Thursday, July 29, 2010
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Groceries
I love to people watch. I really wish being a mom allowed more time for it. But unfortunately, any time sans kids is set aside for a much needed date night, hair appointment or gynecological exam, and not much time allotted for people watching.
Any time I'm at a doctor appointment I try to people watch, but everyone is seated, all kind of looking around or reading. And any conversations are whispered.
Every now and then you'll get the people afflicted with voice immodulation syndrome and an interesting story, but it's pretty rare.
People watching at the BX is pointless, because it's the same stereotypical 10 people every time. Single enlisted guy, stay at home mom with three kids hanging off the side of the buggy, old person wandering around checking the prices, all the while ticking their tongue about how things used to be cheaper when THEY were in the Air Force. There's also the group of 4 emo high school students who live on base and have nothing to do after school.
You know the ones. They're all somehow wearing ipod earphones, and simultaneously having a conversation while their dyed black hair hangs in their face, their tight jeans or leggings are bunching around their lack of a rear end and their purple and blue eyeliner reflects the fluorescent light of the store right into your cornea. There's not quite as many of these here at Edwards, but Osan was CRAWLING with them. Emo wasn't cool when I was in high school, so I'm not really sure what the deal is there...but I'm sure it's just as painful for their parents to watch as it was for my mom to buy $75 GIRL Jncos.
There is one place that I do get a quick chance to size up people in a relatively short amount of time...the commissary.
(Or well, the grocery store to your normal folk)
I love to see what other people buy to eat, I think it's a very intimate thing, and you can tell a lot about a person or family by what's placed in their buggy.
Is it a single 2 striper with just a hand carried basket full of Healthy Choice, Gatorade and a 3 lb bag of gummy worms?
What do you expect a single Major to put into his buggy? Probably something a little more nutritious than the airman, but if you look close I bet they have those slim jims hiding under those bags of produce and lunch meat.
How about that mom of 6 in the next aisle? Is is big boxes of Rice-a-roni and Mac N Cheese? Or that mama of 4 boys with more than half of her buggy filled with 2% milk?
There's usually the old couple and their buggy full of batteries, cat litter and diet rite. And behind them is the couple with no kids, just from the gym with their cart full of produce, whey protein, eggs and a bag of tortilla chips.
But if you look really close, those people will all have a little 'something' in there you wouldn't have expected. I love to find that 'treasure' when watching them unload their groceries!
If you think about it, it's kind of like they let a fart out and thought no one heard it, but YOU WERE TOTALLY STANDING RIGHT THERE.
Any time I'm at a doctor appointment I try to people watch, but everyone is seated, all kind of looking around or reading. And any conversations are whispered.
Every now and then you'll get the people afflicted with voice immodulation syndrome and an interesting story, but it's pretty rare.
People watching at the BX is pointless, because it's the same stereotypical 10 people every time. Single enlisted guy, stay at home mom with three kids hanging off the side of the buggy, old person wandering around checking the prices, all the while ticking their tongue about how things used to be cheaper when THEY were in the Air Force. There's also the group of 4 emo high school students who live on base and have nothing to do after school.
You know the ones. They're all somehow wearing ipod earphones, and simultaneously having a conversation while their dyed black hair hangs in their face, their tight jeans or leggings are bunching around their lack of a rear end and their purple and blue eyeliner reflects the fluorescent light of the store right into your cornea. There's not quite as many of these here at Edwards, but Osan was CRAWLING with them. Emo wasn't cool when I was in high school, so I'm not really sure what the deal is there...but I'm sure it's just as painful for their parents to watch as it was for my mom to buy $75 GIRL Jncos.
There is one place that I do get a quick chance to size up people in a relatively short amount of time...the commissary.
(Or well, the grocery store to your normal folk)
I love to see what other people buy to eat, I think it's a very intimate thing, and you can tell a lot about a person or family by what's placed in their buggy.
Is it a single 2 striper with just a hand carried basket full of Healthy Choice, Gatorade and a 3 lb bag of gummy worms?
What do you expect a single Major to put into his buggy? Probably something a little more nutritious than the airman, but if you look close I bet they have those slim jims hiding under those bags of produce and lunch meat.
How about that mom of 6 in the next aisle? Is is big boxes of Rice-a-roni and Mac N Cheese? Or that mama of 4 boys with more than half of her buggy filled with 2% milk?
