Saturday, December 8, 2012

Our Little (Okay Big) Surprise!

I've been waiting to write this blog post since the fall. I almost spilled nearly a half dozen times. So for those that do not know me in the outside- blogger- world and/or not on my Facebook....I am pregnant, due in May 2013.  After everything we went through to have our Son, we get our second child the easy/old fashioned way.  In short, we just got lucky.  Here's the story:
My Mom had come to visit us for my birthday at the end of August/very beginning of September. The only thing "off" about me at the time was my ferocious appetite. I couldn't get enough to eat and...while that is just not usually how I am. I seldom eat seconds and often have to be reminded to eat. A few days after she left was when it finally hit me that I might actually be pregnant. I realized I was "late" and I never am or have been. I still wasn't convinced though. I've seen so many disappointing negative pregnancy tests over the past 3 or 4 years, that I was way too scared. Finally one Sunday, I was praying at Mass when emotion suddenly overcame me as I began thinking of my Grandparents never getting to meet my kids. I actually cried in church. Somehow that feeling, as cheesy as it may seem, was my clue that I must be pregnant & needed to take a home test.  Obviously it was positive & so was the one the next day & then the subsequent blood draw confirmed it all. My first emotion was elation. I had written in my private journal just a few months prior that I was hoping God would give me another miracle in this way. My second & continued emotion was fear. This pregnancy terrifies me. It's too "normal" so to speak. There were no fertility drugs or RE appointments. There's no IVF coordinator walking me through it all. It's taking some time, but I am very happy. It's just very different from my son. It's like I have to allow myself permission to be happy about it too. 
Now for a picture of my cutie.

11/1/2012: 12 weeks. Next u/s at 19 weeks.
Thanks for reading along my friends. I'll be back soon.

Monday, November 19, 2012

11 Things


Okay, so I definitely wasn't tagged to do this, but I LOVE the blog that this came from so I stole it. If you want to check it out: http://www.lifeandloveofaparrothead.com/
(BTW, Breann...if you happen to be reading this post...I always read...I'm just horrendously bad about commenting frequently or posting on my own blog.)


The Rules:
1. Every tagged person must tell 11 things about themselves
2. Answer the 11 questions that the person who tagged you asked.
3. Ask 11 questions for the 11 blogs that you are going to tag.
4. Mention the blog that tagged you but don't tag back.


11 Random Things About Myself
1. I love gift giving.
2. I am almost a year behind in scrapbooking. I was up to date before my son was born and since his birth, well I never feel like I can fit it in.
3. When I'm lonely I strike up random conversations with people in stores. Just so you know, most people like to talk.
4. I'm sincerely worried about the childhood obesity epidemic in this country.
5. Pepsi is my favorite type of cola.
6. I'm religious about keeping a calendar or 2.
7. I got my degree, but I am still not sure what I want to do for the rest of my life.
8. Listening to my son laugh is my favorite sound now.
9. I love looking at pictures.
10. Laundry used to be my favorite chore...now it seems never ending.
11. So far, I only want my masters for the hood. The work involved, I am not ready to do yet.

My Questions from Breann's blog:
1. What is your favorite thing about the Holiday season? Buying gifts...I love brainstorming or finding something clever that people will like.
2. What is your favorite color? Pink
3. Tell me about a time you had buyers remorse! Wow, this is a tough one. I can't think of anything significant. 
4. If you could eat any meal, what would it be? Right now at this second: Chicago style pizza from a local place in Chicago, salad, cheese sticks & pepsi.
5. #1 place you want to visit: Australia
6. The best day of your life (so far)...Tie between the day I found out I was pregnant with our son & the day he was born.
7. Favorite Band/Artist? I don't have one.
8. Have you ever been super irresponsible? Yes, many times in college.
9. Do you have an undiagnosed addiction? Lol, probably shopping.
10. Why do you blog? I don't know...it's fun.
11. What's your favorite scent? This changes frequently, but right now it's Cranberry Joy from The Body Shop

I won't tag anyone...just do it if you'd like.
My questions for those who may feel like it:

1. Where's your favorite place to score a good deal when shopping?
2. Most annoying thing about Facebook?
3. You're in the McDonald's drive-thru, what do you order?
4. When do you put your Christmas/Holiday decorations up?
5. Do you know when your mail comes?
6. How do you deal with stress?
7. Favorite movie?
8. Do you make the bed everyday?
9. Are you happy with your current hair style?
10. Is your house organized to your liking?
11. How long have you been blogging?

Enjoy!

Friday, November 16, 2012

The Year of Faith

My fellow Catholics will probably immediately understand the title of this post, but for everyone else I'll explain... Every year the Pope (the important guy in Rome) selects a topic for focus upon in the year. [Quickly let me clarify that the new church year has just begun...it doesn't start January 1st.] This year it is faith. Last night, while my wonderful spouse stayed home with my Little Dude, I went to a talk at our parish about what this means. And while obviously it's geared towards practicing Catholics, I think it can be applied to all Christians. This year we have the opportunity to really examine our faith, make it stronger, and to see if we are living what we believe.

This speaks to me, because in the past 8 years, I have really been struggling with my faith off & on. I have done and said things that are not the way I want to represent myself. I have not respected myself.  It's interesting that infertility started giving me clarity on this issue. As our battle to have our son raged on, I finally turned to God and began re-examining my faith. While this was great, I still wasn't committed to going to church. I can't even tell you what brought me to go to Mass on that Sunday in August of this year. But whatever it was, I've kept going back there. I walked into church last night and felt comfortable there. Like I belonged in that parish. Finding a church home has helped so much. I look forward to getting up on Sunday and going to church.

