Peanut is 6 months old!

Little Miss Julia

Weight: 12.1 pounds
Length: 25.1 inches long
Head Circumference: 16 inches
Diapers: Size 1
Clothes: 0-3 and 3 month. (Maybe some day she'll grow into the bigger stuff...she's got so many cute clothes waiting for her to wear!)

So at just barely over 12 pounds our princess is now in the 0 percentile for weight. We do supplement her either with formula or pumped milk once or twice a day.  We're hoping that helps her gain a little more.  The doctor seems to think it's a calorie issue for why she's not gaining. She's very distracted when she's nursing which doesn't help her. We've started solids and she is still working on getting used to them. She loves Mum Mum rice crackers like her brother did. I've made her solids and given her jarred baby food. Both she's tried and eats a little bit, but she's not as into the solids. I am not pushing it, because I think she's maybe just not quite ready.
She loves to rock and bounce. She makes lots of noises and squeals LOUDLY! I think she's going to be crawling sooner then later. She's almost sitting up on her own. Her favorite toys are Sophie the giraffe and anything else she can grab onto.  She's still a doll and continues to be loved by everyone who gets their hands on her.

What's Happening this week....

Miss Julia has her first tooth coming through. We noticed it yesterday morning!  It explains some fussiness on her part. She didn't sleep so well last night either. Poor thing. Matthew has always struggled when getting teeth and it appears that our Little Sis is the same way.
Just after typing this I noticed how many nicknames we have for Julia. So far she's called: Jewels, J, Peanut, Princess, Little Sis, Ju Ju (Matthew calls her this), Baby Sis and Little Miss. I'm probably forgetting some too. I don't think Matthew has even half that many nicknames. But just for the record, Matthew's nicknames are: M, Chew, Big Brother and Little Dude. [Notice for all those who love my kids: Matt & Matty are not on the list. While those are great nicknames...I've decided he will have to ask for them if he wants them used for himself. Oh and by the way, I realize giving my son a name that could be nicknamed was an obvious target for such nicknames, but I can still object.]

I made popcorn balls last night for a command fundraiser. They weren't as simple as I'd hoped just in terms of the messiness factor. I don't really like messes. This little idiosyncrasy began when I was very young and would demand my Mom "clean me" when I would eat. If you want to know how bad it is...I visibly cringe when mixing & shaping meat loaf. I've literally had to train myself to deal with it. My husband laughs and I admit it's sort of funny.  But anyway...the popcorn balls turned out well and tasted good. Hope the sailors and civilians like them.

 As you may recall, I had a cold over the weekend. It's taking frigin' forever (okay...forever to my impatient self) to go away. Though the fact that Rite Aid can't seem to refill my one allergy med is not helping said situation. I've had to take out my contacts for the day and not wear make-up less I rip my eyeball out. Ugh!

I'm listening to Matthew say "hi" to Siri on my iphone right now. She's apparently confused by him. Hehehe!!

We're looking forward to Halloween tomorrow. Our friends who just PCS'd here are coming over and I think it'll be a good evening. The chance of rain is anywhere from 20-40% but it's WA so who knows. To me you trick or treat no matter the weather (it's my good old Midwestern roots coming through!)

Whelp....getting ready to head to a meeting.  Toodles!

Just thinking

Did anyone read this article recently? I don't know how or where I found it, but I read it and immediately cried my eyes out and emailed my husband at work (which if you know me...you know I don't do this generally.) If you hadn't read it or didn't read the link now. It's about a 15 year old boy in the foster care system asking for someone to adopt him.  Here's part of why it spoke to me: when we started down the infertility road I stumbled upon a number of blogs about adoption so I read a lot of people's personal stories on the subject. Due to reading these blogs I have learned a lot about the state of adoptions in this country.  Basically....it can be very difficult to adopt in the United States.  So the next time you admonish people for adopting outside the USA, think about that.  Also, most people don't want older kids. For obvious reasons. Older kids come with more challenges. So when I read this article for some reason I felt compelled to ask my husband if we could adopt this boy. Now I know it sounds crazy & off the wall. And before those who know me in real life start panicking...no we are not adopting this boy or any child any time soon.  But it does plant the seed in my head.
I asked recently how people knew they were done having children and felt at peace with the decision. This is a question I'm going to struggle with for awhile I think. It's definitely on my prayer list. Anyway...maybe this is my answer. Maybe I am done doing pregnancies (which let's face it, pregnancy and I do not get along very well) and instead need to do something else.

Anyway....just thinking....

Sunday Social: Halloween Edition

Link up here!

1. What was your favorite Halloween costume as a kid? Hmm...tough one. My Mom made most of my costumes when I was growing up (she's a super skilled seamstress), so maybe my Belle from Beauty and the Beast. Or there was this white princess dress she made that was gorgeous too.

2. If you could go back to your childhood and dress up as something, what would it be? Scare crow. Not sure why I say that...it just popped into my head.

3. What was your favorite Halloween costume as an adult? A farmer...I did that as a sorority thing one year in college. It turned out pretty fun.

4. What is your favorite Halloween candy? Tootsie pops and Reese's peanut butter pumpkins.

5. What is your favorite Halloween memory? Trick or treating with my friends and then coming home where we dumped all our candy into a big pile and each took turns picking until we'd gone through it all. I still smile thinking of that.

6. What is your favorite scary movie? I hate scary movies. Seriously I have to prep myself to get through them. I usually have to get into a real sarcastic attitude and laugh my way through. In high school I laughed myself through the entire movie "The Ring" otherwise that movie probably would've had me screaming. On a side note: this drives my husband crazy!

Last Halloween....Little Dude was the cutest tiger! I can't wait for this year!

5 Months Old! Already?!?

5 Months old

For some reason, I can't find the 5 month pictures. I know I took them. Perhaps they didn't make it on the computer like I thought they did. Anyway...Oct. 21st, Julia turned 5 months old. I remember thinking when Matthew turned this age that he seemed so "old" and with Julia I don't feel that way at all. Maybe it's her small size, but she just seems younger. Literally nothing has changed from her 4 month stats...except maybe her weight (I'm sure it's increased, but we don't see the doctor for anything official until next month.) She's still wearing the same size clothes, diapers, shoes etc!
We've started transitioning her to her crib. Some nights are better then others.  Her sleep has been better...though I do miss the days of her sleeping from 10pm-5am. Oh well. We'll keep working on it.
She'd mastered rolling over months ago, but now does both back to tummy and tummy to back. As seen in the above picture, she loves to grab onto anything she can and hold it.
She loves to be held and snuggle, which is so nice since her brother is too independent for snuggles.

I'm still back and forth with feeling at peace with 2 kids. I wish I knew how you got to that point. It's reasonable for our family to be complete and when I was pregnant with Julia I felt that peace & certainty. Now it's a struggle...not sure why.

