Nostalgia and Rollercoasters

I'm not sure if it's pregnancy or just being stuck in this town too long, but lately nothing has sounded as good as home does. I've been going to visit my parents as much as possible. I think another factor is the friend factor. This time last year I was surrounded by friends that I had really grown to care about. However, starting in January, they slowly started trickling to other duty stations. We stay in touch as much as possible, but different time zones and busy schedules make it difficult. I wasn't prepared for that part of Army life.

On another note, did you know that when you are pregnant you aren't supposed to ride rollercoasters? Could someone please send that memo to my hormones. They certainly have not gotten the message. Poor Hubs, in five minutes flat he can go from the greatest man on the planet to the person driving me the most crazy. He has been very sweet in putting up with me. Yes putting up with me, these hormones are NO joke!

Ending on a happy note, have you seen this video? It makes me smile!



Thanks, Naomi for sharing it. P.S. If you haven't checked out her adorable blog, you really should.

It's a...

Lots going on with our lil family. First and most exciting, it's a ... GIRL! I'm not sure that excited even covers it. Our due date moved up so baby Snick (family nickname) will be here in early February. This week we have really started working on her nursery i.e. cleaning out the crap that is in it. We also should be getting her crib and dresser ordered either this week or next. I have all kinds of ideas for her nursery. 

In other news, the hubs is still waiting to hear about the job change. Keeping my fingers crossed. Oh speaking of the hubs, he felt Baby Snick move for the first time tonight. It was a very exciting moment for us both. While I have been feeling her rumblings for a while, I've been anxiously waiting for the Hubs to get to experience it. It was truly a priceless moment. 

We've almost made it halfway through the week! Here's to a fabulous hump day tomorrow! 

A Day to Remember

Like many Americans, I will stop tomorrow for a moment of silence to remember the many Americans who's lives were so quickly taken that day 9 years ago. It is a day that forever changed our lives. The Hubs joined the army because of 9/11. I am so proud of him for his decision and all that he has done while in the army. Despite the challenges that we have faced over the last three years, I will always be proud of his service to this incredible country. 

On a happier note, tomorrow is also my sister-in-laws one year wedding anniversary. Happy Anniversary, Liz and Wade! We love you guys. Photo is of Liz with her parents. 

*All photos by me. 

Everday should be a weekend day

Just a few more short work hours, and I will be on my way to see my family for the weekend. I love long weekends. Here are a few other things I'm loving today:
Ice cream - seriously after looking at those pics I'm ready to head to the nearest store.
Lil Baby Bump - it's starting to show and I'm starting to love it.
Cooler nights and mornings - there is hope that fall is around the corner.
Dresses - can't get enough of them right now. they are the most comfortable thing to wear at work with the baby bump.
The Hubs and the furball - they make me smile everyday with their silly, sweet personalities.

Got big plans for the long weekend? What are you loving today?

Moved, Training and Baby

I have a confession to make. We have been thinking about lots of other things than baby around our house. Don't get me wrong - we are thrilled. And we do spend lots of timing thinking and talking about baby. However, we've had this little thing called Major Life Changes that we've been dealing with. First, we were looking for a new place. Second, the Army has been throwing us all kinds of curveballs. We are still dealing with those. Hopefully by the end of the month, we will have some answers by the end of the month. The hubs is looking at some major career changers so it's been pretty stressful. Third, we found a place and moved. We were so blessed to have 7 incredible friends come help us. Can you believe we were out of the old and into the new place in three hours? So amazing!

I have several real life and bloggie friends that are pregnant. It is all over their blogs and facebook pages. I feel a little guilty. It's not that we aren't super excited for the lil bug. There have just been major things going on. Plus we were in that don't-look-preggo-not-feeling-sick limbo. There were a lot of days when I had to remind myself that I was in fact pregnant. Recently, my pants have been letting me know that I am pregnant. It's a good feeling except that most days I just look like I ate too many wings for lunch. Oh well I'm sure soon I will wish for those days.

I know I continually promise to blog more. It is in the plans as soon as I get this new place in order. Bring on the nesting!

Since we are talking babies today, I leave you with one of the cutest "we're having a baby" announcements that I've seen in a long time. Guess What?

30 List Update

Remember the 30 List? I thought I would give you a quick update. You see one of the lil items on there has been the reason for my blogger absence. I truly do miss blogging and hope soon to be posting regularly. In the meantime, back to the list. So how have I been doing?

Well the GRE/grad school item has been a major fail. I also have not been running as much. In fact, the half-marathon has been indefinitely put on hold. I have been wearing lipstick - silly item on the list but still important.