My close friends know how much of a struggle I am having adjusting to Washington. I often remark that I feel the Navy is punishing me. But this is my year of faith....I am not going to let rainy Washington get me down. Here's to a new year and a year of faith!

Ps. This wasn't meant to alienate those who are Jewish, not Christian whatever...I have nothing against any of you.

Monday, November 12, 2012

Holiday time is upon us!

Before I go into my holiday discussion...Happy Veteran's Day to all who serve & have served. This country and many others wouldn't be where they are today without the supreme United States fighting force. Bravo Zulu US Military...job well done & I thank you!

Despite the fact that the stores have pushed Christmas to begin in August/September...I am just now getting into that spirit. I like to celebrate Halloween & get excited for Thanksgiving before I am ready for Christmas. It's like I need a warm-up period. :-)

Thanksgiving should be a merry one. I can't wait for all the good food. Yummy in my tummy! Matthew will probably enjoy it too...he digs any & all food. Then shopping the day after; I never go the crazy get up at 4am route (though doing that just 1 time is on my bucket list.) I'm the type who gets up around 7am...eats and heads for the mall. Then stop at Target on the way home & if they still have things left, I say yay & if not I say oh well.  I even shopped last year, 33+ weeks pregnant and without any back-up, because we were in Hawaii & Avery had duty. Actually, it was incredibly fun and is a fond memory I keep with me. This year, I may use the stroller as a way to push   keep people at a safe distance from me. Is that bad to use your baby as a way to get through the crowds? Yeah, probably...someone call the priest. (Though our priest would probably laugh...he has a big sense of humor.)

This year is Matthew's first Christmas. I am still debating where to put the Christmas tree up so that it is safe from little hands. It honestly may go in the dining room (just gotta move a bookshelf over a little), where Little Dude is baby gated out of going without parental supervision.

As always I love to buy gifts for other people. We adopted a child off the angel tree at our church. I picked a girl who likes Barbie & Disney. Definitely a kid I'd have been friends with if I were a kid.

I am also participating in Tales of a Sailor's Soulmate's stocking swap. I get to fill a stocking full of neat things  and mail it to my buddy. I love stuff like this!

Happy Holidays all! I can't wait!!

Monday, November 5, 2012

What's up in words....

So you saw the pictures last week.  (Yes, I know my son is one of the cutest children on the planet. ;-)  Today I figured I could actually put words out there.  What can I say, I was mildly lazy last week.

So at the beginning of October, Matthew & I got on yet another set of planes and hustled it from Seattle to Illinois/Iowa for my college graduation shindig. The weather in the midwest that weekend was horrid to say the least, so most of the exciting activities got canceled...which bummed me out. Oh well, I still got to see the  Ashford University campus. To say it's small would be an understatement. But with most of their students online, they really don't need a big campus. Seeing the kids who do live there made me feel old. They looked so incredibly young. Did I look that young at 18? The graduation ceremony itself was very long, but my name got called and I nabbed that diploma cover.

Matthew turned 9 months old and had a kidney ultrasound on the 23rd of October. At 9 months, not much has changed from 8 months. He still wears 6 month clothes, was wearing size 2 diapers..only changed to size 3 because I used up my stockpile of size 2, he crawls quite fast and is into everything! He pulls himself up on everything too! Our home is baby gate central. He loves the kitties, despite Blackie batting at him like a toy mouse.
His kidney ultrasound was quite the adventure as he kept moving around and they insisted on about 50 pictures...jeez! Even his kidney doctor asked why they took so many. As for his kidney's they now both show hydronephrosis. But again the kidney doctor says the AAP won't recommend anything be done yet. So we get to wait out another 6 months. I honestly hope after the next 6 months that it has either corrected itself or they do something, because this waiting game stinks. His growth was also still concerning to her, despite him looking fine to us.

Matthew celebrated his first Halloween and was very curious about the kids coming to the door. It down poured half the time, but we still had a fair amount of trick or treaters. Matthew was a tiger cat. I drew whiskers on his face, though he wasn't really patient with that so one side looked really funny.

Now it's November and we are busy with church activities. I can't wait for Thanksgiving & Christmas shopping. 

Friday, November 2, 2012

What's New With Matthew In Pictures

The day before Halloween. We were testing out different costumes.
Another Halloween outfit. Pumpkin on the booty. ;-)

Matthew & I with Champ the dog at my college Graduation.

Swimming with Mommy

Little hospital bracelet from his kidney u/s

9 months old!

Matthew on Halloween, he was a tiger cat!

Our pumpkins!

Grace, a very angry witch.

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Wake me up when September ends....

.....So I can blog again.
Jeez, September flew past me!  

Matthew turned the big 8 months on the 23rd of September. Not much has changed for him since 7 months. He still wears size 2 diapers, wearing too big size 6 month clothes and says Mama & Dada. The biggest thing change is that he is now crawling and when I say crawling, I mean everywhere! We now need a new desk that he can't get into (for reals!) His top 2 teeth have broken through. He's decided baby girls are the best things ever. The dating years in his very distant future could be interesting!

We flew to Tulsa, OK and attended my cousin Andy's wedding. Matthew is probably in the majority of pictures taken by the relatives, based on facebook. He was popular! We had a great time seeing the relatives. (On a side note my bad luck with United Airlines continued as we battled flight delays. It's almost funny at this point! Oh and do I fly them: I am burning through miles & am able to fly under my Mom's premier status.)