I've got some ideas for the blog and am hoping to implement them as soon as I get over this annoying cold I've got. I hate being sick. Anything that causes me to be down & out for the count just irks me. I like being on the go and illness doesn't allow that.

Toodles...hope to see you soon.

4 Months Old (Better late then never!)

So...I was doing so well with blogging and then something I believe is called the 4 month sleep regression hit us! Now don't get me wrong, Little Miss doesn't sleep horridly...she just has decided to wake up 2 times a night and then proceeds to comfort nurse for an hour each time! Thankfully I kind of doze while she does this, but still it has thrown me off the amazing schedule I had going for awhile there. Not to mention the pain it causes! Anyway...back to the update...

Julia turned 4 months old Sept. 21st and a few days later had her 4 month well baby appointment. Here are her stats:
Weight: 10.8 pounds (she's on the small side obviously)
Length: 24 inches long!
Head Circumference: 15.5 inches around
Diapers: Size 1
Clothes: NB dresses, 0-3 & 3 month onesies (much of it she still drowns in, but we like variety for outfits.)
While most definitely a peanut, she is for the most part, a very happy & healthy baby.
Julia loves her play mat and sitting in the bumbo while I do chores around the house. Her brother has figured out how to make her laugh and I love watching them both laugh. Little Dude is still a bit rough with her, but we're working on it. She loves to kick her legs! She smiles and laughs when we look at her or give her kisses. In short, she's the most beautiful little princess and I love her to pieces!

2 weeks ago, she came down with a high fever and visited the ER. She had a kidney infection. That earned her a 10 day course of antibiotics! The amoxicillin was that nasty pink liquid we all remember from our childhoods. She actually didn't mind it, but just looking at it made my stomach churn a bit. Haha!! Anyway...this requires her to have a kidney ultrasound and maybe a trip to the kidney doctor in Tacoma. Her brother (if you recall) had the same issue as a baby, so we're very familiar with the protocol.

I'll try to do better with the blogging...toddles!

Blogtember- What we've been up to lately!

I haven't really felt like blogging prompts lately. I feel like I'm not very "real" when I do blog prompts. But today's prompt is very much up my alley. The prompt is: "A "life lately" post. What you're up to, how you're feeling, how you're doing on your goals, etc. Bonus points for great photos!"

This is one I can do!!

So...here's what's been going on lately:

1. I've been insanely busy. Attending training, carting kids to play dates and keeping the house standing. Apparently, my indoor only cats got fleas and brought them home or maybe the house gave them to the cats. However they got here, we've been doing flea battle for a week. Last night, thankfully, both my husband and I were fed up with doing this battle ourselves. So we've called in the experts and terminix is coming tomorrow. Thank you sweet Jesus! I was so upset to find the fleas. In my head I thought you only got fleas if you didn't clean enough (and those who know me well know my cleaning schedule.) Well our veterinarian tells us that is just not the case. Apparently just walking in the grass can bring them in your home and it won't matter how hard you clean. Either way....I'm thanking the lord (no joke) for the exterminator coming tomorrow.

2. Little Dude has a cold. I love my son, but he doesn't do colds well. He is crabby and just mad at the world. He's obviously inherited my impatience for illness. It's cool...I get him. Little Dude being sick is exhausting though due to his impatience. Thankfully his sister isn't effected and *cross your fingers* my husband and I don't get sick, though the jury is still out on that one of course.

3. It's raining, it's pouring....yeah typical Washington weather. Hopefully we'll get 2 days of sun this week, but the weather changes every 12 hours here sometimes I swear!

4. I found a new tinted moisturizer that I love. Aveeno is rocking my world on the days I'm exhausted and don't want to use makeup, but need a pick me up.

5. I've read a few books lately. I read "Tell the Wolves I'm Home" recently. It's supposed to be for a book club I joined here, but I'm suspicious of them actually ever getting together to discuss it. I miss my book club in Hawaii that actually had their act together. 

6. Little Miss turned 4 months on Saturday. I'll have to get a 4 month picture and do a special blog post. Maybe by Wednesday....we shall see.

Have a good one my friends!

Five on Friday!

1. Oreo Cookies

Yes, my son is making the biggest mess right now as I type. Double Stuffed Oreos are one of the foods I only indulge in a few times a year, because otherwise I'll eat an entire package in a matter of days. Well...I guess Matthew agrees on their taste.

2. Julia is almost 4 months old!

Yes, Little Miss turns the big 4 months tomorrow.  I desperately want time to slow down with her. She's a gorgeous little gal and everyone loves her.

3. Friend arriving soon!

One of my very, very good friends from Hawaii is PCSing here with her hubby in 1 short week. My level of excitement since they had their hard copy orders has been difficult to contain (and I've had a long wait on this one!) Yes, quite a few super girly squeals of excitement might have been heard from me...;-) 

4. New iphone operating system
I'm not sure I'm sold on it. It's not horrible, just a bit of an adjustment. It seems to really drain the battery life though. :-/

5. Play date! Matthew & Julia love play dates and this week was no exception. 

Julia hanging with the girls at a play date.

Sunday Social

Link up here!

This Weeks Questions:

1. What is the name if your blog? Ramblings of a Sailor's Lady

2. What do you love most about blogging? The other blogs I find to read. Reading about other people's lives is like people watching on a grander scale.

3. Why did you start blogging? No lie- the people who made my wedding cake had a blog & I thought it was cool and I wanted to be cool too. Plus some of my friends had blogs and again I wanted to be cool like them. Now I blog, because it's fun.

4. What is something you’d want to tell someone just starting out in the blog world? Follow lots of other blogs and do the link ups. It really gets traffic to your blog. Oh and link to Facebook, because your friends are nosy & will read even if they don't follow officially.

5. Biggest blogging learning experience you’ve had? Hmm...tough question. I can't think of anything honestly. Maybe make sure you approve your comments, because then if someone says something you don't like or want the world to see, you can easily monitor it.

Blogtember isn't on weekends, so I decided to try this link up on for size. It's not bad. I might just do it again. It's stormy here too. Duh, we're in WA so of course it's stormy. ;-)

Catching up: Blogtember

I've been a little distracted/busy this week. Plus the weather has been warm & just gorgeous out so I had to enjoy it before the real fall & winter rain set in for good.

SO....Tuesday's prompt was describe a distinct moment when your life took a turn. I have several so I'm not really sure I can pick one. So we're skipping that one.

Wednesday's prompt was to share links to your favorite online shops. My favorite online shop is: Amazon. Seriously...I have the app on my phone and look at the site several times a week. I got Amazon prime on a free trial & liked it so much I paid for it. I can't beat the convenience factor of it.  

