Wintertime Fun!

   Let's face it.. winter is just boring and depressing. Especially when you live in what you could almost look at as Alaska (okay maybe not that extreme but still really cold) and have an active toddler. After days of the same old monotonous routine and playing in Eli's playroom I decided enough was enough and if I was about to lose my mind by not being able to get out and do anything thanks to the cold weather, continuous icy sidewalks, and preterm labor.. then Eli was probably most definitely getting bored as well so I decided to make something up myself to do..


Bathtub Pudding Time!!

   We had so much fun with this.. especially Eli. At first he just sat there and ate it and then I showed him he could squish it between his hands, smear it all over the tub, his body, or just throw it and watch it splat. It was a blast and the best part is clean up was so easy..   The whole family became involved; daddy took some time out of his studying and joined Eli in eating some pudding (from the bowl of course) Charma and Occie came up to see what all the laughing and noise was about, and even Mayflower was kicking up a storm. The best part: mama decided to spread the pudding all over the tub and create a slide.. it was hilarious watching Eli slide down the tub and really put a smile on all of our faces and made us laugh so hard.. which we all needed after the rough past few weeks we have had.  I foresee many bathtub pudding times in the future for Eli and Mayflower... while I am very nervous, I am so excited to bring another baby into this world and give Eli the best gift I could ever give him, a sibling and friend for life!

Becoming a Mama: Sleep is A Forever Thing of the Past

   Sleep, you know that little thing where you get into bed and lay down and close your eyes and hear nothing but the sound of a fan or the furnace kicking on.. yeah thats a thing of the past and has been for quite a while now. Whether its Eli protesting sleep or contractions and nausea preventing me from laying down to a nice night's rest, sleep just isn't happening these days. . This is really just a vent of mine about what is going on in this pregnancy with Mayflower, so if you don't want to read about it.. exit out of this window now. You have been warned.

  I am trying my hardest to be thankful and not complain throughout all of this, I really am, and believe me, I am very thankful and feel incredibly blessed we still have Mayflower snuggled nice and cozy inside, but  I feel like I just need to vent. I will probably look back at this one day and show Mayflower just what all he put his mama through ;)  As most everyone knows, for some odd reason I went into PTL last weekend and was having regular contractions spaced just 5 minutes apart, sometimes even 4 minutes apart. I continued this pattern for a total of 6-7 hours and thankfully was released after they started to calm down with the help of medication every 30 minutes. I saw my OB the next day and he told me he had no idea why this was happening and it was concerning that I am in such an active contraction pattern being only in my 5th month of pregnancy and that if it continues we might have some problems.. thank you for stating the obvious. I left the office with instructions to continue medication, rest, try to urinate every 30 minutes, and stay as hydrated as possible because any lack of hydration can stimulate a contraction which I obviously did not need. And also if the contractions became any more intense or I started having some other symptoms to go back to L&D or give him a call. Easy enough instructions..  fast forward 3 days later when contractions are still painful and frequent.. I call and this time get told that they are trying everything they can to get me through this at home and to just stay laying down on my left side at all times except to get up and go to the bathroom.. and basically it was up to  me when to go back to L&D or when I started contracting again every 5 minutes, I was doing everything they could do at L&D just the same at home, other than the fetal monitoring. Okay, I can deal with that.. and the whole laying down at all times thing.. sure I can do that with a one year old who is toddling around, into everything, finds microscopic particles of only God knows what on just vacuumed floors and puts said particles into his mouth while I quickly have to dive to the floor to retrieve it from his mouth before he swallows it, and tries to break down baby gates.. sure, not a problem.