While we were in Tulsa, my Mom had a birthday so we went out to celebrate.

Matthew at his Nana's birthday dinner.
I was also thinking what big changes we've had in a year. On September 30th of 2011, I welcomed Avery home from deployment and was 25 weeks pregnant. What a year!

This month, I fly to Moline, IL to attend college graduation. Turns out that while there's a big celebration on campus in Iowa, the actual graduation is in Illinois. My diploma arrived in the mail and it rocked to put that baby up on the wall! 

Happy Fall!

Monday, September 10, 2012

The Latest News & Events

My Little Dude and I
Whew, has it been 2 weeks since I last blogged? Yikes, I really have got to do better.

So let's see....what's been going on around here...

Matthew turned 7 months old on August 23rd.  At 7 months: he is wearing size 2 diapers and is in size 3 month pants and finally got into the 6 month clothing which is still too big on him, but I was getting tired of the same clothes, he scoots (it's not quite crawling) around the house and gets into as much as possible, can sit up on his own, though he hates it and will stand if you're holding his hands.  His favorite toys continue to be the ones that play music and he recently figured out bouncing in the jumperoo.  He loves water and indulged in his baby pool until the weather grew cold over the weekend. He finally said Dada last week, which Avery was thrilled about and of course he still says Mama.  He appears to be working on one of his top teeth though it hasn't slowed him down much with the exception of a few fussy moments.
He enjoys "singing" at church or maybe that's him giving insight into the homily?? ;-)

On September 1st, I turned the big 2-7!  I had a great birthday. My 3 favorite people in the world were here to celebrate with me (Mom, husband and baby.)  We went to dinner and just chilled out. It was a nice & relaxing day.

Avery finally reported to his official command here (he had been at a training command when we first arrived) and is getting settled in there.

In 3 weeks, Matthew and I are headed to Oklahoma to celebrate my cousin Andy's marriage. I cannot wait to introduce my son to the relatives! (I have a cousin named Matthew and I am planning a picture of the 2 Matthews!) Then in October I am attending my college graduation. It's a busy, busy fall.

Hope you all are well.

Monday, August 27, 2012

Miscellany Monday: 8/27/12 Edition

miscellany monday at lowercase letters
 
 
1. Kitsap County Fair
Lambie the sheep

Matthew enjoying the Kitsap Fair

You could write stuff on this, so I wrote "Matthew's 1st Fair"

The pregnant cow. Poor thing looked miserable! :-(
On Friday, Avery and I decided to take Matthew to the Kitsap County Fair. This fair is quite nice! We saw all the animals and looked at all the different 4H projects local kids had done. I was so impressed. I also learned some interesting facts and bees. Bees are fascinating, who knew? Matthew was so curious watching the animals. He refused to pet a sheep, so Mommy did it for him. (I love sheep. It's tradition for me to pet them at these type of events.)
2. Cleaning, Cleaning, Cleaning!After church yesterday, we cleaned the house and car in preparation for my Mom's visit. She'll be here in 2 days. Yay!
3. Allergy Update
Still having issues, my allergist has changed my meds completely and I get 2 weeks to see if they help. I've cleared my house of anything that may have latex in it, as she is convinced that's the issue. I really don't think that's it since I go to great lengths to avoid latex exposure, but I will continue to go through the house.
 
4. Popular on Pinterest
I can't believe how "popular" my pins have become on Pinterest this weekend. I love using that site for crafts, meal ideas, gifts and more! I feel humbled that so many people like what I pin. (If you want to follow me, I have a button on the blog to your right.)
 
Have a great Monday everyone!

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Working on Crawling...and other news...

Taken today!

Matthew is working really hard at crawling. He gets himself up on his hands and knees, but then has difficulty moving very far. He's so far excellent at pivoting himself around and with the help of a little rolling can move himself pretty darn well.  I can't leave him out of my sight for long.  I have a feeling that he'll get the movement thing down pretty soon, so I better start thinking about childproofing the house a little more seriously.

Oh and I have mentioned that he says Mum & Ma?  Well he does and has been doing so for nearly a month now.  I gotta admit, he definitely charms his Mommy when he says either of them. Especially since everyone told me "Da da" would be first.  We are guessing he can say the M sound sooner, because his name starts with an M and he hears it all the time.

In other news:
I got out my resume and started to work on it a bit.  It's quite rusty, to say the least. I will probably need to take a resume course or something.  Thankfully the Navy offers services to spouses for such things. (Thank you, DOD!)

Matthew's Nana (my Mom) is coming out next week to be here for my 27th birthday. My Mom tries to never miss spending a birthday with me and so far she's only missed one (my 23rd and 1st in Hawaii.) I give her big props. This is a tradition that I definitely think I'd like to pass on with my kids, if they are cool with it.

Monday, August 20, 2012

Miscellany Monday: 8/20/12 Edition

miscellany monday at lowercase letters



1. Resolved?
I recently took my annual survey that Resolve, the National Infertility Association, asks people with infertility to take so they can get data about infertility.  This year I quite obviously have my miracle and so I could answer the question about having a baby thru IVF with a resounding "YES."  That was great, but the part that bugged me a little was the next question, which asked me if I felt the infertility had resolved itself now that we had our miracle.  I answered, "no" and when they asked why I said, because I feel infertility isn't something that resolves itself generally. You don't stop being unable to conceive naturally just because IVF worked for you one time. To me our infertility will never be resolved. I will still have a twinge of pain when I hear of people getting pregnant normally. I will be envious that people can have their children without scheduling an appointment with a Reproductive Endocrinologist. That's not meant to be negative towards anyone, it's just truth.  However, I will come to a point someday, I know for sure, where I will be content with our family and how it came to be. For now I enjoy our baby boy and thank god everyday that I was given the privilege of being his Mommy.