Thursday's prompt was to describe how social media & blogging has changed you. Well obviously it has made me more open to the world. But it also has motivated me to do better. I've read blogs that just inspire me and make me want to press on. There's a blog I used to read, which unfortunately doesn't exist anymore, that motivated me to finish my degree. It wasn't a motivational blog but the lady who wrote it had such a way with words that she made me want to finish my degree so I could do amazing things in life.  (Wow that sounds cheesy as heck...I really don't mean it to be cheesy.)

Today's prompt is easier. It is a self portrait. I have 2.

Ready for the Ombudsman Appreciation Dinner. I felt really pretty. 

Last night. What I look like with no make-up on.

Thanks for reading along. See you Monday!

Blogtember: My Personality Type

I skipped Friday's prompt for Blogtember. It was asking about a time when you were very afraid. A time when I was extremely afraid is still too intensely personal for me to share with the blogosphere. Maybe someday I will write about it, but not now.

There were no prompts for the weekend so I just did stuff with the family. Friday evening I attended my first Ombudsman appreciation dinner (blog on that later.) Saturday we finally opened savings accounts for the kiddos & bought our 5 year anniversary present (only 3.5 months late), which was a set of new pots & pans.

Now it's Monday and the prompt for today is: Take this short personality test and respond to your results. (At the end, find the detailed profile of your personality account - click "click to view" under "You" and "self awareness and personal growth." You can even google your type and find more info on it!)

My results were not all that surprising. I'm an ESFJ.  The E is for extroverted, S is for Sensing, F is for feeling and J is for Judging.  The first 3 obviously do not surprise me in the slightest.  I am very extroverted and have been my entire life. I love meeting people & socializing. Feeling is a given. I couldn't do my job if I didn't feel. I have learned to tame the feeling a little, so I can be more effective at what I do & how I interact. Sensing is an inherited trait. Both my Mom's Mom & my Mom had/have this same trait.  It is going to sound a bit crazy, but my Mom (and my Oma before she passed away) often just knew things. I used to think they were off the wall, but as I got older I realized I had that too. It's not a psychic type thing...we can't see the future or whatever. Related to this I read people very well though I seldom tell them. It's like insider information. Again- this is why I'm good at what I do.
The last one judging though sort of annoys me. I'm not sure how I got that result.  I do admit to judging on some things, but if you know me you'll know I'm pretty open minded on a lot of things and I don't always think I have the right answer.  I'll have to dig a little deeper to figure that one out.

Go take the test...it's easy to do & really interesting!

Blogtember- Wisdom & Advice

The prompt for today is: "Pass on some useful advice or information you learned and always remembered."

This is a toughie (did I say that the past 2 days as well? Probably. I think I sound very scripted when I have to blog based on prompts.) The reason I say it's tough is because I have so many things I could say to answer this question. My Mom is a phenomenal advice giver.  Once I got over that teenage rudeness, I realized she was a pretty smart lady. Mom- if you're reading...please don't faint. ;)

That said one quote I have always remembered is this one: " Life is a succession of moments, to live each one is to succeed." -Corita Kent.
I read this quote as a freshman in high school. I was roaming the internet and I look an IQ test and while awaiting the results, random quotes were coming up on the screen. The reason this particular quote stuck with me was because I was going through a particularly anguishing time in my life. That quote made me feel better and it has always stuck with me.  I feel like it says to just keep living & eventually you'll make it. Basically a nice way of saying don't give up and be stuck in a rut forever.
As someone who has veered off the intended path a few hundred times, it's comforting to know that I'm still succeeding.

Another piece of wisdom is one I've touched on before and that's choosing the positive.  Today it's been stormy & gray and I was kind of grumpy since my son was whiny. My husband came home and asked me what I was happy about today. And instead of saying "nothing." I forced myself to list several things that I'm looking forward to or that made me happy.  Life can be miserable, but you can make the choice to be happy and not be a victim.  Not everyone is out to get you or ruin things for you, but it'll feel that way if you view the world angrily.

Have a happy day everyone. :-)

3 months...Blogtember day 2

Today's prompt for Blogtember is:  If you could take three months off from your current life and do anything in the world, what would you do? 

I really really wish I had a neat answer, but this was a tough one. At the moment I'm pumping so my daughter can have a bottle those times I'm away from her...so my first instinct is to say I'd pump for 3 months to help babies in need. But then I thought that answer was rather boring.  (Though definite kudos to Medela for making a great pump.)  Anyway...let's get to the fun stuff. If I had 3 months on my own, I'd go back to Hawaii & see and do the things we missed while we lived there. I'd also pack in some scrapbooking with the BFF who lives in Hawaii still. 

Google search of Molokai

The top thing on my list to see would be the island of Molokai. This is the island where the lepers were forced to live after they were kicked out of living on the other islands, because of their disease. This is also where Father Damian did his work & where his reason for sainthood occurred. I've read several books about what happened there and I desperately want to see the island and the old leprosy colony.

3 months of course would never be enough though. I miss Hawaii very much. It was such a unique place to live.

Bon Voyage....if only....

Blogtember: Day 1

Over 300 people in the blogosphere of the good ol' internet are participating in this lovely event. I figured since I keep saying I want to blog more, I may as well do something that prompts me to get my booty in blogging gear.  You can do it too: http://storyofmylifetheblog.blogspot.com/

The first day of blogtemper's prompt is to describe where or what you came from.
I feel like this is kind of a tough one, because I didn't live in the same place my entire life. So to start: I was born in Hoffman Estates, IL and lived there until I was about 8 years old. My parents and I lived in a very small townhouse, until they had a bigger home built & we moved to the Northern suburbs of Chicago to a place called Crystal Lake. And there I stayed until my parents divorce and Mom & I moved to the next town over, a place called Lake in the Hills. Yes, there really is a lake in the middle of a bunch of hills. I used to look down on LITH until we actually moved there....I'm not sure why anymore. Anyway....I suppose I consider Lake in the Hills to be my home town. At least that's what I claim in Facebook land.  It's a nice, smallish suburb with plenty of good people.

I ended up attending the Catholic high school that was 30 mins from home. When I first got to that high school, as a transfer student my Sophomore year, I was embarrassed to admit that I chose to go there. Unlike what I said to a few seniors....it was not a punishment. My parents asked if I wanted to go there and I said yes.  I really credit a lot of my success later on to this high school. Unlike some people there who were miserable...I pretty much loved it. I had a lot of friends and enjoyed many activities. I seriously could be a walking billboard for my high school.  I think I love it so much, because I finally felt like I belonged somewhere there and it really is where I felt like God came into my life so strongly. That high school and one of the priests there in particular was how I made my way to the Catholic church. Just 3 months after I graduated high school, I became a full fledged Catholic.