  So here I am almost 1 am up with bad contractions/nausea AGAIN. My lovely special little person who I love more than life itself, and  known as a toddler now will be up in just 5-6 hours screaming for me and wanting breakfast..  and recharged and ready for me to chase after him all day, so why in this world am I still up? I have pumped my poor body full of medications that are supposedly helping that I am really completely against but feel like I have no choice in taking. I hate drugging my baby. The frustrating thing is, when do I call it and say enough is enough and go back to L&D to ensure the safety of Mayflower and I? Even my dr can't answer this, I know my body better than anyone else.. yes thats true but dr I had no idea when I came in last weekend I was contracting every 5 minutes and had no idea they were true contractions. Heck, I didn't even know I was in labor with Eli! These contractions are becoming all too common and I am beginning to think I won't know when I am in actual labor.. whenever that may be. The doctors can say whatever they want but God only knows when this little guy is coming. For all we know he may just be giving his mama a quick refresher for mid pregnancy and decide to not come until a week after his due date! In the meantime I will just continue to time my contractions and count my blessings for the next 3 1/2 months..

Happy 1st Birthday Eli!!!

   I truly cannot believe that our sweet boy is one year old today.. at exactly 2:56 pm. This year has been one of the best years and most challenging in my life. I would be lying if I said this whole year was nothing but fun and giggles. Parenthood is hard, there is no other way to put it. With that being said, its so very rewarding. I kind of look at it like Brenton and I have made it a year.. today marks the one year anniversary of us becoming parents and I can't help but to think about all of the memories and milestones we had with Eli in his first year of life and how, even with being an infant, he has taught us so much along the way. Its truly amazing just how much your child teaches you, as parents we teach our children all the time and often think of it that way, but have you ever stopped to realize how your child teaches you? Eli Glenn has taught us a lot his first year, he taught us patience with all of the sleepless nights he gave us (and still does), and he taught us just what true love means. I can't even begin to explain the amount of love I feel for him and it just grows more and more every day. I remember immediately after giving birth, Brenton placed him on my chest and all I could do was look at him and cry.. that moment felt like pure bliss. I look forward to the many more memories that lie ahead.

  Here is a comparison picture from just a a day old to a whole year old!

   We love our sweet boy so much and are so thankful and blessed! We prayed and prayed for this little guy and God answered our prayers. Our life would not be the same without him!

   And just for the record, I have cried only twice today.. once right at midnight, but I blame the commercial that had the song "You are so beautiful" playing in the background  and another time this morning when we were watching the video of his birth.  Mama and daddy love you so much Eli!!!!!

Pregnancy Comparison with Eli and Mayflower: Week 10-11

  I was looking through my pregnancy journal with Eli this morning when I started feeling bad that I have yet to do something like that for Mayflower.. so I figured I would chronicle the pregnancy journey in different questionnaires throughout the next two trimesters.. and so I could compare the two.

  Okay so we are coming up on week 11.. I can hardly believe it.. part of me thinks this first trimester has flown by while another part of me feels like it can't get over soon enough.. here we go..