There's usually the old couple and their buggy full of batteries, cat litter and diet rite. And behind them is the couple with no kids, just from the gym with their cart full of produce, whey protein, eggs and a bag of tortilla chips.
But if you look really close, those people will all have a little 'something' in there you wouldn't have expected. I love to find that 'treasure' when watching them unload their groceries!
If you think about it, it's kind of like they let a fart out and thought no one heard it, but YOU WERE TOTALLY STANDING RIGHT THERE.
Monday, July 19, 2010
36:
the number of weeks pregnant I am
17: the number of shots I've gotten in my butt
7: the number of shots I've gotten in my arms
4: the number of sonograms I've had of 'baby girl'
19: the number of times I went to the bathroom yesterday
35: pounds I've gained with this baby so far
4: the number of shirts that fit over my belly right now
0: the number of maternity pants I can fit into right now
6: the amount of naps I've been able to take since my mom got here last week
21: the number of days 'baby girl' has until she's evicted (with a scalpel)
17: the number of shots I've gotten in my butt
7: the number of shots I've gotten in my arms
4: the number of sonograms I've had of 'baby girl'
19: the number of times I went to the bathroom yesterday
35: pounds I've gained with this baby so far
4: the number of shirts that fit over my belly right now
0: the number of maternity pants I can fit into right now
6: the amount of naps I've been able to take since my mom got here last week
21: the number of days 'baby girl' has until she's evicted (with a scalpel)
Friday, July 16, 2010
35 weeks
I am still '35 weeks' for 2 more days. If this little girl follows suit I will be a mother of three in 3 days. HOLY MOLY.
If this little one does not follow suit, I think I might be depressed. I have just expected her to make her appearance at 36 weeks, so if and when I go over that, I'm going to have "overdue depression". If I was smart, I would still be looking forward to my actual due date (Aug. 16th) and then just be pleasantly surprised when she makes her debut a little early. But no, I'm pretty sure I've set myself up for some disappointment...great.
I haven't posted much because nothings been happening. I can't drive, the kids have been healthy, Cory's been working and I've just been getting heavier by the day. I'm about 10 pounds over what I weighed the day I delivered both the boys. However, I hadn't been uncomfortable at all until Wednesday. Little girl finally 'dropped', and now I feel as if I'm going to give birth with every step I take.
My mom's in town until after the baby is born (Woohoo!) and it has been such a relief to know she's here to help. I've had some great friends to help me out here at Edwards, but there's nothing like your mom being there.
Cory and I will be going out on our last date until baby gets here (Well, unless she decides to wait awhile, then maybe we'll try to sneak another one!) I am very excited to eat in peace!
I will keep everyone posted on baby happenings. I am in AMERICA! Where I can update my FACEBOOK!
I know everyone is dying to hear the live play by play of my labor. Everyone can know exactly how many centimeters and effaced I am! Maybe I'll even set up a live web cam!
***Cory has just threatened to take away my phone if there is any live play by play of labor. bummer. So you can all yell at him if the baby is like 3 minutes old and no one knows yet! geesh.
If this little one does not follow suit, I think I might be depressed. I have just expected her to make her appearance at 36 weeks, so if and when I go over that, I'm going to have "overdue depression". If I was smart, I would still be looking forward to my actual due date (Aug. 16th) and then just be pleasantly surprised when she makes her debut a little early. But no, I'm pretty sure I've set myself up for some disappointment...great.
I haven't posted much because nothings been happening. I can't drive, the kids have been healthy, Cory's been working and I've just been getting heavier by the day. I'm about 10 pounds over what I weighed the day I delivered both the boys. However, I hadn't been uncomfortable at all until Wednesday. Little girl finally 'dropped', and now I feel as if I'm going to give birth with every step I take.
My mom's in town until after the baby is born (Woohoo!) and it has been such a relief to know she's here to help. I've had some great friends to help me out here at Edwards, but there's nothing like your mom being there.
Cory and I will be going out on our last date until baby gets here (Well, unless she decides to wait awhile, then maybe we'll try to sneak another one!) I am very excited to eat in peace!
I will keep everyone posted on baby happenings. I am in AMERICA! Where I can update my FACEBOOK!
I know everyone is dying to hear the live play by play of my labor. Everyone can know exactly how many centimeters and effaced I am! Maybe I'll even set up a live web cam!