After high school, like most people do I went to college and left the area and with the exception of a few visits, haven't really been back there. Neither of my parents live up there anymore, so in reality I think the entire state of Illinois is my hometown. When I was growing up we frequently went to southern IL to visit my Mom's parents and then when she settled there 7 years ago, it just made sense. Southern IL is familiar territory for me.  

That's my little piece of background. Hope you enjoyed it.

It's that time again....

It's that time again...no, no not back to school (my kiddos obviously aren't at that stage yet), it's time for me to have a birthday again. [Though I should add that I can't wait for the neighborhood kids to go back to school. Me thinks some of them have been a little bored this summer due to our mailboxes getting messed with and toys left in my yard.]

I'm turning the big 2-8 this year. Yeah I know...it's not really that old or big. Our priest once said in a homily that 35 is the prime of your life, so I'm clearly not there yet. Looking back on this year of life....well it's been another fast moving one.  Last year on my birthday I suspected I was pregnant, but didn't know for sure and refused to test for another week or so.  This year I am definitely not pregnant and plan to just take it easy & be lazy with the cutest kids ever. Oh and definitely try some of the blackberry wine at a local festival this year!

Reflecting on this past year of life...nothing extraordinary stands out for me I hate to say.  Sure I got through a second successful pregnancy and had my second child, but I don't feel I did anything significant. (Except maybe how to care for 2 young kids at the same time.)  I guess the biggest thing was working on being comfortable in my own skin (which really is a work in progress) and being at peace with getting rid of the negative. I have a lot more confidence in my abilities now. I know I'm good at what I do as a wife, mom and health & human service professional.

Here's to me!

And if someone could put my name on the flowers to go sign...I'd be a happy woman (hint hint hubby!)

19 months and 3 months!

Okay, so I'm a little behind on this post.  Last week, Little Miss turned 3 months old and Little Dude hit 19 months old.  I can't believe how fast is passing for my baby girl.  It seems even faster then with Little Dude.

3 months old and wearing a tutu!

Julia's Stats for this month:
Height/length: Unknown, but she seems "tall"
Weight: 11.4 pounds
Clothes: A few NB dresses and 0-3 months in everything else, though she drowns in some of the brands.
Diaper: Size 1 (again some of the brands are still big on her, but we're using them anyway.)

She smiles & laughs frequently. She also must have a high pain tolerance due to her brother bopping her on the head. She loves to sit in her bumbo seat and look at the world. Sleeping very well at night. Bless her little heart for that one.  Nursing very well and taking the bottle when I can't be with her. Has discovered how to stick out her tongue, which is hilarious!  She's still our little peanut and is such a fun little baby.

Matthew 19 months old and enjoying a cookie

I haven't done an update like this for Matthew since 12 months. He's changed a lot since then.
Matthew's current stats:
Height: Over 33 inches
Weight: 23 pounds (we're finally back on track with growth for him!)
Teeth: All but the 2 year molars have broken through. They aren't all descended all the way though/
Clothes: 12 months and 12-18 months. We've tried 18 month clothes and some fit him, but most are too big.
Shoe size: toddler 5 (though he can still wear the size 4's, but he's got wide feet!)
Diapers: Size 3 still

Matthew is a busy, busy boy! He hardly ever slows down. He loves books and today I caught him sitting in his rocking chair reading a book to himself. I wish I'd had a camera, it was the cutest thing. He takes a book to bed too. He's clearly my son!  He walks very well and only stumbles when he's trying to move too fast for his feet. He has a wide set of words and impressed the pediatrician with all he can say. He started saying 2 word sentences a month ago. I'm so proud of him.

Accidental SAHM?

The title of this post is how I've been feeling lately. I never really meant to become or was supposed to be a SAHM (stay at home mom), it just sort of happened.  As those who've been reading along for the past few years know, I was supposed to finish my degree and get a job. Instead we all know I got pregnant with our Little Miss within 2 weeks of finishing said degree.  Despite the pregnancy, it was still always in my mind that I'd be going back to work as soon as possible and thus I avoided getting involved in any type of activities that I deemed were for SAHMs.   I recently decided I just need to embrace this life change.  I've taken on some bigger volunteering opportunities that will look lovely on the resume once I do go back to the career gig.  It's nice to feel a little more content with where I'm at.

So there you have it....Liz: the accidental SAHM. :-)

In other news:

-My 2 super gorgeous babies were baptized on Sunday.  I was really nervous, but they did really well and neither of them cried and the Priest was pretty generous with the amount of water he poured on their heads. Little Miss wore the baptismal gown that I wore as a baby. It was big on my peanut, but she worked it. ;-) Matthew just wore a white polo shirt and dress pants. I nixed having him wear one of those all white sateen suits they sell. It just seemed silly for him.  Interesting tidbit: Matthew was the oldest of the 5 kids who were baptized and Julia was the youngest.

Well back to the grind. My Little Miss doesn't want to nap unless Momma is holding her. Which I'm pretty okay with since I want to savor every moment.

Little Miss is 2 Months Old!

Julia at 2 months

I can't believe it's been 2 months already!! Our Little Miss is just a joy. I absolutely adore her! She's definitely still a peanut in terms of size. I did her laundry this week and swore she had to be out of newborn clothes. Nope, she's not! I've put her in 0-3 month stuff just to have some variety and she just drowns in it.  She is, however, growing out of some of her NB sized sleepers. She's just too long for them. We tried her in size 1 diapers and those were also a no go for now. Everyone says she's taking after me. I sure hope so. Though I must admit when I see her give an expression that looks like mine...it startles me. Little Dude is a carbon copy of his Dad, so I never experienced having a little person look like myself. I like it though.
She's a champion nurser! I also pump and she's able to take a bottle when I'm not able to bring her with me. This is about the age with Matthew where my milk supply just started to drop off, so I've been super vigilant about pumping. I figure it's best to be pro-active this time around.

Tomorrow both kids go to the pediatrician for well baby appointments. Julia for 2 months and Matthew for his 18 month.
They are both being baptized on August 11th. Julia is wearing the baptismal gown that I wore as a baby, which I think it pretty neat! Matthew will wear a nice white shirt and blue pants. The white suits for baptism look silly to put on a toddler, in my opinion. I'm looking forward to their journey into the Catholic church beginning. It seems fitting that they'll be baptized around what is the 10 year mark from when I was received into the Catholic church. :-)

5 on Friday- Linking up!

1.  Bad luck with babysitters! Yeah, that's me. If anyone could have bad luck finding, keeping and not being lied to by baby sitters...it's me. The stories I can tell about this topic are just comical now. My latest favorite was the one who told me her Grandfather passed away and she was going home, 7 hours before she was supposed to show up, only for me to see her posting locally & asking questions about local things on the Navy Wives page. I didn't want to believe that she could possibly have had told such a crazy lie so I stalked looked at her FB profile, which guess what? She keeps public! And guess again...no death in the family, just feeling ill. Such a strange lie to tell. Needless to say, she will not be allowed near my kids.
Thankfully after that fiasco, I ended up finding a great sitter. I paid her very well, b/c in the words of my friend D, "you need to keep a good babysitter for once!"

