We Do Not Stay Still.

A month after we started unpacking our boxes in our house in Mississippi, I found myself packing up once again.  Because we do not sit still.  Thankfully, this time I wasn't packing the entire household.  Just enough for the kids and I to spend a month or so in Oregon. Cold, rainy Oregon!

We arrived at the airport four hours before my flight took off and had some time to kill before Dustin dropped us off.  After driving around for a while, we happened upon a Bass Pro Shop (fun!) and spent a few hours there checking out the outdoor gear, giant fresh-water aqaurium and "party boats" as Lawson called them.  He loved those boats!  Enough that he cried when we left them and the airplane trip no longer seemed as exciting.  He wanted one of those $20,000 boats!  At least he's got good taste!  After a yummy salad and some alligator nuggets (those were on the other side of the table from me, just to be clear) we made it to the airport and said our goodbyes.  We've gotten good at that part!  I didn't even cry this time!  I didn't want to cut my timing close since I was traveling with two little ones, but when I breezed through security and found myself at the gate with close to two hours before it was time to board, I was a bit bummed out.  The DVD player I brought along wasn't cutting it at that point.  Did I mention that we don't stay still?  So, we walked all over the airport, met all sorts of new people and did a great job wearing me out before we even boarded our first plane.  The kids were good during the flight, which was a quick one hour commuter to Houston.  We grabbed some food during our layover and then I spent an hour before the flight trying to keep them from falling apart as it was a good two hours after their bedtime.  Thank goodness, they both slept almost the entire 4 hour flight to Portland, Oregon!  I, did not.  But, at least they were quiet and all I had to do was sit in an uncomfortable seat while my head rolled off to the side and snapped me out of sleep the second I fell into it.  It all went much better than it could have!  At midnight, which was 2am for us coming from Mississippi, we arrived and I almost peed my pants before I found a bathroom.  Four hours is a LONG flight for a preggo with a sleeping baby on her lap.  Let's just say, I was feeling a lot of relief, both for finding a toilet and for having made it without the screaming fit on the plane as I had feared!

We spent the first weekend at my sister's house in Portland for her baby shower, which was a fantastic co-ed barbecue, then headed down to my moms house where we will wait out the next few weeks until my sister's little guy decides to make his arrival.  So far, it's been rainy, cloudy and cool.  I love it!  I'm sure it will be nice to escape the dreary clouds when we head back home, but for now, it's a great change!  The Uggs are officially back in use and the kids are spending a lot of time watching the rain fall out the window.

For now we find ourselves hanging out at my mom's house a lot (since I am without a car of my own here) and enjoying many visitors and little outings here and there!  Maybe we do sit still, after all!  It's a nice change of pace, I must say.  I'm finally back into reading after a couple month moving-induced hiatus and am tearing through the book "Origins" by Annie Murphy Paul.  It is fascinating!

Lawson had his first overnight play date with his cousins and is officially a big boy.  No hug goodbye for me!  "Bye mom!  You stay here." and a quick high five were as much as I could get out of him!  Off he went for a fun time riding in their new jeep, playing on the quad, checking out their horses and heading up the mountain to see the salmons spawning.  Apparently, the "little dead ones" were his favorite (I'm hoping because it was easier to look at them), but he did let me know that those little, dead fish were really stinky!  Observant little fellow!  By the time I showed up to get him the next day, he took a quick couple of steps toward me than headed for the hills!  It was too much fun to be done!  They'll have to have a few more overnighters before we leave here.

I will say, it is hard to be away from Dustin for a month or so without him being gone on deployment.  He started class this week, so hopefully that keeps him busy enough that it's not too sad for him to have us away.  And he's got Porter there to keep him company! I've got the kids here to keep me from dwelling on missing him, but it will be great be back together again for the holidays!  In the meantime, I'm brimming with excitement at the new life about to make it's way into the family.  My sister and Dave will make such great parents!  To see that new little face and meet the tiny person that has been kicking around inside my sister's beautiful belly is going to be the obvious highlight of the trip!  I'm so happy for her I could burst!

Hello, Crunch!

It is officially apple cider and pumpkin pie season!  Acorns have been making their way into little fists on the way to the park the past few days and there is a definite crunch to my step and crisp, delicious smell to the air.  Especially today, after the first rain of the season.  Fall has officially arrived!  We are also officially moved into our new house in Mississippi!

What this house lacks in charm, it makes up for in so many areas!  The yard work is done for us twice a week, the utilities are included and all we have to worry about is paying for our internet connection!  The floor plan is wonderful for us, with all the bedrooms branching off the end of the hall next to each other.  It's going to make the final transition of Naomi from our bed into her own so much easier than a split bedroom house plan.  It's your typical base house with waxed linoleum floors (thankfully, in a neutral, non-offensive color) and no special touches, to speak of.  But, now that I've got most of the decor out and pictures on the wall, it's feeling pretty cozy!  We have a BIG field out our backdoor that leads you to a great park for the kids and a there is a fenced-in dog run right next to that!  If the kids ever grow tired of this park, there are a handful more just a hop, skip and a jump down the sidewalk!  A quick walk over to the park each evening leaves all the little creatures in our house tired out for bed!  As a bonus, we have wonderful neighbors who welcomed us with home cooked banana bread and pasta then had us over for dinner despite the fact that they only moved in two weeks before us and are due with their fourth baby any day now.  She is superwoman.  Officially!  Their other children are two years apart (2, 4 and 6) and make wonderful friends for Lawson and Naomi.  What a huge blessing! Mississippi is gorgeous and green with trees and hills everywhere you look!  It's surely going to be a good year here.