2.Lighter Fare...New Roof
The previous topic was a bit deep, so let's move on to something lighter.  On Wednesday of last week, they started on a new roof at our house. The noise has been...well, horrible to say the least. Between the hammering and the roofers shouting at each other, I am amazed Matthew has napped at all.  I guess he can sleep through almost anything.  It's been an interesting experience.

3.New Church
Our new church so far seems fabulous!  We are now members at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Bremerton.  I really like the parish for a few different reasons.
1. No one there has a seat that they always sit in.  This is unusual for many Catholics, so when I discovered that I wasn't taking someones seat I was ecstatic! 
2. They have an interpreter for the hard of hearing folks.  She is fantastic.  (I mention this, because MacMurray College, where I went, has a big deaf ed program and I am forever endeared to ASL and interpreting.)
3. The current visiting priest is from Britain and his homilies are filled with interesting stories. I realize he won't be here forever, but just the fact that he's here now rocks my socks.
4. Everyone smiles and says hello!  In Hawaii that wasn't the case and so I often felt a bit isolated at church there.
5. They don't mind screaming/crying/talking children. They have an area in the back you can go and still hear the service. This will be great when we bring Matthew (I haven't done so thus far.)

I think that's it for today.  Have a good one folks!


Sunday, August 19, 2012

Picture Post

New hair cut and color.

Helping Mommy in the kitchen.

"Oh hey Mom, how's it going up there?"

My boys: husband, son and cat.
I have to say that I love that I can link my droid phone with this blog, so I can post pictures I take from my phone. This is an awesome feature! Great job, google!

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Is it August already?

Wow, August snuck in on me and the month is nearly halfway over already! 

School finished up and I got my final grade: an A- (missed the A+ by a breath, oh well!)  As of this morning, I was put in the "graduated" status.  My diploma only will take 6-8 weeks to appear at my house. Avery and I are surmising that they must use special imported paper on those for it to take that long. ;-)

Matthew and I traveled to Southern IL to visit my Mom at the beginning of the month.  As usual, my bad luck with United continued with delays, maintenance issues etc!  (For those wondering why I flew that airline, it was because I used airline miles to travel and finagled flying under my Mom's Premier status. The only perk of my air travel experience with United.)  Matthew did remarkably well considering the delays.  He ate and slept and charmed old ladies! He even went to sleep at a strange hotel when we got stuck in Chicago for a few hours. I was so pleased with my little dude. Such a champ. A very generous gal let him play with her iphone at one point.

There are tons of pictures from IL, but they'll have to wait for another day.  Today is a day of catch up.

I ended up having a CT scan of my sinus and yesterday the allergist went over the results with me. My right side has some deviation, but otherwise nothing is wrong with them. So she prescribed 2 different sets of nasal sprays.  I am beyond frustrated at this point. I don't even know what I should do now. I feel like I am stuck. If anyone has advice, please share it.

Otherwise, we are all doing well.  Toodles my friends!

Monday, July 30, 2012

And...I'm done!

I finished my last 2 comments on my classmates discussion questions for school today.  Yesterday (after one final edit), I turned in my final paper of undergraduate.  I had to convince myself to log out of the online classroom. It just felt strange to be done with it. Now I have 6 months to find a job, before my student loan companies start calling.  Actually so far they've emailed me to tell me how excited they are for me. Anyone else find the humor in that? Sometimes I feel annoyed with the repayment process, but honestly those loan companies made it possible for me to get my education. So as long as we all play nice, there should be no issues. (I'll ignore the stalled economy issue...)

Matthew had his 6 month well baby check up today.  He is 15 pounds, 9 ounces. He is now in the 16th percentile for weight. He is also 27 inches long!! Holy height. Definitely doesn't get that from me (I'm 5'5.5"). I am pleased though. He's making progress.  He has eczema so we got a bunch of creams for that. He may outgrow it so we'll just watch it. I am not worried. Otherwise he is a happy,  healthy dude. He got his vaccines and took them like a champ. 

This past weekend, the town we live in has something called Whaling Days Festival.  We decided to go check it out on Saturday.  It seemed like a neat thing.  There were lots of food choices and rides. I think next year may be a bit more fun for us. This year Little Dude is obviously too small/young for rides so we just ate food and walked around. No pictures from it, so I won't be doing a weekend outtakes.

The Olympics have started, if you didn't already know, and we have been watching!  Thank goodness for DVR, since so many events are on late or in the early morning. 

I go back to the Allergist tomorrow and hopefully will get these allergies under control soon!

Friday, July 27, 2012

6 months old!

My absolute favorite of the 6th Month pictures!

A picture Daddy took of Matthew
In his Mickey Mouse pool

Playing in the jumperoo

How I found him yesterday morning. Not sure how he got the lamb in the crib.

Swinging, he loved it, despite the facial expression.
On Monday, July 23rd, Matthew turned 6 months old.  Hard to believe how fast the time has gone! (Wasn't I just giving birth to him??)  At 6 months: he is wearing size 2 diapers, wears 3 month & 3-6 month clothes, has discovered his love for his jumperoo, is eating solids once a day, sleeping in later and giving up the morning nap, has 2 bottom teeth and is thinking about crawling (he gets frustrated and quits!)