2. No Technology Day.  My husband came up with the idea to make Sunday's no technology day in our house. This means no cell phones, tv or computer unless it's an emergency.  Last week was our first time doing it. It turned out well. It seemed so quiet, but I can tell where we definitely need to put down the cell phones! We're doing it again this weekend.

3. Maui. Yeah my cousin and his new wife just moved there. I'm jealous. Can the Navy move us back to Hawaii? 

4. My Pretty Princess. Isn't she adorable??

5. Back to School. It's that time in the stores. They have all the school supplies for sale. I love buying school supplies. The smell of the aisle in the store...the whole experience has always been something I enjoy. Nowadays since I'm not in school and my kids aren't in school yet, I just buy to donate to our church. I took Matthew with and tried to instill the fun into it. He doesn't get it yet, but he will if I have my way! :-)

What We're Up To....

SO....I read recently that if you want to have a cool blog that people actually read, you have to post several times a week. That is probably incredibly obvious, but sometimes I need to hear/read the obvious.
I know all of my friends are just dying to read a birth story for Julia (aka Miss J, Little Miss, Peanut) and I really have no reason not to have written one, especially considering my super awesome doula wrote me out a timeline of my whole labor & delivery, but yet here I am not having written it.  Instead I'm doing a what are we doing/reading/wearing etc post. Enjoy!

Miss J on the day she left the hospital. The hand mitts didn't last long, as she hates them as much as her brother did.

What are we doing? Well we're just living the normal life. Running errands, going to the park, eating & pumping and doing the household stuff. Since Peanut has arrived I have revised our weekly schedule- formally called the USS [Our Last Name] Plan of the Day.  I am even more religious about following said schedule now that I have 2 little ones. It just makes the week a little easier on me. I highly recommend it.

How we shop Target...Little Dude holds the stuff, while Julia is in the back.

What are we reading? Kids books for Matthew. His favorites right now include: Brown Bear Brown Bear and several animal sound books. We read them over & over! He says "ook" (he can't always get the B out with the ook part.) It is so much fun! I am glad he loves books as much as his Daddy & me do. As for me....I've been reading books I put on reserve from the library. Recently I finished Two Kisses for Maddy. Total tear jerker and definitely not the next great American novel, but worth it to read.

What I'm Wearing:  Okay so this isn't new, but for the past 9 months I've been wearing tinted moisturizer. I've never been a big fan of foundation so when I found this I was instantly in love. When I don't wear that though, the wonderful staff at Sephora got me into this BB cream from Urban Decay. I can't decide which one I like more. As a nursing Mom not getting as much sleep, it has helped me feel a little better about how I present myself every day. I also have added a lip pencil from NARS into my beauty routine.

What I'm drinking: Besides water, a lot of Mom friends all seem to swear by Spark by Advocare. Now I don't drink it everyday, but when I really need a boost...this stuff does the trick.

That's us in a nutshell.  My dryer just sang it's little song, better go, it's laundry day in our house. This Mommy of two thing keeps me busy!

She's here and a month old!

So the last time I posted I was bemoaning the fact that my children do not like to come out of the womb in a timely fashion (or timely for their Mother.) Well I wish I could say my daughter promptly made her exit after that post, but she's stubborn like her brother and didn't. She too was forced out. Only this time it was for an actual medical reason; her fluid level was too low. On May 21st, we headed to the hospital to be induced. I was not looking forward to it as my induction with Little Dude was horrible. Thankfully it wasn't even close to being as awful as that one. The induction started around 11am and she was out shortly after 5pm on the same day.  I did it all without an epidural, which scared the crap out of me and had me crying. And then I hemorrhaged. But not to worry....I was fine and a detailed birth story will come another day when I don't have 500 things to do during my son's nap time.

Here are the quick details on my second born child. Julia was born at 5:01pm PST on May 21st. She was 8 pounds and 20.5 inches long. She's adorable and depending on who you ask, looks like me.  :-) In her first 5 weeks of life, she's already flown on a couple airplanes and met all the relatives on my Dad's side of the family (we attended a wedding in St. Louis.)  I absolutely love having a daughter, as I suspected I would, and am getting into the groove of being a Mom of 2. It's not as bad as I feared (I have Matthew's amazing schedule to thank for this I think.)

I'm making our new weekly schedule so hopefully blogging will get accomplished more often.

Toodles my friends!

40+ Weeks Pregnant!

Sooo...I wasn't really planning to be able to do this update, but since my daughter is clearly as comfortable in utero as her brother...here I am. It'd be nice if I could get myself to actually blog life updates more often, but ah well. Maybe one day I'll be better at this Mommy blogger thing.

How far along? 40 weeks and 1 day.

How big is baby? Small according to the ob/gyn, which probably means she's huge. Baby center app says 7-8 pounds.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 32+ pounds. I've stopped gaining weight now though.

Next Appointment: Monday morning if Little Miss hasn't come this weekend.

Maternity Clothes: Yes

Sleep: Horrible. Any noise wakes me up and annoys me thus my husband's snoring is driving me up the wall.

Best Moment This Week: My Mom arrived.

Annoyance of the Week: She's still not born yet.

Movement: Yep

Planning/Preparation: I finally figured out how to fold down the double stroller. It's easy...I love it.

Belly Button In/Out:  Still flat.

Gender: 100% girl.

What I Miss: Having an appetite and normal clothes.

What I'm Looking Forward To:  Having the baby.

Contractions: Some, but nothing that is doing anything.

Milestones?: Passed my due date and early signs of labor that I'll not share online.

Pregnancy Update: Week 37

How far along? 37+ Weeks

How big is baby? Baby Center App says a little over 6 pounds!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I'm up 28.5 pounds this week. 

Next Appointment: Tuesday morning

Maternity Clothes: Yes of course.

Sleep: So so

Best Moment This Week: Having her room pretty much finished.

Annoyance of the Week: Intense rib pain

Movement: Yes, she's still pretty busy though it's definitely slowed a bit.

Planning/Preparation: Just little things like hanging stuff up. I should be doing a lot more, but I've been tired.

Belly Button In/Out: Flat

Gender: 100% girl

What I Miss: All the usual stuff.  I'm really ready for normal clothes again though!

What I'm Looking Forward To:  Seeing my baby girl's face and kissing her! 

Contractions: A few sporadic ones.

Milestones?: I'm full term and am slightly dilated.

Join the Movement: National Infertility Awareness Week!