***Cory has just threatened to take away my phone if there is any live play by play of labor. bummer. So you can all yell at him if the baby is like 3 minutes old and no one knows yet! geesh.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Beach Trip 2010
Cory and I have a love for beach trips. If either of us had any Vacation option available, our wish list would ALWAYS be as follows: 1. Hawaii Beach 2. Any other beach 3. A cruise to somewhere that had a beach.
It makes vacation planning very amicable.
Also - our kids love the beach, and this year since we traveled with friends, there were insta-playmates which = mommy gets to sit and snooze while listening to the waves.
We rented a house down in Carlsbad, CA with some friends. (They are actually our SROs in our TPS class who live 3 houses down from us.)
They have a little girl who is a year older than Carter and a little boy about 6 months older than Clay. They all know and love each other from all the TPS social activities, babysitting and Carter and their daughter were in preschool together this past year.
Our beach house was about a 10 minute walk from the beach, so each morning we loaded Cory up like a pack mule and hiked to the beach. Clay walked the whole way every day, and even learned to "run" across the street so we could make the crossing light in time.
The house was gorgeous and had plenty of room for all 8 of us! Cory and I slept in a California King bed and I've been trying to convince him we need to upgrade to one at home ever since.
It was a beautiful home!
*These are all pictures of our house off of a website. When uploading I realized I never actually took pictures of the house!
This is the master bathroom! One day, in our dream house, I will have one of these!
The master bedroom
Living room
Front room
Fully stocked Kitchen
Front door
Dining room
This is where Carter and Clay slept
This couch pulled out and is where our friends' kids slept
Mine and Cory's room
This is the first time we've ever vacationed in cold water. The California beaches are much different than the Gulf Coast or Hawaii beaches. It took some getting used to on the first day, but after that, I was just as content as I would have been at any other beach. In fact, I don't think there was any way I would have been able to sit outside on the Gulf Coast this time of year on the beach. I would have been dying from the heat. San Diego is the perfect beach weather for a 32 week pregnant woman.
Between the two families we had the perfect beach 'recipe'. We brought the napping tent, they brought the kiddie pool, and we all shared in the beach toys and sunblock. (In case you're wondering, my family goes through more than 2 cans of sunblock/day)
I meant to take many more pictures, but closing my eyes and listening to the waves while getting my tan on was much more appealing at the time.
Cory was nice enough to do most of the beach 'playing'. But even with that, the boys were pretty self entertaining with their friends.
I wish there were more shots of Clay playing at the beach, but he's like his mama and decided the beach was the perfect place for a mid morning nap. We would get to the beach around 10am, He'd wander around the sand for about 15 minutes and then ask to sit in my lap. I'd hold him and he'd be P-A-S-S-E-D O-U-T within minutes.
I'd lay him under the napping tent and he'd sleep for about 2 hours. He'd wake up and there'd only be a little bit of time before everyone decided it was time to head in.
We finally stayed late on purpose the last two days so he could enjoy the sand and he loved it. He chased sea gulls, threw rocks, pushed plenty of sand around and on the last day, played in the GIANT hole that Cory made for all the little ones.
Dad and son playing in the waves. Carter was much more brave this vacation. He's not a big fan of water, but he got more and more comfortable with it as the week progressed (and he saw that his girlfriend wasn't afraid of them).
Our beach setup. We were backed up kind of against some cliffs. It's not the prettiest beach in the world, but it had everything we needed. Like I said, by the second day, we didn't even notice. And none of that is 'dirty' beach, it's just black sand.
Carter, Cory, Pugs and Aden
Clay taking his daily nap
Cory and Carter way out in the waves. (I know we need a telescopic lens - or maybe just a mom who's willing to get off her butt to take the pictures...)
Carter and Aden sharing lunch in the tent.
I think they were playing "Secret Spy Animal" or "Captain Hook" at this point.
They worked on their running skills quite a bit and were pretty worn out by the end of the days.
Clay waking up
A rare 'real' smile from Carter
Burying the Sand Monster
Posing. This other little boy was a friend of our friends.
The Sand Monster sequence...
It makes vacation planning very amicable.
Also - our kids love the beach, and this year since we traveled with friends, there were insta-playmates which = mommy gets to sit and snooze while listening to the waves.
We rented a house down in Carlsbad, CA with some friends. (They are actually our SROs in our TPS class who live 3 houses down from us.)
They have a little girl who is a year older than Carter and a little boy about 6 months older than Clay. They all know and love each other from all the TPS social activities, babysitting and Carter and their daughter were in preschool together this past year.
