily basis now. Yesterday, she came so close to snapping at Jordan so it is apparent that she needs to be placed with a new family that does not have young children. I contacted a Rat Terrier rescue yesterday and they were no help at all. They told me to contact the breeder (Jade is 5 and the breeder is in Alabama) or to put her through training (which I have already done). I took her to the vet to get recommendations and the vet's brilliant notion is that she is just like this and we had to live with it. Well I am not going to live with my children's safety at risk. I have put an ad for her on Craigs List but no responses. So my last resort is to take her to a no-kill shelter unless someone can help me and find another place for her. It is not fair for her to live behind the couch because she is afraid of the kids and I can't worry all the time that the kids are going to get too close and she will bite one of them. It is such a heart-breaking situation for us to be in!!
Well hopefully all the ducks will fall in a row eventually. I know that big changes always come with obstacles, let's hope we can navigate these obstacles with little injury.
There is not one place available for us to stay at for the entire week we are there looking for a house. For now we have a reservation on the Air Station but they are a Space-A facility so we can "renew" our room every night as long as they have the room available. It is so stressful worrying about where we will stay with the kids on a daily basis. Hopefully it will all work out.
The next obstacle really has nothing to do with moving but it is still an obstacle I trying to work out...what to do with Jade. She is not getting any better with the kids and is growling at them on a daily basis now. Yesterday, she came so close to snapping at Jordan so it is apparent that she needs to be placed with a new family that does not have young children. I contacted a Rat Terrier rescue yesterday and they were no help at all. They told me to contact the breeder (Jade is 5 and the breeder is in Alabama) or to put her through training (which I have already done). I took her to the vet to get recommendations and the vet's brilliant notion is that she is just like this and we had to live with it. Well I am not going to live with my children's safety at risk. I have put an ad for her on Craigs List but no responses. So my last resort is to take her to a no-kill shelter unless someone can help me and find another place for her. It is not fair for her to live behind the couch because she is afraid of the kids and I can't worry all the time that the kids are going to get too close and she will bite one of them. It is such a heart-breaking situation for us to be in!!
Well hopefully all the ducks will fall in a row eventually. I know that big changes always come with obstacles, let's hope we can navigate these obstacles with little injury.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Orders
Well we finally got word from the detailer that Lee's orders will be here by either Friday and very early next week. What an ordeal it has been and the waiting has been killing us. But we finally have a plan, a date and now it is time to get things going. I asked the ladies on the Great Lakes Military Wives forum for some moving tips and there is so much that I had forgetten about (and we just moved here 3 years ago). But it is so different when you have to worry about moving an entire household and not just 2 people. Our lives have changed considerably in the last 3 years and along with that comes the changes of having to move!!
But the news of our move is not meet with all happiness. Yes we are excited for a new adventure but I am terribly sad about leaving my friends here behind. I have made some awesome friends here and it is going to be very hard to say goodbye but one thing I have learned in my 13 years of being with the Navy, the ones who are meant to be your friends for life will be. I am looking forward to showering my path with new friends while keeping my old ones close to my heart.
So it looks like we will be leaving in less than 60 days....scary huh?
But the news of our move is not meet with all happiness. Yes we are excited for a new adventure but I am terribly sad about leaving my friends here behind. I have made some awesome friends here and it is going to be very hard to say goodbye but one thing I have learned in my 13 years of being with the Navy, the ones who are meant to be your friends for life will be. I am looking forward to showering my path with new friends while keeping my old ones close to my heart.
So it looks like we will be leaving in less than 60 days....scary huh?
Monday, August 10, 2009
No pain...no gain
Well I finally started doing it. I am trying very hard to lose my last 10 pounds of baby weight. Before I got pregnant with Noah, I was about 150 lbs. I went from 225 pregnant, 164 when I found out I was pregnant with Jordan and I am now 159. All that weight change in 3 short years has wrecked havoc on my body and it is time to whip it back into shape. So I started a healthy eating lifestyle and have started a work out routine. And boy I can already tell it works,, my body hurts!!! I bought myself Wii Active since it is really hard for me to get to the gym and I love it!!! It is so awesome and it really works out your body. They have a 30-day challenge which I started on Saturday. I will do my weigh-ins on Saturdays and I am hoping to lose the 10 pounds by the end of the 30 day challenge. So far it has been easy except for at night which is my worst time of the day as far as cravings and wanting to "munch". But as long as I keep reminding myself of the outcome, I should be ok.