This week marks National Infertility Awareness Week.  I know in previous years I've mentioned it in quick passing. I don't consider myself very good at blogging themes. They always like an assignment and suddenly I always feel woefully under researched on the topic. I'm going to try my best this year though...so hang with me.

For 2013 the theme for National Infertility Awareness Week is "Join the Movement."  For days I've been mulling it over in my head what this could mean for my life. I mean let's be honest here....in 2011 I did IVF, got pregnant and in early 2012 had my miracle baby. Then 6 1/2 months later I was pregnant without medical help and I'm a few weeks to delivery.  We have no plans to have anymore kids, at least not in the next 5 years.  Our frozen embryos are being donated (topic for another day) to help another couple.  Where on Earth do I fit in with the infertility community?  I can certainly relate to people going through the journey and give some advice, but I'm not really on the inside anymore.  What movement am I part of? Finally after sitting here awhile I think I got it. It's not about being an "insider," but instead continuing to advocate for those still facing the journey to parenthood or whatever end result gives them peace.  Infertility will affect 1 in 8 people. That's a lot of people! And yet it's still something kept so quiet.  My "Join the Movement" pledge is my commitment to keep the topic out there, because though my infertility journey has changed course I can still keep working for others.  No one should be ashamed or have to suffer in silence while dealing with infertility.

-Liz

Exhaustion and all that jazz....

I'm at the end of my second pregnancy and I'm hitting the wall. I am T.I.R.E.D! (Okay, okay I've pretty much been exhausted the whole go around this time with the exception of a few blissful weeks around 16-20 weeks.) I am ready to have this baby and start the terrifying adventure which is being the Mom of two children under 2. 
Yesterday I finally sort of forced myself to actually work in Julia's nursery. The closet looks AMAZING now, if I can brag for a moment. I had this grand plan to hang up every last piece of clothing she owns, but after going through the first 30 hangers I decided I'd just hang through size 3 months (and 1 odd outfit that is size 0-6months.) That only used up close to 60 hangers (don't judge...I didn't buy it all myself.) The rest I put in neatly labeled plastic bins.  Now my husband has no excuse not to put the crib together. He's pretty handy with that stuff so I am honestly certain it'll get done this week; he just really wanted the clothes out of his way. He rocks like that.  I also finally ordered her crib bedding set and got her a crib mattress...because she might need somewhere to sleep. ;-) Today I painted wooden letters that spell out her name in a very appropriate paint colored called Parisian Pink. They aren't as big as I envisioned so me thinks they'll go on her door. The rest of the decor for her room is all in my head still. I'm really stuck on what to do in there...I blame it on exhaustion. I just can't make any decisions.
When we moved here last year we became the proud owners of a lovely LG Washer & Dryer set. Seriously these things rock my socks....if you're in the market I recommend them, not that I have much to compare them with. Today I finally figured out how to use the steam feature on my dryer...who knew it could be so simple? The owners manual...that's who! I used it to sterilize/cleanse/whatever some stuffed animals. Genius!
Have I talked about the new house on here much? Yeah I don't think I have. It's pretty much 100% awesome...minus one very irritating fact: our cell phone service for making calls is horrendous!! Calls drop randomly and without warning. Verizon finally sent us out a Network Extender. Yeah guess what? Calls still drop even when we are supposedly under the network extender's coverage area. About the only place you can generally guarantee you'll be able to complete a phone call is sitting right next to the thing. We are seriously contemplating getting a land line now just to have a reliable phone at the house. Otherwise...again we love the house and one of these days I will finish decorating it and maybe share the pictures on FB.

Whelp, gotta go....Little Dude is awake from nap. Toodles friends!

Pregnancy Update: 35 weeks

How far along? 35 weeks

How big is baby? The Baby Center App says over 5 pounds and approx. 18 inches long.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I was 144.5 on Tuesday, so that's about a 27.5 pound gain total. I'm right on track compared to where I was at this point with Matthew.

Next Appointment: April 23 (Little Dude's 15 month birthday)

Maternity Clothes: Yes of course.

Sleep: Horrible

Best Moment This Week: My Stork Express hospital tour & preadmission.

Annoyance of the Week: The continued viral cough thing I have that doesn't abate no matter what.

Movement: Tons, but I can definitely tell she's running out of room.

Planning/Preparation:  Due to this horrendous cough....not much of any lately.

Belly Button In/Out: Flat.

Gender: 100% girl

What I Miss: Things not hurting and having energy.

What I'm Looking Forward To:  My baby shower and then holding my little girl in my arms.

Contractions: A few, not as bad as other weeks.

Milestones?: 2 weeks until I'm considered full term!

THE BIG, BAD MOVE

Okay so that title is probably an over reaction. 

Let's just say if you ask me the move started out as a fiasco! My husband who is a much more laid back guy would say I'm going overboard in saying that. (Good thing he's the active duty military dude and I'm not.) Friday started out well I thought we went and signed our new lease, did the walk through the new house and then the movers called saying they were at the gate. Right on schedule...I was pleased as peaches.  I finished the house walk through and waited for the call saying things were getting moved. Unfortunately, the first call was from my husband informing me that he was at the Main Gate to the base and that of the 2 movers, one was being arrested by the sheriff and being hauled off to jail.
[Let me refresh my civilian friend's memories....we live on a very secure base and the US Marines will shoot you (long story) if you aren't where you're supposed to be with the right clearance. Anyway, if you are a contractor (like a mover) you will be background checked before you can come on the base and if you have a warrant or anything they don't like you will not be allowed on base.] 
I ask Avery what is going to happen and he naturally tells me not to panic. Just call the moving company. Before I can do that the owner calls me and is "so embarrassed." I calmly told him I was very angry and to find someone else to come out & do my move. He then tries to get me to use a different moving company and I refused. I had one day to get this done & I hired him; it's like honor your commitment buddy! Long story short...he did finally send someone else out and the 2 kids (they had to be only like 18 years old) did the move taking far longer then I ever anticipated. It was ridiculous!! The only positive was that due to his extreme embarrassment the owner heavily discounted the move. Which is good, because had he not I would've left a very bad review on every online site his company is advertised. Now I just will call us even and write no reviews at all.
By Saturday we were completely in the new house and unpacking. Sunday, Avery & I spent the afternoon cleaning the old house. By Tuesday we were free of the house and now on Friday I feel like life in the new house is becoming normalized and for a planner like myself it feels good.  I love the new house!

Due to my current state of extreme discomfort from pregnancy, we are staying here for Easter. We'll take Matthew to the church egg hunt tomorrow and then do Mass on Sunday. It'll be pretty low key for us. I bit the bullet and took Matthew to see the mall Easter bunny since I had missed the one at the Navy Exchange. He did fine...he just refused to smile and instead sat there with a very serious expression the whole time. He finally looked up at the bunny and it seemed cute so we went with that picture. It was pricey though...jeez do the malls gouge crazy parents like me. Lesson learned!!

