D-I-M (Do-It-Myself)

I've made the mistake of joining Pinterest as well as reading lots of DIY blogs. Let's just say, when we get settled back home, I have A LOT of things that can keep me busy during the hubby's next deployment. Two sidenotes for that last statement: Yes, I realize that I stay busy enough with an infant, but he plays well by himself. And secondly, yes, I realize it's sad that I'm already talking about the next deployment when he isn't even back from this one yet. That is just one thing you learn to accept when your husband is flight crew at Fairchild AFB. They are gone... A LOT.

Anyway, I've never really been a crafty person, but I'm wanting to learn. I figured I'll start out with some easy stuff to get myself used to trying new things, and eventually I can become a seasoned pro. I've been working on sewing a market bag for about a week. It's not that it's hard, but like I said... I have an 8 month old son. I'll post pictures of it when I'm finished which I'm hoping will be in the next couple of days, but who knows. I have decided that for my birthday (or possibly before) I'm going to ask for a sewing machine. I should just make myself wait until Black Friday, but if the hubby is deployed I won't be able to get out and fight the crowds like I normally do since I don't know how I feel about dragging Asher through that mess. And again, I go off topic.

Basically, I want to find cheap easy crafty items to help in decorating our house since it's never been actually decorated. We haven't lived in a house over a year since we've been married until now, but we have to move in a couple of months to a different house on base. Andrew finds decorating to be a waste of money, but he's finally going to be overruled after we move because I want things to finally feel homey dagnabbit! (Can you tell I've been back in Kentucky for a while? lol) Oh well. For now, I'll just keep gathering ideas.

Kid at Heart

So today I took Asher to the zoo. We went to a mini one when we visited Tacoma, but the Nashville Zoo has a lot more animals to see. I'm pretty sure I was way more excited about this trip than he was. I was oo-ing and ah-ing over all the cute little antics of the meerkats, laughing at the fact that the zebras and elephants refused to show us anything but their butts, and enjoying the majesty of the white tiger. All the while, my son sat there in his stroller, chewed on his fingers, and tried to stay awake.

I didn't really expect him to be in to the animals, but we used it more as a trip to get out of the house and do something different. One of my besties tagged along as well as my mom and aunt so it was a fun time.

Melissa and I went in halvesies on an "Artic Rush Grabber" which was a souvenir cup that you could refill all day with icees. It was AMAZING. We kept chugging them left and right just so we could keep filling it up with a different flavor. Cherry was still the best, but the orange dream was a VERY close 2nd.

I seriously just felt like a big kid all day. It's good to know that even with being a mom, I can still have my young immature moments. Over all... a very good day.

A Summer Full of Sickness

SO.... I was actually going to attempt to do better with my blog, but that's not so easy when you're on "vacation". Well, let me tell you about this so-called vacation. We came to Kentucky for the summer while the hubby was deployed so that we could spend time with family and let them get to have some quality time with their grandson. Boy, has Kentucky been VERY unwelcoming. It's definitely not the people. I have missed all of the southern hospitality, but I have come to believe that Kentucky has THE worst climate when it comes to sickness.

I've lived in Spokane for almost 3 years and can count on one hand the number of times I have been sick (minus pregnancy). We were back in Kentucky for maybe a week before we started our round of hospital visits. Asher has been to Urgent Care, 2 different ER's (one of them twice). He has been on 3 rounds of antibiotics for ear infections, has been taking a decongestant/cough syrup, lots of baby tylenol, and has even had a steroid shot for an upper respiratory infection. When not at the hospital for Asher, I have been twice for myself. I had extremely bad knee pain in both legs (from Operation: Smokin' Hot which I do realize that I never told you about but might as well drop since it's been severely compromised) where it hurt to even move. I then found out that I had osteoarthritis in both knees, which you don't normally get until you're over 50. I also had to go back because something I shrugged off as a cold got worse and finally had it checked out. It was a bad sinus infection, ear infection, and most likely bronchitis. Impressive, I know. So after spending close to 20 hours in waiting rooms, 6 trips to Walgreens for prescriptions, and many sleepless nights with a sick infant, I'm done. I'm so ready to be back in MY house, with MY bed, and at that point MY HUSBAND! I've been so tempted to change my flight and go back home early, but Asher is in a wedding in August that I've committed to and I'm not going to back out now.