We leave in less then a week for Southern IL.  Where it is nice and hot!

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Less then 1 Week to go!

I have less then 1 week to go of my degree.  Of course the graduation ceremony isn't until mid October, but just the same I am considered done July 30th.  Or maybe a few days later once the final grade is inputted. Either way, July 30th is my last day of undergrad.  (Have I rambled enough to make my point?)
People in my real life know, and those who really pay attention here, that I never stepped foot on campus at Ashford. It was really only a University that allowed me to finish my BA while being a military wife thousands of miles away.  I found out last fall that MacMurray College considers me an alum and even though my degree won't be from there, I still consider it "my college."  It was where I lived in dorms, made friends for life, had fantastic professors that are now friends, joined a sorority and did a whole lot of fun stuff (and stupid stuff, but let's not dwell on that.)  Still....I am grateful to Ashford.  They made it simple for a Navy wife in Hawaii (and WA) to finish school at her own pace.

I got the email saying I can order my cap & gown today that I will wear when I walk across a stage in Iowa on a campus I am only seeing for the first time. 

So as surreal as it is, thank you Ashford. Thank you MacMurray!  Mostly thank you Mom and Avery.
To my Oma up in heaven, I am finally there.

Friday, July 20, 2012

Allergies galore!

So I hit up the allergist office yesterday, not as hot a mess as you'd expect given I had been weaned off all my allergy medication.  After about 2 dozen questions, breathing tests (which I failed twice, thanks asthma!), and over 50 skin pricks we know what I am allergic to.  And the verdict is: mold, dust mites, grasses, ragweed, cats & dogs (I didn't believe them on this one until they repeated the skin test), borderline for trees, borderline for avocado & tomato, cockroaches (odd, but I kid you not), and a few other minor things.  Oh and they re-confirmed the latex allergy.  It was an interesting visit.  I walked out of there with another asthma medication, a second nasal spray, upping my dosage of flonase, an EPI pen prescription and orders for a medical alert bracelet.  Oh and loads of instructions on how to deal with the care of the house (i.e cleaning with bleach, hot water etc).  Plus I get to come back in 2 weeks and start allergy shots.  Woohoo!

In other news:

I started week 4 of school and can barely believe this college saga is finally over.  I really hope I can impart in my son that taking 9 years to get your bachelor's degree isn't the smartest idea in the world. Oh well, better late then never, right?

Washington State seems confused about what summer is...we seem to have a few hot days and then it rains & cools down for a few more days.  I am a tiny bit annoyed; you can never put away all the winter clothes here. My relatives think I am crazy, but I am genuinely looking forward to the hot, hot summer of Illinois that I will get to enjoy in less than 2 weeks.

Avery is working this weekend, so Matthew and I need to find something to get ourselves into. There's a lavender festival somewhere around here, we may need to check it out.

Ps. Some of the spam comments I've been getting lately are truly hilarious! Thanks for the laugh, spammers.

Monday, July 16, 2012

I'm Allergic to the United States...and other ramblings..

Okay, now before you groan and think to yourselves "oh no, a political post" I assure you, this is not one of those.  I save my political discussions for.... well no one, with the occasional blurp to Avery. (In fact, I bet very few of my friends actually have a clue about my political leanings...I like to keep people guessing.) No, this post is about actual allergies. 
I suffered from seasonal allergies for a number of years when I was growing up in the Midwest.  However most over the counter stuff took care of it.  Then in college, my doctors prescribed some medications to help me get through the fall and spring time allergy seasons.  Once I moved to Hawaii, my allergies got progressively worse.  To the point where I was taking medication full time everyday and they kept adding to my arsenal of medication while I was there.  When we moved to Washington, I had very high hopes that my allergies would improve here. Well unfortunately I was wrong. My allergies are so under-controlled here that they have added even more medication and are now sending me to see an Allergist. To be able to see her, I have to wean off all my allergy meds. By the time I see her this Thursday, I'll be on nothing and look a hot mess (we're talking red & puffy eyes, drippy nose etc.) My PCM thinks it's time for me to go to allergy shots. We'll see how Thursday goes....

Cars: We've been a one car family the entire time we've been married. It's been annoying at times, but otherwise fairly tolerable. Once we had Matthew we knew we'd want to get a second vehicle, we had just planned to wait until I was working again in the fall.  Well....that isn't going to happen. Our car is having issues again, so we've decided to get another car soon...very soon in fact.  As for our current car, we'll probably fix it once more, but I am done putting tons of work into it beyond that.

Solid Foods: Matthew turns 6 months next week Monday, can you believe it?? His first half year of life has flown past me quickly!! I decided to wait and introduce solid foods at 6 months and our pediatrician agreed with me especially as we've been dealing with his medical issues. Next weekend we are going to introduce solids though. I am pretty excited for this. We've been getting him used to the high chair, so he'll be ready. I plan to make most of his baby food, but did buy some pre-made stuff for when we're traveling in August.

School: I did all the work for third week of my last class yesterday, so today Matthew and I are having fun together. I cannot believe I only have 2 more weeks left. I am almost there. It's surreal after all this time.

Matthew is demanding fun...toodles friends!