The biggest reason why I finally started this is because Jordan weaned herself recently. At first it made me really sad but now I am ok with it. I still get sad to know that she is my last baby and that I will never have that feeling again but it is all good. Sometimes I wish that door was not closed but then I look at how perfect our life is with Noah and Jordan and I am grateful that I even have them. Why rock the boat?
Things are slowly improving in other departments too. Sometimes the best way to get across how you feel is to be straight forward, regardless of how much of a slap in the face it may be for someone. Well I had to do that recently and it has made things improve a lot. I am not going to allow my walls to come down again just yet because it is still the "honeymoon stage" but who knows, maybe this improvement will continue on the up-hill path. I sure hope so!!
Other than that, things here are good, just trying to keep busy this summer. We are still waiting to hear from the detailers about our move. It is rather annoying to wait, wait, wait but that is the military way of life. I would just like to start making plans and have some knowledge of what is going on rather than being in limbo. But we will continue to wait...wait....wait!!!
The biggest reason why I finally started this is because Jordan weaned herself recently. At first it made me really sad but now I am ok with it. I still get sad to know that she is my last baby and that I will never have that feeling again but it is all good. Sometimes I wish that door was not closed but then I look at how perfect our life is with Noah and Jordan and I am grateful that I even have them. Why rock the boat?
Things are slowly improving in other departments too. Sometimes the best way to get across how you feel is to be straight forward, regardless of how much of a slap in the face it may be for someone. Well I had to do that recently and it has made things improve a lot. I am not going to allow my walls to come down again just yet because it is still the "honeymoon stage" but who knows, maybe this improvement will continue on the up-hill path. I sure hope so!!
Other than that, things here are good, just trying to keep busy this summer. We are still waiting to hear from the detailers about our move. It is rather annoying to wait, wait, wait but that is the military way of life. I would just like to start making plans and have some knowledge of what is going on rather than being in limbo. But we will continue to wait...wait....wait!!!
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Been a while...
So I just realized I haven't written in a while. Things here have been mellow yet crazy all at the same time. Last weekend, we just chilled around the house doing basically nothing. We went out for dinner on Saturday night and had a great time. It did make me realize one thing though. We are done having kids. It was so nice to have one of us concentrating on Noah and the other on Jordan. I can see now why people say 2 is perfect. I can't imagine the chaos that would be my life if I had more than that. Looking at our life that night, I realized that it is the best decision for us and I am happy with it finally. I will get my baby fix with all my friends who are having new babies and I am sure I will have more nieces and maybe a nephew one day, who knows. But for us, two is perfect.
Noah got sick this week. He hasn't been pooping very often and he had been backed up for 5 days so I guess the stuff in his tummy needed to come out somehow. I felt so bad for him. I have to call on Monday to make an appt for him so we can figure out why he is not pooping. Hopefully they can come up with something.
After Noah got sick, I also got sick just not in the same sense. I had a little 48 flu or something. I felt bad on Thursday,good than bad on Friday and all better today. I think my body was worn out from a sick boy and teething little girl. They have worn me down.
Yes Jordan is teething FINALLY!!! 7 teeth to be exact. Her molars are coming and her 4 side front teeth (not her I-teeth). She has been pretty cranky and not her cheerful self lately. Lee and I were just saying the other day that we wanted our sweet baby back. Hopefully these teeth will come in soon and she will feel better!!!
Well I better run. The house is destroyed since I was sick and no one else knows how to clean except me apparently. Tonight we are going to take the kids to the drive to see Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. Should be a good time!!!
Noah got sick this week. He hasn't been pooping very often and he had been backed up for 5 days so I guess the stuff in his tummy needed to come out somehow. I felt so bad for him. I have to call on Monday to make an appt for him so we can figure out why he is not pooping. Hopefully they can come up with something.
After Noah got sick, I also got sick just not in the same sense. I had a little 48 flu or something. I felt bad on Thursday,good than bad on Friday and all better today. I think my body was worn out from a sick boy and teething little girl. They have worn me down.
Yes Jordan is teething FINALLY!!! 7 teeth to be exact. Her molars are coming and her 4 side front teeth (not her I-teeth). She has been pretty cranky and not her cheerful self lately. Lee and I were just saying the other day that we wanted our sweet baby back. Hopefully these teeth will come in soon and she will feel better!!!
Well I better run. The house is destroyed since I was sick and no one else knows how to clean except me apparently. Tonight we are going to take the kids to the drive to see Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. Should be a good time!!!
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