I miss home. I miss my friends. In general, I just miss my life there. It's funny how when I'm there, I miss everything about back home, but there's just something about leaving a life for a couple of months that you've spent almost 3 year setting up for yourself. It's hard to going from your own schedule to living with your parents again. Being 25 and asking to borrow the car is a hard pill to swallow. Oh well, I'll be back home soon enough, but Spokane friends, know that you are missed. A lot.

This isn't meant to be a "Negative Nelly" post, but this is just an update on our life. Less than a month, and I'll be back home with my husband and my house. Is it August yet?

Dear Blog,

I apologize for not keeping up with you for well over a month. Things have just been happening. We had the Florida trip, my mom had visited for 2 weeks, I went to Seattle for an amazing surprise Mother's Day weekend getaway with my husband and baby boy, my husband deployed, my bestie came to Spokane to visit, and then we flew down to Kentucky for the summer. So trust me when I say, it's not you. It's me. This isn't goodbye. We'll still hang out some, but I am just not going to center my life around you. Who knows, we may hook up more than I even expect, but I'm not tying myself down to commitments. Trust me when I say, I will definitely keep you updated on my newest venture, Operation: Smokin' Hot. I'll tell you all about it in my next post, but for now, I'm going to let you go. I hope things are still okay between us and that we can still be friends.

Love,
Niki

Another Cooking FAIL (that ended up a possible WIN)

This entry is actually from a few days ago, but for some reason it was never published. Since I put in the effort to write it, I'll go ahead and post it now.


So I decided that I was going to be Susie Homemaker this morning since Andrew has developed a cold. I put a roast and veggies in the slow cooker, fed Asher breakfast, cleaned house, and then decided I should bake something. My aunt makes amazing zucchini bread so I had my mom send me the recipe and I got to work.

I gathered all my ingredients, and I set up my iPad with the recipe on the counter.

I measured everything out and began reading the directions. I thought everything was going smoothly, until I got ahead of myself. I mixed 2 tiny ingredients in too early, which you wouldn't think would be a big deal since it all goes in anyways, but apparently it was enough to completely ruin an entire batch of the bread batter.

When I finished mixing everything it looked like cookie dough. Not batter, straight up dough. I ran out of oil so I couldn't make another loaf, so instead of throwing it away, I thought, "Well, if it looks like cookie dough, I wonder if it'll bake like cookie dough?"

So... the adventure began.

I got out the cookie sheet, plopped some batter on it, and stuck it in the oven.

Since I obviously didn't have a recipe any more, I just kept a watch, hoping that it would somewhat turnout and not make a HUGE mess.

To my surprise, this is what I found after 18 minutes in the oven:

They actually LOOKED like cookies. I got excited because I was extremely mad at myself for messing them up in the first place. I let them cool for a bit and later strolled back into the kitchen to try one. They were pretty good. I mean, they weren't the absolute best cookies I've ever tasted, but they were by no means the worse. I was pleased. Andrew actually liked them too so what was an epic mess turned into a pleasant surprise. Zucchini Nut Bread Cookies = Win.

Oh, Vacation, How I Already Miss Thee

So, I haven't blogged in FOREVER. Things have been so hectic with visits, goodbyes, and then finally VACATION! I was so nervous about how it would be with 12 people and a baby, but I could not have asked Asher to be any better on that trip. We had a ton of fun being around Andrew's family, and I want to write about every little detail, but A) it would take a while, and B) I'm lazy.

The main focus of our Florida vacation was just relaxing by the pool and enjoying time with family. Asher loved the water after the one little fallout of him realizing it wasn't as warm as bath water. He looked adorable in his swimsuits.

(He had on Grandma's hat because we forgot his back at the condo)

We did go to Busch Gardens one day since they have the military promotion "Here's to the Heroes" where we were able to get in free. Andrew's family babysat Asher and spent time at the pool while we went with Andrew's cousin and his friend. It was the perfect day to go. There were no lines, and the weather was a gorgeous 80 degrees. The only reason we had to wait in line at all was because the boys insisted we ride every roller coaster in the front row. We could not have had better conditions for our day at the park. We even saw a mini Cirque du Soleil kind of show. Those people are crazy talented.