How Far Along: 10 weeks, 5 days
Maternity Clothes: yes, started wearing my mat jeans in week 6. With Eli, I didn't wear mat clothes until 9 weeks.
Morning Sickness: oh my goodness yes, and I hate that its called 'morning sickness' this lasts all freakin day and night! Zofran has helped but is starting to lose its effect. Hoping I will be done with all of this soon. With Eli, my 'morning sickness' began around 5 weeks and lasted until week 14.. however it was mild (I didn't think so at the time) compared to this pregnancy.
Weight Gain: I actually lost weight in this pregnancy so far, but I am now up to a couple pounds more than what I weighed pre-pregnancy. With Eli, I started gaining weight quickly and had already gained 7 lbs by the end of the first trimester.. I think its going to be different this time.. that is unless I gain 5 lbs in the next week. HA!
Acne: This really surprises me.. my skin is so much clearer this time. Now that could be because I no longer live in the constant humidity of MS.. but its really nice and I will take it. With Eli I remember breaking out terribly.
Cravings: Sweets.. fruit.. cheese dip.. french fries.. pizza.. anything salty.. oh and these amazing sweet and spicy pickles. With Eli it was McDonald's cheeseburgers, french fries, bbq sandwiches, and sweets.
Aversions: Cannot stand to look at, cook, or smell raw chicken. I can eat chicken, but not if I have cooked it. And it has to be breaded or fried. I also cannot stand basil.. or the smell of Panera.I think the biggest thing is the smell of my dishwasher, it just about sends me over the edge.. I don't know what it is but I can't stand the smell of it.. and I swear I can smell it all the way from in the living room. I was the exact same way with Eli about the chicken and dishwasher smell.. except with Eli I couldn't eat any chicken until about week 14.
Moodiness/Irritability: I surprisingly have not had a huge crying spell over nothing yet in this pregnancy.. this is very different than my pregnancy with Eli. I remember crying for hours sometimes when I was pregnant with him and I just didn't know what was wrong with me. My irritability is definitely increased in this pregnancy.. anything and everything makes me mad. I do cry, but its at commercials or sad movies/shows.
Heartburn: I do have heartburn this pregnancy but I don't think nearly as bad as I had it when pregnant with Eli.. I have the reflux too, but again not as bad as the pregnancy with Eli.
Fatigue: I think this is a no brainer.. of course I am tired! I am pregnant and running after Eli all day. I would say I am more tired this pregnancy but I think thats because I could just lay on the couch all day with Eli and nap if I wanted to.. not an option this time!
Movement: none yet! With Eli I started feeling flutters around 14 weeks.. so hopefully within the next month I will feel a little something!
Aches/Pains: I keep telling my friends that have either no kids or has just had a baby that subsequent pregnancies are no joke.. at only about 11 weeks in to this pregnancy I am already having bad back pain and pelvic pressure. I didn't get any of this with Eli until close to my 3rd trimester..
Looking Forward To: Having energy and not being sick.. oh and being able to empty out my dishwasher or open my dishwasher without wanting to run to the toilet :)

Okay this is all for now, I will do another comparison questionnaire around week 20! Hope some of these answers have changed then!

A PCS We Won't Soon Forget..

  We have been Nebraskans for over a month now!! It doesn't really seem like its been that long, but oh it has.. and so many things have happened since our last post. This PCS will go down in history, people. First, lets just say we will never ever do another full DITY move ever again.

  Remember a few months ago when I was already starting to pack up things in the house to get a 'head start' on moving? Yeah, even that didn't help us. I thought we were ahead for a while, but time really seemed to slip away from us, fast! Thankfully, one of our best friends from FL came up to help us, our neighbor pitched in, and then we got a huge surprise and our friend's parents decided to drive quite a ways just to help us move, oh and bring food.. thats important too! How blessed can a person get?! The help that we had was absolutely amazing and I still don't know how I can re-pay them for what they did. We all worked our butts off trying to get last minute things packed and into the moving truck.. oh thats another thing.. we rented the largest moving truck and still had major issues in fitting all of our stuff on the truck.. after playing a tetris for a quite a while.. we finally were able to fit everything on without an inch to spare. Again I say, we do not see a full DITY in our future again.

  Okay, so moving on to the last night in our house in Mississippi.. I was a wreck! I went into every single room and said bye.. yeah I am sentimental like that. I came to Eli's room and lost it.. I stood in his room and sobbed.. seriously I sobbed so hard it was like it was uncontrollable... it was the room that he spent the first 8 months of his life in, the room where I slept with him and rocked him to sleep and stayed up hours on end because of his reflux and tummy issues. It was the room where we spent so many fun times decorating and planning his arrival just the year before.. I was devastated. I knew we would make new memories in our new house in Nebraska, but at that time I didn't care.. the house we brought Eli home to for the first time, we were leaving.. forever. After I had my sob fest and gained my composure back a bit.. I was okay. Brenton kept reassuring me it would be okay and honestly, I think he thought I was insane.. he told me multiple times that this was not something to be so upset over. Perhaps my severe sob fest could be explained later..