Friday, July 13, 2012

Weekend Outtakes: USS Turner Joy

This past weekend, we decided to go check out an old USN ship that is in Bremerton.  The USS Turner Joy is a famed ship from the Vietnam War era.  Compared to the USS Missouri in Hawaii, this ship is considerably smaller, because it's a totally different type of ship.  It is also not maintained by the US Park Service.  However, the local group that maintains it has done a great job keeping it up.  We enjoyed walking around it.  The volunteers were friendly and talked to us a lot.  The coolest thing is that boy scouts (and other groups apparently) can stay the night on the ship and the day we were there a group of scouts from Arizona staying the night.
Going onto the ship.

USS Turner Joy
Afterwards, we went into downtown Poulsbo and had dinner at a really neat restaurant called Mor Mor Bistro Delicious food and neat atmosphere. They get an A+ also because they weren't annoyed with Little Dude. (I say that last part, because some places give us dirty looks for bringing him.)
Matthew reading the menu. :-)
 All in all it was a nice weekend.  Today it's rainy and thunderstorming.  I hope it clears up, so Matthew can try out his Mickey Mouse swimming pool!

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Matthew Kidney Update


 Matthew at the hospital seeing the Kidney Doctor. I LOVE the little hospital gowns!




On Friday, Matthew and I drove the one hour to Mary Bridge Children's Hospital in Tacoma so he could see the kidney doctor.  I was afraid this would take all day, so I was pleasantly surprised that we waited 5 minutes and then they called us back.  (It was such a nice change from my days of going to Children's Memorial in Chicago for my spine where appointments meant waiting for hours.)  The hospital is so nice and I was super tempted to put Matthew in the little rowboat they have as decor/place for the bigger kids to play. I resisted...this time...next time we're there, Little Dude is going in that rowboat for a picture op.
They took his medical history, the nurse came in and tried to get a BP (he didn't care for this so it was initially a no go), weighed him & measured him.  Then the doctor came in.  Dr. Y is fantastic!!  We loved her.  Apparently the renal u/s report that was sent over from Naval Hospital did not contain that much information, but she was still able to make a diagnosis.  Matthew has hydronephrosis.  Which basically means that his left kidney is enlarged and urine is possibly refluxing into it.  What are they doing about this?  For now, nothing, because the American Academy of Pediatrics does not recommend doing anything invasive on a baby his age.  We will return in 3 months for another renal u/s and then see the kidney doctor again.  However, if he has a fever at any time, he must have a urine catch done.  So we're playing the wait & see game.

About his weight: Matthew weighed about 15 pounds at the visit, putting him in the 14 percentile for weight.  The doctor was concerned about this and informed me if he is still having a hard time gaining weight in 3 weeks (at his 6 month well baby appt), she wants blood work done on him.  She couldn't say if the kidney issue was related to this.  And to answer the question someone asked my Mom: YES, we feed him. His intake is monitored.

Thank you everyone again for your thoughts and prayers.  We are doing alright. :-)

Friday, July 6, 2012

I miss Hawaii!

I don't even know where to start this post.  I've been so negative lately.  And it boils down to the fact that I just desperately miss Hawaii and the people there. (Which Avery would roll his eyes at since I was the one who told him not to fight the detailer when his chief said he could and instead come here.)  Avery told me a few days ago that I really needed to change my outlook.  Of course at the time I took that personally and got angry with him.  However, he was right.  I've been so depressed about all sorts of things that I've been bitter.  My outlook has been negative and harsh. I have always been a plan- way- too- far- aheader and that is hurting me. My son is 5 months old and I am already wondering how we're going to have the second child, which just depresses me more. So to the person I dumped all that on the other day, I am sorry. I just didn't know where else to turn.

I am hoping my trip home in August helps me renew my spirit.  I always seem to feel renewed after I go home. 






Today I am taking Matthew to the kidney doctor in Tacoma.  Thankfully a gal I've known online since before I married Avery lives up there and I am finally going to meet her in person.  I just need a best friend here. Maybe it's her? (R, if you're reading this, sorry for the pressure. ;-)

Thanks for listening....update on Matthew's appointment to follow this weekend or Monday.

Monday, July 2, 2012

Weekend Outakes: Seattle

As I've been nearing the end of schooling for my BA in Health & Human Services, school has pretty much taken up most of my weekends.  On the few weekends that I don't have assignments, we've ventured out and about just exploring our new area.

A few weekends ago, we decided to check out Seattle and the City Center area.  We took our car onto the ferry and did the 1 hour crossing to Seattle. (Thank goodness for the ferry, it is so much nicer then driving the whole way!)
 
Free picture taken at the Space Needle

City Center is a pretty neat place. Besides the Space Needle, there's a lot of museums to see too. We didn't go to the museums, but plan to go back a different day and do more. This was more of a "get a feel for the city" day.  We left Matthew's stroller in the car and just used his Ergo carrier. I was so glad, because they don't let you take strollers up to the Space Needle and the "stroller parking" is just an area off to the side with no once supervising them.  As people with an admittedly pricier stroller, there's no way we are leaving it unattended.  It was a cool day (duh, this is the Pacific Northwest!) but the sky was pretty clear so we could see the city from the top.

After we saw the Space Needle, Avery decided he wanted to take the 7 Deadly Wings Challenge at the WingDome Restaurant in West Seattle.  You have to eat 7 wings with this super thick, hot & fiery sauce in 7 minutes.  Avery loves hot & spicy food. This is the guy who owns 12 million scoville pepper food additive so the challenge was definitely up his alley.
During the challenge.