However, the biggest list success has been the one about expanding our family. I'm thrilled to say that in Feb 2011 we will be welcoming a much anticipated addition to the family. The hubs and I were thrilled to find out in early June that we will be having a baby.

As we wait for this much anticipated event, we have a lot going on. We are moving again. We are still at the same post, but with lil squirt on the way, a move was necessary. The hubs is going after a career change. We will know by the end of Sept what our future for the next year or two holds. Keep your fingers crossed.

I apologize for the lack of posts, but as you can see there has been a lot going on. I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend. We are off to spend some quality time with the Hubs family. Got anything fun planned this weekend?

Happy Birthday, America

(photo by Me)

"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free." - Ronald Reagan 

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to the best Dad that a girl could ask for. It was a long time coming, but perhaps that makes me even more appreciative of the man I get to call Dad. 

Simple Things Can Make the Sweetest Memories

Maybe it's because my parents anniversary is on Saturday, or maybe it's because I was looking at wedding photography website. For whatever reason, a few random sweet memories popped into my head from our wedding day.

- All the day into night into wee hours of the morning preparation the day before with my best friend/wedding coordinator.

- My family sitting around a table putting together programs. My brother was "quality control" and literally made them redo several programs. Too funny and yet so sweet.

- Getting my make-up done with just my Mom the morning of the wedding.

- Riding with my Dad to the church. He was adamant that he take me, and it will be a memory I will never forget.

Do you have any random, sweet, unexpected memories from your wedding?

Memorial Day Weekend

(source)

The weekend is finally here! What a week! The Hubs drowned his phone, and our power went out twice. C'est la vie.

Got any fun plans for the weekend? We are headed to the beach with the in-laws. Can't wait! I love my in-laws, but I REALLY love sitting on the beach with a drink in my hand.

When we get home on Monday, we will take a brief moment to think about all those soldiers past and present that have given their lives for this country. I encourage you to take a minute to honor them as well.

Have a great weekend!

The 30 List

(source)

Want in on a lil secret? Last week  I had a birthday. Big ole number 29. Whew! This has led to A LOT of thinking about next years bday. The BIG ONE! Ok well maybe not the biggest one, but it feels pretty monumental. Then again that might be because the Hubs has taken EVERY opportunity to remind me that I will be 30 before he will. Stinker! All this thinking and reminding from the Hubs has resulted in The 30 List. A list of things to have completed by my 30th birthday. If I was really clever, there would be thirty items. However, I'm not really clever.

The 30 List

1) GRE and Grad School - it's time to get off my butt and pick a future!

2) Get in the BEST shape that I can be in!

3) Run a half marathon - this technically goes with the item above. It is a goal that I've already started working on. Rockstar! The half is in March so we will see!

4) Wear more and try more colors of lipstick! I by this lady who wears lipstick beautifully! I  have found that bright lipstick does AMAZING things for my mood. P.S. You've found the right shade when multiple people complement you on it.

5) Add to our lil family! Whether it's a baby or another furbaby, I would love for our lil family to expand in the next year.

6) Take more photographs! I love, love, love to take pictures, but have gotten slack lately and haven't been taking as many.

7) Perfect my golf game! I say this as if I just golf all the time. I actually just started playing, but I love it. Plus it's something that the Hubs and I enjoy doing together.

8) Appreciate all the sweet lil things the Hubs does for me! Lil things like cleaning my old, nasty golf clubs while I was at work yesterday. They look so good now!

9) Try at least one new recipe every week! I love to cook and bake, but make a lot of the same things over and over again. It's time to get brave and try new things. Plus I have a zillion cookbooks with recipes just dying to be made.

10) Take advantage of being so close to dear friends and family! We were recently reminded how temporary our current location could really be. It really made me appreciate how lucky we are to be so close to so many people that we love.

I will keep ya updated on my list. And maybe, just maybe I will continue to add to the list until I have 30 items. Won't I look clever then!

Massive Monday

Do Mondays ever feel overwhelming to anyone else? Mondays are a day of revelation for me. A vast reminder of the things I was going to do over the weekend that definitely did not get done. Bummer! Oh well after the incredible weekend that we had I'm not going to worry about the things that didn't get done.

After such a great weekend, I'm ready to curl up for a nap. I'm sure the pouring rain is not helping either. We really do need the rain, however my office has a corrugated steel roof. Rainstorms get quite noisy around here. The patter of the rain on the roof can be hypnotic and before I know it I'm about to doze off. Today is definitely one of those days.

Must stay awake!