As for me, I'm exhausted.  This pregnancy is mimicking Naomi's.  It started out easy, with little nausea or exhaustion.  A couple weeks of nausea came just as I needed to pack up and move, and it's pretty much gone now.  But, the tiredness amped up in the last few days and I currently feel like I have a doozy of a hangover without having had a lick of fun to earn it with!  With Lawson I was exhausted from the get go and it just got better and better.  Not with Naomi and not this time.  It started out good and just when I should be feeling better, I want to sleep.  All.  day.  long.  Coupled with the dreams I've had lately of a little girl, I'm throwing it out there that my gut is telling me we have another girl on our hands.  We'll see!  I'm 10 weeks now, so we're halfway to taking a peek at the nether-regions via ultrasound.  I can't wait!

While I'm updating, Dustin is officially checked in to his new squadron where he'll learn to fly the T-45.  It has an ejection seat and required filling out lots of paperwork dealing with "in case of injury of death" so I'm obviously thrilled!  Okay, I am actually really excited for him, but filling out my contact information and who I want to have with me in case of his death is a little unsettling.  I guess following your dreams can be a little dangerous!

The kids are doing great and getting huge all of a sudden!  My new bedroom makes a great studio, so I tested it out yesterday and snapped some pictures of the kids!  I have to catch up.  There are hardly any pictures from this month!  So, I'll leave you with that until I find the energy to blog again!  Happy Fall everyone!

And an outtake....

I'd Pack That, Too, If I Could

Ah, packing.  The constant shuffling of items in and out of boxes these past few years has left me all-too-skilled at putting our life into boxes.  We had phase one of packing a month or so ago when we knew the move was looming.  We weeded through the garage and boxed up some of the less necessary items.  But, the orders weren't coming and we didn't know when we were actually getting them, so we took a break.  Two days ago, on the 25th, the orders showed up.  The goal for our move-out date?  Sept 1st.  If you do the math, that's one week exactly for Dustin to check out of the squadron and arrange for new housing in Mississippi.  It's also one week for me to get everything packed up to be loaded on the truck and get the house cleaned up.  Amazingly, I think we're gonna do it!

In case you haven't noticed yet, we are DITY movers (Do It Yourself).  Rather than the Navy paying movers to break pack our stuff and get it to our new place weeks after we get there, they pay us a percentage of what they would have paid the movers to do it all ourselves.  It's a win/win as far as we're concerned. We put some serious hard work into it, and make a nice chunk of change in the process.  We also arrive with all of our stuff, which beats the heck out of sleeping in an empty room with a towel for a bed (I may have done that during my first move as a Navy wife, just days after getting married, driving down to Texas then seeing Dustin off at the airport to gather his belongings from Florida while I searched out an apartment for us and stayed there with nothing until he got back days later... but I digress.)  The money is the one benefit for us of moving twice in one year (more like twice in four months, but who's keeping track?).  Anyway, because of the hasty departure, Dustin has been at the base detaching from the squadron and getting all the paperwork ready to go.  So, it's clear who's doing the packing.  Like I said, though, I'm a seasoned pro at this point and it's all going very quickly.  In fact, were I not also tending to the wee ones and my ravenous appetite, I'd be close to finished!  At this rate, I'll be done by Sunday and have enough time to scrub down the house and make it sparkle for our departure!

This move will be a little different from the last for me.  My mom helped me fly from Washington to Texas with the kids last move.  This time, it's *only* (I use that word loosely) a 12 hour drive, so I'm hopping in the drivers seat.  Dustin and Porter will be heading things up in a giant 26 ft U-Haul truck that will be pulling my Expedition.  I will be driving Dustin's Dodge Ram with the kiddos and our cat, pulling a 12 foot trailer full of outdoor equipment and power tools.  It should all go nice and smooth as long as I don't have to back that thing up.  I am really good at jack-kniving trailers.  Really good.  I have tried learning several times and have not had one successful back-up.  So, that could be a really fun adventure!  Another thing that makes this move a little different, is that we are moving into base housing this time.  We lived on base in Jacksonville four years ago and it wasn't all that bad.  There are actually some real benefits in the way of having no utilities to pay, a fully-maintained yard to NOT have to worry about, a virtually non-existent commute for Dustin, and no deposit.  It won't be a beautiful house like we've had here in Texas, but it will be so nice to get there, move in immediately and only have to worry about getting our internet connected.  And, it is so temporary.