 
Done and all cleaned up.
After that, Avery wasn't feeling too well so we hopped on the ferry and came home.  Next time we go to Seattle, I definitely want to hit up Pike Street Market and the aquarium. So much to do so little time!
Until next time...toodles friends!

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Wisdom Teeth and other ramblings...

Just a few days ago, I was writing about my Little Dude turning 5 months. Today it occurred to me that I rarely write about random stuff the way I used to.  I guess that is what happens when you have a child and that's cool, but I miss my ramblings.  I am contemplating writing a blog post about infertility after having a baby and how it feels, but truth is I am scared of how it will come across.  In my mind it offends a lot of people, but maybe I am thinking about it too much.  Anyway...I digress...

I had my wisdom teeth out 2 weeks ago.  It was awful, the aftermath, not the surgery.  Everything went well with the removal. I had a mild asthma attack afterwards, but that was really nothing. The recovery sucked though.  My Aunt flew in the day prior to help take care of me and Matthew.  Looking back, I really should've let go of control and have rested more.  I think that's part of why I had complications in recovery. I couldn't tolerate the narcotic they gave me so I stopped taking it and just took Motrin & Tylenol. The pain was much worse then I ever expected.  My jaw throbbed, but I just kept dealing with it.  Finally after nearly vomiting on the side of the road on the way back from taking my aunt to airport on Tuesday, I decided I better go back and see the oral surgeon again. That office was fabulous, they tolerated even me having to bring Matthew with me.  Apparently, part of the blood clot on one side came out (this is apparently different from dry socket, but is treated the same.)  They packed the sockets and sent me on my way.  I went back Thursday, so a week after the surgery, and they removed the packing & put in some chemically junk.  Thankfully over the weekend I finally started feeling better.  Next time I have any kind of surgical procedure someone remind me to let go of control so I can rest.

School is almost done for me. This past weekend I wrote a big paper for my class and today I found out I got an A! Considering how bad of burn out I've had, this was great news.  I started my last class on Tuesday, so less than 5 weeks until I am done with my BA.  It's been a long time coming.  Clinton, IA (where my online school has an actual campus) I will see you this fall to collect my hard-earned diploma.

In other news....I am going home to the Midwest in August.  It's a reward of sorts for finishing college.  I was always home sick when we lived in Hawaii, but since arriving in Washington I miss home even more. It's like I am so close, yet still so far away.

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Our Little Dude is 5 Months old!

5 month picture (He didn't want to smile.)
For those that asked: onesie is from BabyGap

Blackie Cat wanted in the picture.

I finally got him to smile when I gave him his sailor Octopus toy.

Matthew turned 5 months old on June 23rd!  He is just over 13 lbs (we weighed him on the home scale, so I can't get the most accurate number.)  Just yesterday, he finally moved to size 2 diapers. He is also getting his first tooth!  We can see the very tip of it peaking through on the bottom. He loves to laugh and swing. He also loves toys that play music.  
On July 6th, he sees the kidney doctor to figure out what's going on with his kidneys.  I filled out the kidney questionnaire and was kind of shocked at how many things he matches on it. The visit will be interesting!

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Father's Day and Matthew Update

Matthew & Daddy meeting for lunch.
Last year, Avery was deployed and I was pregnant with our little dude.  This year Avery is home and we are a week away from celebrating Little Dude's 5 month birthday.  What a year! I remember asking a friend of mine last year, if she ever wondered what kind of Dad her husband would be before their baby was born. She said "no" and I recall feeling awkward having asked.  I asked not out of malice towards Avery, but of sheer unknowing. Yeah, we'd discussed kids tons of time, but I really had no idea how either of us would be as parents.  I can say honestly, seeing my husband be a Daddy to Matthew has been a joy. He loves our son like no other.  When I lose patience he's there and vice versa. Matthew adores his Daddy and I know the feeling is mutual.  With that I say- HAPPY FATHER'S DAY, AVERY!


Update on Matthew: As I have mentioned previously, Matthew came down with a fever shortly before Mother's Day.  At this 4 month well baby appointment, his pediatrician asked me if the ER had ever called to tell us what the outcome of his urine culture had been.  (Since she was not the doctor who ordered the urine test, the results weren't sent to her immediately.) The ER had not called. Turns out Matthew had a UTI, but since he had been given the 24 hour antibiotic shot at the ER, she felt he was probably fine. Nevertheless, she wanted to have him get an ultrasound of his kidney's just to check him out.  He had the u/s this past week Tuesday.  The tech said she saw some "fullness" in his kidney's, but did not elaborate and the radiologist didn't come in to see us. Lt. D (his pedi) called on Thursday and said she also saw the fullness, so Matthew is being referred to a kidney doctor in Tacoma at the children's hospital there.  Naval hospital is great, but they are very small and do not have all the resources we may need for him regarding this issue. We are not worried and feel good to have a doctor who is so proactive with Matthew's care.

Thursday, June 7, 2012

"It's Ok" Thursday

Its Ok Thursdays
Link up here


...It's okay that I am yet again blogging while my little dude is napping in his swing. He sleeps in the crib at night so good enough and thank you for the person yesterday who commented that. :-)

...It's okay that I bought him a shirt that says "Little Dude" at Target yesterday, even though he did not need anymore clothes in that size. Hey...it was on clearance and said his nickname!

...It's okay that I use homework as a way to get a little quiet time on Thursday evenings, when my husband takes Little Dude out somewhere for an hour or 2.