Pregnancy Update- Week 31

I've been feeling kind of badly that I haven't kept up with these, nor do I take many belly pictures. This pregnancy is just flying past me at the speed of light and with our schedule I just don't fit the time in to do such things. I really hope my daughter isn't upset with me someday when she looks at her baby scrapbook and notices a difference between the size of her brothers book compared to hers.

How far along? 31 weeks 4 days

How big is baby? Baby Center App says over 16 inches long and I believe it! She's stretches herself out a lot!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I weighed 139.2 on Friday, so that's a total gain so far of 22-25 pounds depending on which starting weight you use for me. (I'm only 18 pounds away from the weight I was when I delivered Matthew...should be interesting to see if I pack on the pounds in the next several weeks or if their guess that she will be smaller is correct.)

Next Appointment: In a week, Monday the 25th.

Maternity Clothes: Yes, yes. SO tired of them.

Sleep: Sleep aid has been necessary otherwise I don't sleep at all now. :-/

Best Moment This Week: Honestly with myself sick and Little Dude sick there hasn't been one. Perhaps just knowing that my Aunt arrives tomorrow to help me get through the move is it!

Annoyance of the Week: Illness in my house.

Movement: Tons and tons! She is a very busy baby girl.

Planning/Preparation: Crib is purchased, moving is commencing this week and Stork Express (my hospital's name for pre-admission & maternity tour) is scheduled.

Belly Button In/Out: Neither...it's stretched flat!

Gender: 100% girl

What I Miss: Moving comfortably.

What I'm Looking Forward To:  Finishing this dang looming move! Decorating the nursery, my baby shower and Easter!

Contractions: Yep, though not as bad as other weeks.

Milestones?: No idea if there were any!

Hello, Hello...an update for you all!

First, hello hello to my new followers! It really makes a gal feel good to know you want to read what I write. :-)  I've had so many blog topics come to mind that I don't even know where to start! (My husband always asks why I take such long showers...well it's because I am blogging in my head. Haha!)

31 Weeks: This week I'm still getting over this dang lingering head cold. I'm exhausted from it and pregnancy of course.  I hit 31 weeks...holy moly where did this pregnancy go? It's flown past me at the speed of light. I've decided if I could pick a date for her to be born that May 6th would be perfect! Why that date you ask, well it's my Grandma's birthday and it will allow for my son to see the kidney doctor without any interruption or re-scheduling.  Now that I've said this she'll either come earlier or be late of course! So in 9 weeks I'll be thanking myself for the jinx. ;-)

Her nursery: On the chance you don't follow me on Pinterest (which you should, btw) or don't talk to me on a regular basis, her room theme is Paris/Eiffel Towers with Minnie Mouse accents. Sounds odd in writing I realize, but it looks cute all together in my head. The colors are pink and black. We move next week so her nursery will be getting started for real soon. And will not just be a bunch of pins on pinterest and stuff in Rubbermaid bins.  Speaking of moving...I wish I could close my eyes and have it done already! The build-up is too much for this control freak. My husband laughs at me now. He is much more laid back then I am.

My Mom Car: I forgot to tell you shout it from the rooftops that we bought a new-to-us car recently. I joke with my husband that it is my Mom car, since we got it to haul the babies and all their stuff. It's a Honda Pilot  and I love it!! We weren't planning to even look at Honda I'll admit, but another dealership we were at had it on the lot for sale and we scored a good deal on it. Car salesmen humor me. The things they say remind me of what I was taught to tell people when I sold Kirby Vacuum cleaners for a few months one summer in college. I had to keep turning away to not laugh at the guy. He was nice, but he's a salesman first.

Matthew:  Little Dude is also getting over a cold and has conjunctivitis on top of it all. Hopefully he's better soon. I hate, hate, hate seeing him so miserable. It just breaks my heart. With the exception of the UTI, which alerted us to his kidney condition, at 4 months old he really had no illness during his first year. I guess at almost 14 months old he's making up for it!

THE MOVE: We take possession of the new house on Friday. I am stressing...just a tiny bit...and praying this goes smoothly & as painless as possible. Once we're all moved in we have until the afternoon of the 25th to have our current house in white glove clean condition to return it to the military. That's a quarters to quarters move for you folks...quick & tiring. Oh and contrary to many of my civilian friends confusion...they (the military) do not move you for these. We have to do this all ourselves. My goal is to be settled quickly though. And people who know me know I will make that happen. I'm sure I'll have a few funny stories about it though. :-)

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I'm cooking corned beef, buttered cabbage and mashed red potatoes. Oh and I'm not even remotely Irish, I just know good food. ;-) Have a lovely day friends!

Miscellany Monday

Hello friends...it's a great grey day to do Miscellany Monday!

1. Colds stink!
I have a cold, which is so far thankfully moving through the stages that are head cold misery fairly quickly. Still it's miserable and makes me feel incredibly lazy at a time when I especially need to be getting things done.

2. Moving...

Yeah we're moving in less then 2 weeks time now. Even with it as planned out as I can possibly get it at this point, it's still stresses me out. We're not even moving that far away (about 2 streets up) but still it's a lot of work and I dislike it immensely.

3. Cute Boy.
This is how we found him napping a few days ago. Love him.

Hugging his lambie!

4. Career.
Things are looking up on that front. I can't say anymore without jinxing it though. I'll be back to discuss when I actually am back to work in late summer/early fall. :-)

5. The Bachelor!
It's no secret I love "bad" television. So we know I'm tuned in. I cannot wait to discuss it with my friends. Haha!

PAIL's 20 Questions

If you'll take a second and look to the right of your screen you'll see that big button that says I am a part of the PAIL blog roll. PAIL stands for: Pregnant and/or Parenting through Adoption/Infertility/Loss. I've been part of the blog roll for months and done nothing. This month I figured, hey why not do the monthly theme. Enjoy!

Les Questions

.