Like I said, perfect day!

When I wasn't at the pool we were either eating, playing mini golf, letting Andrew's uncles talk me into singing Karaoke for $10, or playing my new sport of choice: Shuffleboard. I understand that I am neither old nor retired, but it was a lot of fun, and I was actually descent at it. This old couple in the court next to us taught us the rules and we played 3 nights in a row. SO much fun. Andrew and I dominated every single game that we were teamed up on.

I no longer dread being old if it means I get to play and enjoy shuffleboard without being picked on.

We had an amazing time in Orlando. Andrew got to celebrate his birthday in the United States for the first time in 5 years, and the resort was amazing. I can't wait until we get to go back again (especially since, as I type this, it is snowing outside). A huge thanks to Andrew's parents for getting us an extra condo so we could all enjoy our visit. We owe you BIG time!

(River Island where we spent most of our time)

A Week of Goodbyes

So... yeah. This week has been filled with laughter, tears, some tears from laughter, and some laughter to hide tears. Pretty much this week has just been an emotional roller coaster. It started off with my mom going back home on Tuesday, which is sad, but I'll be seeing her in less than two months so it was a fairly okay goodbye.

That night we had our final group dinner with the Goldberg's over at Outback. Our waiter had to hate us. They usually do when we're all together, but it makes it all the more fun. It was a lovely dinner, but it was very bittersweet.

Here was our final group photo (minus Albino Lars who was sitting alert at Moses Lake)

P.S. I love how our group is so short that it makes my 6'3" look like a giant

Anyway, the hardest part about this week came this morning. My biffie has officially left Spokane. I knew it would be hard, but let's just say it was worse than I expected. We were able to say our final goodbye ( "See you later" but it didn't really hit until they pulled out of my driveway. Avoiding going further into this topic since I really don't want to cry... again... let's just say, Spokane will no longer be the same. It was more than the "Oh she's one of my best friends at Fairchild," nope, she has become one of the best friends in my life and I know that there will be many Facebook messages, iChat dates, as well as plane tickets purchased, to keep that friendship strong.

I'm just super glad that Florida is right around the corner because I am totally ready for a break. On a good note, hubby's leave started this afternoon so I have him to myself for the next 3 weeks. Thank you, Air Force for approving this much needed time off. Hope everyone else has a wonderful weekend!

What?! A Date Night?!

That's right. Thursday, Andrew and I did something absolutely unheard of (well, since we've been parents anyway). We went on a date. Just the two of us. It... was wonderful. I never realized how much we took for granted the times we had going out without lugging a baby, a carseat, a diaper bag, a stroller, blankets, etc. "Did you grab extra bottles?"

Before we were expecting the baby, we would decide spur of the moment while we were out, "Hey let's see that new movie that we kind of might want to see but don't really know or care if we'll like it," just because we could. LONG GONE are those days. With a newborn, you look at the previews on tv and sit there while thinking, "I wonder how long until that comes out on Netflix." It could be the most amazing and epic looking movie that has ever graced this planet and will say, "We're definitely seeing that when it comes out," knowing down deep in your heart it's just a dream.

That all changed for us Thursday night. My mom is in town, and she told us that while she was here we could go out one night. Wait, what?! You mean like a real date?! And you better believe we jumped ALL over that.

TMI detail: I actually thought about going all out and dressing up and everything, but then I realized, I would have to shave my legs. I'm sorry, but my hind end was too lazy and I didn't want to ruin my ability to get them waxed in a week before we head on the Florida trip. SO we settled for dressy/casual attire instead of my brand new zebra print dress (which is not as trashy as it sounds).