  The next morning it was time to gather up all of the stuff I would be hauling in the car.. that included Eli and our two cats. We get the car packed, say our goodbyes and 'good lucks' to one another and I am off.. and another sob fest begins. Yes, another one. After what seemed like hours of crying, I decided I had to get it together.. I had my baby boy and two cats, not to mention myself that needed to get to our next base safe and sound. It was my job, and my God I would see to it that I could get it done. Fast forward to the next day when I am sitting in traffic and realize I would not be making it to NE on time to sign our lease and get our keys.. I call the management company and explain to them that I would probably be 45 minutes late and they tell me that I would just have to wait and get them tomorrow.. uhm excuse me? No, thats not going to work. I was told the latest I could make it would be just 20 minutes late.. so here I am speed racing down I-29 and my phone rings.. yep it was the management company explaining they would just have to reschedule my lease signing and for me to get the keys the next day.. I had Eli screaming in the back, two cats next to me fighting and crying, and I myself crying as well.. I pulled off on an exit and called Base lodging, they could certainly have a room for the night, right? HA! The lady informed me they were all booked but I could come by for a NA letter and receive a list of hotels that accepts pets.. awesome! I finally arrive to base and receive the letter and choose the first hotel on the list.. I get to said hotel and they have a room.. yay! By this time, I was feeling pretty accomplished! After the past crazy 24 hours of my road trip from MS to NE, and I had finally arrived with Eli still alive and well.. my cats, and myself.. yes, nothing could bring me down. Of course they give me a 2nd floor room so I had to make 11.. yes 11 trips.. I counted.. from the car up to our room to get all of our stuff we would need for the night. Eli and the cats have so much crap they need, even for just a night! Its insane. Anyways, I get back up to the room when one of my cats escapes.. this is just freakin fantastic. I am holding onto Eli who weighs 21 lbs himself and running the fastest I can down the hall to try and catch that damned cat.. I decided pretty quickly that I would not be catching up to her or being able to bend down and pick her up without putting Eli down.. mother of the year here.. I decide to quickly place Eli on the bed, lock the door and sprint down the hall to catch the cat. I caught the cat.. mission accomplished! I finally get said cat into my arms and am walking down the hall when I hear a thump and screaming.. OMG Eli had fallen off the bed! I raced back to the room and find Eli face first onto the floor.. I immediately picked him up and soothed him and after a minute he was fine. While sitting there feeling like the world's most awful mother, something was weighing heavily on my mind. For days now, I had needed to take a pregnancy test.. but with everything going on I never did get the chance. Thankfully after arriving in NE earlier, I had decided to pick one up.. good call! Okay, so lets do this.. it has to be negative.. there is no way I am pregnant.. we were avoiding pregnancy.. so this would just be impossible. I pee on the stick.. and BAM! Not even 4 seconds later.. two pink lines. WHAT?! I immediately pick up the box and look for the exp date.. this has got to be wrong.. it must have something wrong with it. After starting to have a mini panic attack.. I decide to call Brenton. Let me tell you, not the best way to announce to your husband of a new pregnancy.. I call him in a panic and he is still en route to NE with the moving truck.. of course he was very happy and in shock himself and we agreed that this would be our little secret for now.       Okay.. so fast forward about 5 hours.. its around midnight and I finally have Eli asleep, the cats have calmed down, and I get into bed myself after an exhausting past few days.. I hear a knock on the door..  I get up.. its the door across from us.. and there are police officers standing outside the door demanding to get in and say they are looking for someone.. excuse me?!?! Of course I panic.. I look outside and there are 5 police cars and policemen swarming the parking lot going to each car and looking in with a flashlight... I was scared out of my mind.. here I am with my baby boy, two cats, and myself.. not to mention another baby on the way.. was there anything else that could happen.. seriously?! I called the front desk and of course they reassured me everything was fine and was being taken care of.. I stay up until the cops left and finally went to sleep.. thankfully none of the commotion woke Eli up. I awake the next morning so excited, full of joy and anticipation.. and morning sickness. The 25 minutes of sitting in the management company's office going over and signing the lease and receiving the keys to our house were the longest 25 minutes ever.. I was trying my best not to throw up and still try to pay attention and to keep Eli from wiggling out of my arms.. when he decides to throw up all over my arms.. oh yes.. this just helps the nausea. Thankfully, mama's puking was averted in the management company's office.