...It's okay to still watch The View even though my annoyance with Sherry Shephard turns out not to be pregnancy related and is just me.

...It's okay to not know who to vote for in the upcoming elections.

...It's okay to watch bad reality television.

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Wild Wednesday!

Alright, so it's not really that wild.  Unless you count Matthew putting up a great fight at naptime. Thank goodness for his swing. He finally fell asleep there.  (And yes I know all the books say not to let them sleep in the swing, but seriously this Momma needed quiet time and if the swing does it, so be it.)
We are having a fairly low key week.  There's not much going on around here. 

School: I am on my 3rd week of my 2nd to last class.  The professor is super arrogant and though I am doing well in the course, his attitude really doesn't make it easy.  Plus, he thought a student who used a less than great source was "wonderful" which just turned me off even more.  I can't wait to be done.  (On a side note: I got an A in my previous course, which really made me happy since it was my first class back after maternity leave.)

Weather/Shore Duty: The weather up here is cold.  I tend to forget it is even summer.  I recall how annoyed I used to get at the people who complained about living in Hawaii, but I kind of get it now, because I complain about living here frequently.  I am doing my best to find the good things, but it is difficult.  Coming from 5 years of sea duty to shore duty is a huge adjustment.  Avery and I are struggling a bit to figure out how live like a "normal" couple. On the positive side, I am going out for dinner/drinks with some ladies whose husband's are also on shore duty on Friday. I am hoping/praying they can become friends. It seems harder to be friends with the ladies whose spouses are on sea duty for some reason. I guess it has to do with the whole vastly different schedule.

Matthew: I forgot to mention in my previous post that they discovered that the reason Matthew had a fever in May was due to a UTI.  So he will have to have a renal u/s next week.  It's just precautionary, due to his age.

Wisdom Teeth: Mine are impacted and must be removed surgically next week Thursday.  The doctor told me he'd prefer I allow him to put me under for the procedure and after I listened to him explain it, I agreed.  This is more money out of pocket, but it is faster and let's be honest who in their right mind wants to be aware of what the oral surgeon is doing?  Not me for sure! I am dreading the whole thing. Especially since anyone who knows me, knows I am a big baby when it comes to teeth/mouth pain. I also like to talk and eat and things that inhibit those activities annoy me. Which leads me to my next topic....

Baby Weight: Yes, I have proved the nay-sayers wrong and lost all the weight I gained.  It can be done. I was 121 on the day of the embryo transfer and 157 on the day my induction began.  In May when I saw my new doctor, I was 122 (okay so one measly pound up from my starting point, but close enough.)  The one thing I did that I cannot stress enough to people is this: after you've given birth go get normal pants in your "new" size. I was a size 10 after I gave birth and even though the number scared me a bit, having clothes that fit properly really helped my self esteem immensely. 

So there you have it, Wild Wednesday!

Friday, June 1, 2012

May 2012 in Review

This month has been such a busy month filled with so much stuff!  I've been busy with school, so blogging hasn't really been the priority that I keep meaning it to be.  May was a busy month for us filled with firsts.
[As you all already know May started off with Matthew struggling to gain weight and fighting off the threat of hospitalization. Thank goodness we got past that.]

Our first ER visit: Then we made our first ER visit with Matthew.  Right before Mother's Day, Matthew came down with a high fever, so we took him into the Naval Hospital to get checked out. They took blood, urine and did a chest x-ray.  Because we delay vaccinations, they decided to give him a 24 hour antibiotic just in case and after only 4 hours we were home.  With the exception of them disagreeing with our vaccination plan, Naval Hospital Bremerton, was fabulous.  Everyone was so nice and the time passed by quickly.  The next day we saw Lt. D, Matthew's pediatrician, who tested him for the flu (a horrendous test that had Matthew screaming more then getting the blood & urine draw the night before.)  He did not have the flu and his fever was gone within a day.



My first Mother's Day with Matthew on the outside: My Mom flew in 2 days prior to Mother's Day and Matthew and I were there to greet her. My Aunt & Uncle drove up from Portland too. It was a great weekend.  The weather was lovely and Matthew was as sweet as can be!
Holding a sign to Welcome Nana!





Matthew and Mommy on Mother's Day 2012

 First (and only) Four Month Birthday for Matthew:  Matthew turned 4 months old in May.  He's a very active little dude.  He likes kicking his legs and continues to roll over, as he's done since 2 months of age. His play mat and vibrating chair are his 2 favorite places to be.  He continues to sleep from 9pm-6am.  His current favorite activity is "eating" his hands.  Just recently at his well baby appointment he was 13 lbs and 26 inches long (his weight is still low for what he started at, but he's gaining enough to appease them). The Corpsman said we have a basketball player on our hands. I think she may have been correct. His infant car seat only goes to 30 in. so we are investigating convertible car seats and hoping to find a good deal on one, since we're going to need it sooner then we expected.  He still wears size 1 diapers (we've been in those since 2 months) and is in 0-3 month clothes, with a few 3 month outfits mixed in. He can also still wear some NB sized clothes.
4 month picture
First (and only) Four Year Anniversary for us:  Avery and I celebrated 4 years of marriage at the end of May.  We went to The Melting Pot for fondue and left Matthew with a babysitter.  We had a great evening out alone.  Unfortunately I completely forgot to have any pictures of us taken. Oh well!

Thanks for reading along folks.  Matthew and Avery are getting shots today. I am the lucky one who does not need to get shots this time around. :-)