Our beach house was about a 10 minute walk from the beach, so each morning we loaded Cory up like a pack mule and hiked to the beach. Clay walked the whole way every day, and even learned to "run" across the street so we could make the crossing light in time.
The house was gorgeous and had plenty of room for all 8 of us! Cory and I slept in a California King bed and I've been trying to convince him we need to upgrade to one at home ever since.
It was a beautiful home!
*These are all pictures of our house off of a website. When uploading I realized I never actually took pictures of the house!
This is the master bathroom! One day, in our dream house, I will have one of these!
The master bedroom
Living room
Front room
Fully stocked Kitchen
Front door
Dining room
This is where Carter and Clay slept
This couch pulled out and is where our friends' kids slept
Mine and Cory's room
This is the first time we've ever vacationed in cold water. The California beaches are much different than the Gulf Coast or Hawaii beaches. It took some getting used to on the first day, but after that, I was just as content as I would have been at any other beach. In fact, I don't think there was any way I would have been able to sit outside on the Gulf Coast this time of year on the beach. I would have been dying from the heat. San Diego is the perfect beach weather for a 32 week pregnant woman.
Between the two families we had the perfect beach 'recipe'. We brought the napping tent, they brought the kiddie pool, and we all shared in the beach toys and sunblock. (In case you're wondering, my family goes through more than 2 cans of sunblock/day)
I meant to take many more pictures, but closing my eyes and listening to the waves while getting my tan on was much more appealing at the time.
Cory was nice enough to do most of the beach 'playing'. But even with that, the boys were pretty self entertaining with their friends.
I wish there were more shots of Clay playing at the beach, but he's like his mama and decided the beach was the perfect place for a mid morning nap. We would get to the beach around 10am, He'd wander around the sand for about 15 minutes and then ask to sit in my lap. I'd hold him and he'd be P-A-S-S-E-D O-U-T within minutes.
I'd lay him under the napping tent and he'd sleep for about 2 hours. He'd wake up and there'd only be a little bit of time before everyone decided it was time to head in.
We finally stayed late on purpose the last two days so he could enjoy the sand and he loved it. He chased sea gulls, threw rocks, pushed plenty of sand around and on the last day, played in the GIANT hole that Cory made for all the little ones.
Dad and son playing in the waves. Carter was much more brave this vacation. He's not a big fan of water, but he got more and more comfortable with it as the week progressed (and he saw that his girlfriend wasn't afraid of them).
Our beach setup. We were backed up kind of against some cliffs. It's not the prettiest beach in the world, but it had everything we needed. Like I said, by the second day, we didn't even notice. And none of that is 'dirty' beach, it's just black sand.
Carter, Cory, Pugs and Aden
Clay taking his daily nap
Cory and Carter way out in the waves. (I know we need a telescopic lens - or maybe just a mom who's willing to get off her butt to take the pictures...)
Carter and Aden sharing lunch in the tent.
I think they were playing "Secret Spy Animal" or "Captain Hook" at this point.
They worked on their running skills quite a bit and were pretty worn out by the end of the days.
Clay waking up
A rare 'real' smile from Carter
Burying the Sand Monster
Posing. This other little boy was a friend of our friends.
The Sand Monster sequence...
Friday, June 18, 2010
Driving
I posted a few months back that we were the proud new owners of a new-to-us Honda Odyssey. It's pretty sweet with it's automatic seats, moon roof, DVD system with wireless headsets, leather seating for 8, and XM radio. We're totally driving the 'real' swagger wagon.
However, about a month and a half ago, I got a pretty hefty speeding ticket (to the lovely tune of $391) on base property. Now let me say that I wasn't 'on base'. I was on a desolate 14 miles of road that is in between the West gate and the nearest town. This property is still base property and considered 'on base'. But it's before you reach any checkpoints.
We had only had the new car for about a week and I was staring into the empty desert horizon when flashing lights appeared in my rear window and I got a speeding ticket.
Not to make any excuses, but it's really hard to know how fast you were going when there are no points of reference on the road. No other cars, no poles, no trees...just flat dirt. Cory said I could've maybe looked at the speedometer as a reference...he might have had a point, I guess.
About 2 weeks after the ticket, Cory got a call from work saying that my on base driving privileges were going to be revoked for 90 days and if I wanted to contest it, I needed to attend a special hearing with a colonel.
Today was that hearing.
We went back and forth with what to do if my privileges were actually revoked....how would I go to the Dr? the commissary? Clay's GI appts?