  That pretty much sums up our PCS story.. its one I don't think we will ever forget. Moving in went much better than moving out and my in-laws came up to help us, it was very much appreciated. We really love living here, love the area, and look forward to what the future holds for us. We are also so very excited about the surprise blessing God has given us and look forward to the upcoming holidays of Eli's first Thanksgiving, first Christmas, and First Birthday!!! I can't believe I am saying that.. thats for another post.. and of course we are looking forward to May 2013 when our new miracle is scheduled to arrive.. Memorial Day Weekend 2013!!

Good-Bye Cotton Fields and BBQ Shacks , Hello Corn Fields and Cornhuskers

    This is the last blog entry before we move!! How crazy is that?? Between all of B's crazy, random, and extra lengthy TDYs.. we squeezed in some time to drive the 15 hours to Nebraska to find a house.. and when I say "squeezed in time" we barely made it.. B returned from his 2nd TDY late on a Saturday night and we were up the very next morning at 4 am on our way to Nebraska to house hunt. This is one of the very many times we feel so thankful and blessed we have such a laid back baby.. not a peep out of him. He either sleeps or plays with his toys.. thank you Lord for giving us an easy traveler, you sure knew what you were doing ;) We had six properties I had set up showings for.. we arrive in Nebraska and are just an hour away from our final destination when I start getting emails and phone calls that four of our properties we had planned on viewing were either already rented or had applications down on them and were just waiting to be accepted.. basically already potentially rented. We then contacted base housing as we figured we might just not have a choice in the matter.. found out the waiting list was really long and we would be waiting quite a while if we ended up having to choose base housing.. panic started to set in. Thankfully, one of the houses came through and we ended up getting a lovely house for our family! We are so excited and feel very blessed to soon be making our new house in Nebraska a home.

  Moving day is just a short 6 days away.. for the past month boxes and packing paper could be seen scattered throughout our house.. and now today, well.. it seems that the boxes and packing paper have taken over our house. Thankfully B and I work very well together as a team and makes moving and this whole parenting thing more manageable. This is my thinking: if we can pack everything up and move 15 hours away with two cats and an 8 month old.. we can do anything. Oh and might I add I am in the middle of my next to last session of school. So in between packing boxes, feeding Eli, changing Eli, entertaining Eli, feeding/loving on my furbabies, and still trying to be a great wife and cook great food all the time to feed B (Ha! Not all the time!) I still somehow manage to make the time for school. In fact, just this week I have written five papers. Okay bragging over.. I just feel kind of good about myself that I can accomplish this and that I will soon have my degree!

  As moving day is approaching, we are still waiting for B's orders. Ohh the military, you hurry up and wait. Such true words. Little did we know that we would have to be doing a crap ton of paperwork and have to meet with Colonels and other AF personnel because of my being an "exceptional family member" Wow, that really does make me sound special.. ha! Apparently my having asthma and endo/IF issues make me a  part of the Exceptional Family Member Program. How lovely is that. Basically we had to fill out a bunch of paperwork and meet with doctors where they send all of my info to see if our next base has the necessary resources to treat me and if they accept to treating me. If Columbus, MS has the necessary resources to treat me.. I am 110% sure that Omaha has those resources too, just sayin. Oh and all of this could possibly take up to 3 weeks. But its okay, we are moving in just less than a week. It just wouldn't be a PCS without something stressful or crazy happening now would it? While it does make things difficult and stressful, I am really thankful the Air Force does this, they are really only trying to help me.. and that is so very much appreciated.

  I can't help but reminisce about our last PCS. So much different than this one is turning out to be. I was less than thrilled at moving to MS, so the majority of the car ride was spent crying my eyes out and asking God over and over why he was sending me to such a place, because after all.. I had everything planned out some place else. Plans.. oh my.. I think God laughs every time he hears us make them. This time, I am looking so forward to starting our new life in Nebraska. I also gained a child.. the last PCS I loaded up my car and had just enough space for my furbabies in their kennel.. this time I have an 8 month old I need to fit in there some where.. someone might just have to ride on the roof.. just kidding!