Anyway, back to the date. We started out using Urbanspoon to find a new restaurant in Spokane. Every time we want to go out to eat, we end up at the same places. Olive Garden, Chili's, Red Robin, China Buffet, Ichiban. Very rarely, we'll branch out, but it still usually ends up being some chain restaurant. So, again, thanks to Urbanspoon we found a new place to eat which was definitely worth it. We went to the Downriver Grill and had a quiet, wonderful meal. A meal free from diaper changes, drool, whining, bottle feeding. A hot meal that we both actually got to sit and savor. Our usual dining experience is like this "Okay, you hurry up and eat your meal so that you can take the baby, and then I'll eat what's left of this cold meal that I'm sure tasted amazing 15 minutes ago when they brought it." (A parental tip for future moms: Order a salad. It doesn't matter as much if it has to sit and be picked at.)

While we were in the car we looked to see what movies were out. Yes... a movie. It didn't even really matter which movie. It was still a movie. On a big screen. In a theater. I shudder in joy just reliving the moment. We decided to go see Limitless and as we walked hand in hand to the theater, we giggled like little school kids going on their first date. We found our seats and just sat there in awe while occasionally looking over at each other and just smiling. The movie was really good, but the cinematography was somewhat trippy, especially if you haven't been to see a movie for as long as I have.

After the movie was over, the only thing still open in the mall was Barnes and Noble so we decided that we would visit their Starbucks for dessert. Strawberries and Creme Frappuccinos for all my friends. We new that we couldn't have caffeine because we did still in fact have a baby at home that was already in bed. Before leaving, I did have to take a quick look at the children's book and pick out one for Asher. Andrew made fun of me for getting him something on our date night, but it didn't seem fair to me. So now every time Asher and I read that book, I will remember what a wonderful evening led to us having it.

Please, don't get me wrong. Asher is my pride and joy, and I love him with all of my heart, but sometimes (especially when you're a stay at home mom) it's nice to have a small break and have the undivided attention between you and your spouse. Eventually, we may have to find an actual babysitter so we can have these occasional date nights, but it was way easier not to worry for our first date with having Asher's grandma here.

It was seriously the best evening that we've had together in I don't even remember how long. It was a break from all of the stress from his work, a night spent as just a husband and wife, not as a father and mother. There was no sarcasm, no arguments, and no negativity whatsoever. It was a night of pure bliss, and I will never be able to thank my mother enough for that night off.

MIA

So I haven't posted in almost a week, but it's been getting a little hectic. In response to my last post, though, the iPad 2 is AMAZING! Okay done. Anyway, my crazy few months have officially started. My mom got into town on Tuesday so I've been cooking, cleaning, taking care of my little man, and entertaining. Luckily, I have gotten a couple of naps while Memaw was having bonding time with Asher. Andrew and I may even get a date night or two, which hasn't happened since... well... way before Asher was born. That's just too long.

In less than two weeks my best friend is moving to Vegas. Not happy about that. We'll just leave that topic alone for now because A) I don't want to think about it B) This is the first really close friend that I've had to deal with as far as PCS-ing and C) I'm dreading her moving day more than I dread my husband going on a deployment. Sadly, I'm not exaggerating.

On another positive, April 8th I will be in FLORIDA! Our plane tickets are booked. Sleeping arrangements have been somewhat made, and I'm SUPER excited.

This will be a chance for some of Andrew's family to get to meet Asher for the first time, and what better place for that to happen than in sunny, warm weather laying by the pool. Lord knows that Andrew and I need this vacation. Things have been extremely stressful for him at work, which, as much as you try for it not to, usually makes it way back home.

We decided to cut off the Wisconsin part so that we could have a little bit of "us time" to just relax and spend time at home for a week before he goes back to work after the trip. I've decided to try to make it up there with Asher this summer while Andrew's deployed so the rest of his family can meet him before he ends up turning a year old.

We'll get to that later. For now, I may be delayed in posting, but if something super exciting happens I'll get on when I can.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Mission Complete

I am now the proud owner of an iPad 2. That's right. I fought the good fight and ended up victorious. Well, thanks in part to my amazing husband.

As I said in my previous blog, I called yesterday to do somewhat of an inventory sweep, but all they could tell me is "yes, we will have some." I decided that I would go to Target today because they wouldn't be as packed. The hubby had a night flight last night so he was off work today. He agreed to help me divide and conquer so he decided to take Best Buy. What Target failed to mention was that they only had 5... and they were all the 64gb versions. No, thanks.