1. What was the last thing you threw in the garbage/recycling? I put an empty plastic bottle in the recycling.
2. What’s the #1 most played song on your iPod? According to my handy-dandy iphone it's currently "Skyfall" by Adele. Love her and that song!
3. What is your favorite quote? "Life is a succession of moments, to live each one is to succeed." -Corita Kent
4. What chore do you absolutely hate doing? Mopping the tile floors.
5. What is your favorite form of exercise? Ballet/dance
6. What is your favorite time of day/day of the week/month of the year?
   ~Favorite time of the day: Nap time or bed time.
   ~Day of the week: Sunday
   ~Month of the year: September
7. What is on your bedside table? Small lamp, clock, picture frame, cloth basket with tissues, meds, chapstick, lotion, etc in it and a water bottle.
8. What is your favorite body part? Of my body: my hair.
9. Would you use the power of invisibility for good or evil? I'd use it for good I'd hope. 
10. If you could choose to stay a certain age forever, what age would it be? Probably my current age, because it's not too bad. 
11. What is the first thing you would do if you won the lottery? Pay off my student loans.
12. What is your biggest pet peeve? Probably people who don't follow through on things. It bugs me a lot, I confess.
13. If you could know the answer to any question, what would it be?  "Where will I be in 5 years?"
14. At what age did you become an adult? According to the government 18, but let's be honest here real true adulthood began at more like 20 or 21 for me personally.
15. Recommend a book, movie, or television show in three sentences or less. "The Giver" totally gives you an interesting perspective on life no matter your age. It's fantastic and a great book to re-read.
16. What did you do growing up that got you into trouble? Usually got into mischief that my parents did not like....I was much too curious for my own good sometimes. 
17. What was the first album you bought with your own money? I don't remember....maybe Ace of Base?
18. If someone wrote a book about you, what would be the title? "Ramblings of a Sailor's Lady" It seems fitting. LOL!
19. What story do you wish your family would stop telling about you? How quote "big" I was at birth and then turned out smallish in size. Such an annoying story after 27 years.
20. True or false: The unicorn is the greatest mythical creature. State your case.  I have no opinion either way. Mythical creatures have never held my interest all that much. 

Pregnancy Weekly Update: Week 29

How far along? 29 weeks.

How big is baby? The Baby Center App says 2 1/2 pounds.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Over 21.5 pounds. No scale at home so I have to wait to see what the doctor's scale tells me.

Next Appointment: Monday morning!

Maternity Clothes: Yes

Sleep: Not as bad as it has been, but still not great.

Best Moment This Week: Maternity pants my Mom sent me that actually fit well. :-D

Annoyance of the Week: As usual, the sleep situation.

Movement: A lot and her feet have been up in my ribs. Hopefully all the foot movement means she's prepping to be the next great NYCB ballerina.

Planning/Preparation: Birth plan draft complete. Possible housing arranged. Baby shower in the works. Oh and she has a name officially now.

Belly Button In/Out: Same as the last update...nearly out.

Gender: 100% Female

What I Miss: The same stuff I complained about the last time.

What I'm Looking Forward To: Holding my little girl in my arms and seeing my husband with his baby girl for the 1st time. :-)

Contractions: Yep

Milestones?: I hit the 3rd Trimester. Countdown to the end. (Wow that's scary & sad at the same time...trying to enjoy the last couple months of my likely last pregnancy.)

Wednesday I Confess Link-up

(I saw this on another blog and it looked cute, so I'm doing it too.)

I confess....I haven't actually been to Catholic confession (privately one on one with the priest) since my Freshmen year of college in 2003. Wow, that's pretty bad. :-/

I confess....that I am usually pretty horrible about responding to messages on FB.

I confess...that I'm the reason we haven't bought a second vehicle yet. The bill scares me. Yet I complain regularly about not having access to a car. Yes I'm a walking contradiction and it is humorous.

I confess....I let my son drag/dump out all the toys in the living room, because I think it's good for him and I really don't mind cleaning up the toys twice a day.

I confess....I let my son play for a really long time in the bathtub yesterday so I could give myself a pedicure.  (And before I get some judgmental person in here, there was almost no water in there and he had tons of toys and I was sitting next to the tub.)

This was fun! Oh and my Oscars post is in progress. I have to make sure I check people.com to see the dresses I missed.

Little Dude is 13 Months Old

Our Little Dude turned 13 months old on Saturday. Month one of toddler-hood is complete. I still find it strange sometimes to even consider him a toddler, but all those parenting apps & emails I signed up for while pregnant with him assure me he's a toddler now. And I suppose they are right...he does toddle all around the house now. I always knew he was smart, but here lately it is even clearer to me how smart my son is about life. He imitates us a lot now and is figuring out more & more how things work. I am definitely his MAMA (written in caps since he will scream it to get my attention.) Siri (the iphone lady) and he converse regularly. Okay mostly she gets confused by his language skills, but sometimes he actually does get her to look something up. I'm most impressed. Thank you Apple for inventing her if only to entertain my son & myself. Today he decided apparently that Ga ga (Gracie his favorite of the cats) needed to use my iphone so he put the phone in her bed with her...which is where I found it when I needed to make a call. :-)

He remains in the same size clothes & diapers from the previous month. The transition from formula to whole milk isn't going well so we have a call into his pediatrician hopefully to remedy this issue. I think he may not be able to tolerate milk by itself, as he does just fine with yogurt & cheese. He got tooth number 7 last week and is cutting tooth number 8 this week. With the obvious exception of the whole milk, he does great with all other foods. Sometimes he spits things out but I keep trying things out with him.
I recently began bringing him to Mass again and he does pretty well. He loves all his adopted Grandparents at church and they adore him too. The church has decided to baptize him & his sister together, so hopefully this summer he will finally be baptized. I really slacked on that one. :-(

Speaking of his sister...Little Miss finally has a name. She will be Julia Susan. Julia is a name my husband and I both like and Susan is both of our mother's first names (though my MIL goes by her middle name.) I am very happy we've got her named.

Who watched the Oscars? I did and am tempted to blog a few thoughts on them in a later post. Stay Tuned!

What's this blog about and who am I?

So obviously like the title says, this blog is supposed to be my sailor wife ramblings, because guess what in case you missed it I'm a wife to a US Navy Sailor and I like to talk A LOT!
And that is exactly what the blog was for a year or maybe only 8 months. I don't remember. Somewhere in there it became an infertility blog, because obviously we had a few issues in that area. For the past year or so I don't know what the blog has been about. It sometimes is my ramblings, but mostly life updates.
This year I made a goal to blog more and I'm sort of doing that, but I want this blog to have more of a direction to make it easier on me to accomplish that goal.
My other "thing" lately has been who am I these days? Well after a few zillion discussions in my head, a couple months worth of prayers after communion and some rambling to my family & friends this is what I've come up.

So here we are:
My name is Liz and I'm a Navy wife with almost 2 kids. I like to talk about a lot of stuff. I love crafting, reading, fashion, too many television shows, and a billion other things. (See my pinterest page it sums me up pretty well.) I'm a moderately conservative/sometimes very conservative practicing Catholic who is a swing voter. I have a degree in Health & Human Services, with a concentration in Substance Abuse Counseling, that I use in the unpaid position of giving advice to others. ;-) Hopefully I'll use it in a paid position within the year. I'm considering my Master's degree now too.

This blog clearly should convey who I am and what my life is about. (Duh, how obvious was that & it took me forever to figure it out?)

On that note: who is watching the Academy Awards tonight? You know I will be!