  So as we leave the land of cotton fields and BBQ shacks, we will forever treasure this place. We ended up actually learning to live life here, made so many friends, people we would have never met, things we would have never tried, life experiences we would have never gone through the same without Columbus, MS in our lives.. we will miss it and the wonderful people here we have come to know. We will meet again some day. The transition from cotton fields and BBQ shacks to corn fields and Cornhuskers might prove to be a bit difficult, but we are excited to take on the challenge and start creating new and exciting memories!

A Tiny Town Eli Will Always Call Home

  It really is funny how such a small town can have such an impact in your life. Amory is a very small town about 40 minutes north of here and holds a population of about 7,000.. I think that is even smaller than the town of Carrollton for all of my friends and family back in MO :) Now thats saying something ;)  Anyways, this tiny town in northeast Mississippi really holds a special place in our hearts. So, as I was driving out of Amory today after seeing Eli's doctor for the last time.. and the town for the last time.. the tears started rolling. Now I would consider myself an emotional person, not overly emotional, but a little bit.. my husband would definitely agree with this :) I started to think back on all of the memories that the town held.. special memories and special people whom I will probably never come across in life again.. Amory is the town where I would travel twice a month for ultrasounds and infertility treatments when we learned we would not be able to conceive or carry a child on our own.. I remember the day before my last dr. visit before I conceived.. it was April 27, 2011.. it was the day an F-5 tornado destroyed much of Tuscaloosa, AL.. it was also a day of numerous other tornadoes in and around MS and AL. I remember watching the news and seeing that a very large wedge tornado was on the ground and was heading straight for Amory.. all I could think about was how I was supposed to go there the next day and get my u/s and shots and hopefully conceive on this cycle!! Obviously I was very worried about it wiping out the whole town and all of the people who would potentially be killed or displaced. Fortunately, the tornado moved at the last minute and ended up hitting the very small town just north of Amory named Smithville. It turns out it was an F-5 tornado as well, just like the one in Tuscaloosa and pretty much destroyed the whole town.. so very very sad. I ended up actually conceiving that cycle.. and we actually refer to Eli as the "twister baby". That should be a fun story to tell him later! Eli was also born in Amory.. I will always hold the lovely memories of Brenton speed racing to the hospital on that early morning of January 7, 2012.. speeding and swerving left and right to avoid hitting deer all while I was in the seat next to him trying my best to breathe through very frequent contractions and praying to God we would make it to the hospital alive :) Eli was born just a little bit after we arrived to the hospital. I had the very best OBGYN who not only helped make pregnancy possible for us, but who helped me through every part of my pregnancy and who was always there for me. When we encountered some problems in the pregnancy, he reassured me he would do everything possible to make sure baby and I would be okay.. doctors like that are very special people and are very hard to find.. the nurses in the hospital where I delivered Eli were just as nice and caring.. I wasn't forced to do anything I didn't want to do and they were there for me every step of my labor, birth, and postpartum care. I couldn't ask for more amazing care than what I received in Amory. Even after Eli was born, we would very often call the L&D of the hospital there to ask any questions we had about Eli, and each time we were treated with the utmost respect and care.  Amory might be this tiny dot on a map of MS, but it is where motherhood officially began for me.. and will therefore always have a very special place in my heart.

  While I will probably never see these amazing people again, I do plan on some day taking a trip down to Amory and showing Eli were his life began. And some day, when he asks me where he is from.. I will tell him, "Mississippi."  Some of you may think this is absolutely silly for being sad about this.. but it is kind of upsetting leaving the area where you began your family.. we put down strong roots here and have learned to call it 'home'. God brought us here for a very special reason, and while I didn't realize it at the time.. I do now. Without some of the amazing people that God brought into our lives.. Eli might not be here today.. and for that, I am very thankful. While part of me wishes we could stay down here just for the great people and continue to get the great healthcare we have received, I know without a doubt, we will find just as amazing people and doctors in Omaha. God has a plan.. and while sometimes I want to fight it and go against it.. I have learned not to, and instead to wait on Him to show me his purpose for the new location he has decided to put my family  and I in. I believe good things are waiting for us in Omaha.. and while its sad to leave some great people behind.. I have faith that God will provide a great life for us in Nebraska!