So, here we are - just a few days from moving to Mississippi with our two little ones, the dog, the cat and my newest companion.  Nausea.  Yes, being almost seven weeks pregnant and moving could be classified as "unfortunate."  Nausea is a beast.  I'd pack it up, too, if I could.   But, alas, it seems that for now it is mine to keep.  At least for a little while.  Good thing it's for a super good cause.

Texas Equinox

Spring is officially upon us and this is definitely the beginning of a new season in our lives.  Gone are the gloomy winter days with their chilly breezes.  The flowers are blooming, bare branches are reaching out with fresh leaves and the lawnmowers can be heard buzzing over nearly every cup of morning coffee now.  Appropriately, I find myself embarking on the first leg of our move tomorrow.  Yes, today is my Texas Equinox.  For every season (turn, turn, turn) there is the prep work that goes into creating the marked change that separates it from the one before.  This trip is that prep work.  Part of change is saying goodbye to what made the last season it's own.  We will say goodbye to this house, where we welcomed both of our beautiful children and this beautiful island with it's gorgeous views wherever you look.  In the very short term, I will say goodbye to Lawson and Dustin.

Lawson talks about Texas throughout the day.  He tells me how we're all going, including the cat.  I'm sad that this trip to Texas, he can't come along.  I just hope he understands.  I'm not good at saying goodbye.  Lawson, luckily, is really good at it!  Going bye-bye is probably his favorite thing in the world!  His excitement for the person he's saying bye-bye to far supersedes his sadness to see them go.  I hope that will apply to me this time!

So hello, spring!  My bare toes are happy to see you with your warm, basking sunlight.  And goodbye winter.  I'm sure after a few months of Texas heat, I'll be missing the hats and coats, but for now, I'm happy to see you go and the only thing I'll be missing is my little man! 

Chugga Chugga WOOHOO!!!!

This year, in the aftermath of the basement flood, I forgot to bring my advent calendar to Oregon with me. I was a little disappointed, but got a great idea from my friend, Beth, and we did a 12 days of Christmas version of the advent calendar. Every day after nap, Lawson gets to open his envelope and see what kind of goody awaits him. So much fun! He look forward to his "aprize!" every day. Well, the last few days have found us opening the 8 and 7 days til Christmas envelopes, which means that we are officially at the end of our last deployment this tour and that tonight, at midnight, I get to go pick up my man from the train station! We won't be in a pumpkin carriage when the clock strikes 12, but it will be magical and as "happily ever after" as real life gets. We are very excited for daddy to come home, because he is bringing Christmas with him. The holidays are all about family and being together. The magic of the season lies within our hearts and with all of us under one roof, that magic will come alive! Lawson is minutes from going to bed and he is well aware that after this "one more nigh nigh" he will awaken to his daddy in the very same room as him! I cannot wait to see his face light up with love for his father. And Naomi just added the word "dada" to her vocabulary yesterday, so she's on board this "woo-hoo train" as well!!! Who knew a six month old could have a vocabulary, by the way?! I'm scared! And yes, I know I just said "woo-hoo train"... we also have a "diaper depot station" around here that we chuga chuga poo poo to when we need a clean caboose. That's a whole other story though.

Dustin, we are so unbelievably glad to have you home with us this Christmas. Proud is an understatement for how we feel about the service you are giving this country. Our kids have a hero in their dad and flight suits don't have to be ironed, so it's exciting all around. Kidding! Kind of. I love you so much and am so glad that you are my big present this year!!! Here's to a new year, full of bittersweet changes as we continue on this amazing journey with the Navy!

Sunishine in a Vase

During lunch today, a rogue vehicle turned into my drive and left me guessing what the deal was. What day is it? Am I expecting anyone or anything? The more I wondered, the more curious I was. Finally, the driver got out of her car and got something out of her backseat. I was holding my breath, wondering what it could be. She turned around and it was flowers! My sweet, thoughtful husband sent me a gorgeous vase full of beautiful flowers just. because. JUST BECAUSE! I feel like the luckiest girl in the world right now. Not because I got flowers, but because he was thoughtful enough to have a sweet thought about me on the other side of the world, and send it to me in a vase for me to smile at every time I see it. That is happiness. Thank you, Dustin. I love you, too.

Fort Hood

Unspeakable. What happened at Fort Hood today is unspeakable. A soldier shooting up his very own army's base is like someone shooting their own family. It is sick and wrong and disturbing on every level. He robbed families of their loved ones, who've made it to Iraq and back only to be killed be one of their own. He also robbed military families the comfort of feeling safe in their on base housing and going about their business while on post. Someone's daddy went off to work today and didn't return home because some loser turned on himself, his comrades and his country.

This country has been divided by war. Should we have gone? Should we have moved on and let a it go? I don't have the answers, but I do know that our troops did not need to have any more people discouraged from supporting them. I'm saddened and horrified and my heart goes out to the families of those who were killed, those who were wounded and those who witnessed this horrible act. If you pray, send one out for them. If you don't pray, keep them in your thoughts. That could have been Dustin that didn't come home from work and the thought makes me want to say some pretty mean things about that man. I hope he has to sit in a cell in a military prison for the rest of his life.