It's not like I can park my car off base and walk to it..it's more than 18 miles from my house to "off base".
For me to do ANYTHING, I have to be able to drive. I can't walk places like at Osan, everything is so far away!
What were my options? Move home and risk Cory missing the birth of his daughter because of this? It seems pretty extreme to have to move home because I can't drive...
I sat in the hearing with sweaty palms and a few teary eyed moments and like Cory said, "It probably went the best we could hope for."
My driving privileges have been revoked for 90 days EXCEPT for driving to the base clinic (where the boys' pediatrician and the on base pharmacy are) and to off base doctors appointments (whether for me or Clay)
90 days, that's 90 days on not driving to the grocery store, or to the bank, or to the post office, or running ANY errands, or taking the kids to the pool, or taking them to the park in town, or the zoo, or anything fun. That's 90 days of Cory not having time to run errands and so them not getting done. 90 days of trying to find a way to get my hair done, or bumming a ride to all the required social events of TPS (There's 4 just in the next 30 days) 90 days...until Sept 5th.
However, about a month and a half ago, I got a pretty hefty speeding ticket (to the lovely tune of $391) on base property. Now let me say that I wasn't 'on base'. I was on a desolate 14 miles of road that is in between the West gate and the nearest town. This property is still base property and considered 'on base'. But it's before you reach any checkpoints.
We had only had the new car for about a week and I was staring into the empty desert horizon when flashing lights appeared in my rear window and I got a speeding ticket.
Not to make any excuses, but it's really hard to know how fast you were going when there are no points of reference on the road. No other cars, no poles, no trees...just flat dirt. Cory said I could've maybe looked at the speedometer as a reference...he might have had a point, I guess.
About 2 weeks after the ticket, Cory got a call from work saying that my on base driving privileges were going to be revoked for 90 days and if I wanted to contest it, I needed to attend a special hearing with a colonel.
Today was that hearing.
We went back and forth with what to do if my privileges were actually revoked....how would I go to the Dr? the commissary? Clay's GI appts?
It's not like I can park my car off base and walk to it..it's more than 18 miles from my house to "off base".
For me to do ANYTHING, I have to be able to drive. I can't walk places like at Osan, everything is so far away!
What were my options? Move home and risk Cory missing the birth of his daughter because of this? It seems pretty extreme to have to move home because I can't drive...
I sat in the hearing with sweaty palms and a few teary eyed moments and like Cory said, "It probably went the best we could hope for."
My driving privileges have been revoked for 90 days EXCEPT for driving to the base clinic (where the boys' pediatrician and the on base pharmacy are) and to off base doctors appointments (whether for me or Clay)
90 days, that's 90 days on not driving to the grocery store, or to the bank, or to the post office, or running ANY errands, or taking the kids to the pool, or taking them to the park in town, or the zoo, or anything fun. That's 90 days of Cory not having time to run errands and so them not getting done. 90 days of trying to find a way to get my hair done, or bumming a ride to all the required social events of TPS (There's 4 just in the next 30 days) 90 days...until Sept 5th.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Dinner at Goofy's Kitchen
We ate at Goofys Kitchen the first night at Disney. My MIL set it up perfectly so that we had the first reservations. Turns out even if you have reservations, the later you go, the longer you have to wait. It gets backed up badly...but we didn't have to wait at all!
The kids really enjoyed it, and my favorite part: the dessert buffet :)
Here's Mulan! Carter hasn't ever watched Mulan, but he knows her from a preview from one of the other movies he does watch....I can't remember which one though.
This is either Chip or Dale...I'm not sure
Carter is familiar with Aladdin though
Clay was more than happy to get out on the dance floor with Pluto. He was his favorite character, he just kept yelling DOG! DOG! DOG!
Goofy!
Minnie Mouse was very cute. She would make a 'kissing' noise and Clay thought it was very funny.
The kids really enjoyed it, and my favorite part: the dessert buffet :)
Here's Mulan! Carter hasn't ever watched Mulan, but he knows her from a preview from one of the other movies he does watch....I can't remember which one though.
This is either Chip or Dale...I'm not sure
Carter is familiar with Aladdin though
Clay was more than happy to get out on the dance floor with Pluto. He was his favorite character, he just kept yelling DOG! DOG! DOG!
Goofy!
Minnie Mouse was very cute. She would make a 'kissing' noise and Clay thought it was very funny.
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