I called Walmart and same issue.

I then just proceeded to join my husband in the line that had accrued outside of Best Buy. Lucky for us, it was a beautiful day in Spokane.

So the wait began. 3 hours until tickets were to be handed out. It felt like a later version of Black Friday with a fairly smaller crowd (if you've been to Best Buy on Black Friday, then you know what I'm talking about). Every walk of life was there, including "Farmer Fred"

I quickly texted this picture to Jess and asked her "What does Farmer Fred need with an iPad?" With the fastest response I've ever gotten from her, she replied, "Farmville duh. God you are so blonde sometimes!" This is another example of why I love her.

While waiting in line, poor little Asher was a trooper, but it was his naptime. I asked Andrew if he wanted to take shifts pushing him around the store to keep him happy while the other person kept our place in line outside. He agreed and told me to take the first shift. We walked around for a while and Asher finally fell asleep while watching "Your Baby Can Read" on Andrew's android tablet.

I texted Andrew several times asking if he wanted to switch places, but he kept responding that he was fine waiting outside. With about 30 minutes to go until tickets were going to be handed out, Asher and I went back outside to join his dad.

Then the time came. The moment of truth. Had we gotten in line early enough? The bunching began and we moved closer and closer to the doors. It was finally our turn and VICTORY!!! They had the exact model, color, and size that we wanted.

Ticket in hand, we headed inside.

I was a happy camper. (That may be an understatement judging by this next picture)

We waited in line to check out for what seemed like forever. (Long enough for Asher to drop a huge deuce) Daddy was a big help and went and changed him. They walked around the store some and then finally came back to hang out in line with me when I got close to the registers.

I love my handsome men.

We finally got to the front of the line and received our box. I placed the smart cover up on the counter to purchase with it. I was not allowed to get the pink one, which, in my mind, is a crime against humanity. Not allowing me to buy pink accessories is like setting a freshly baked cake with an abundant amount of icing in front of a starving fat child and saying, this is for decoration only. But I digress. I ended up with the green cover which will do... for now...

Overall, it was a fairly painless experience. I have a wonderful husband, a semi-behaved child, and now a shiny new toy. Thank you, Apple for making such awesome products, and a BIG thanks to Andrew for putting the time, money, and effort in to getting it for me.

Let the fun begin.

The Search is On...

...and not for cute boots. My search today has been more of a recon mission. I'm planning my attack for tomorrow. I'm weighing my options. I'm collecting all information that is available from anyone that is willing to give it up. My search is for...

Dun Dun DUN!

The glorious and magical, iPAd 2. Available in Apple Stores and select Apple Resellers at 5pm on March 11.

I have been asking my husband for an iPad forever, and he agreed that I could have one. BUT... (I always hated the but) I had to wait until the new one was released since it would have the dual cameras and facetime on it. We both agreed that it would be dumb to buy the original iPad this late in the game since Apple has a tendency to update their products annually. So at the time we figured it would come out in April or later. That is until March 2. The day that I almost wet my pants in excitement. Apple held one of their big shindigs where Steve Jobs announced the release for the iPad 2 would be only 9 days later. Unheard of, but awesome.

I quickly told Andrew, "The release date has been announced."
Andrew: "Awesome"
Me: "It's next Friday."
Andrew: "Wait, what?!"

It took some begging and pleading since we weren't expecting the release date to be so soon. We're going on vacation in a month and it really is terrible timing, but I've been waiting patiently so I think it would be awesome to go downtown, throw some 'bows, and end up victorious.

This is where the tricky part comes in. None of the stores are authorized to sell any of the products until 5pm local time. I've been calling around today to explore all options, but people aren't very much help. All I've heard are "Yes, we will have some of the iPads, but they will not go on sale until 5pm" I understand, really I do, but geeze. A little stock information could definitely help my decision on where I want to try to be.

Luckily, I will have one extra shot at getting one. Andrew has a night flight tonight and has volunteered to help me divide and conquer. We're going to go to two separate locations and press our luck.

Update will follow tomorrow on the results.

On a completely separate note, I'm addicted to soda. I mean pretty heavily addicted.
I went all day yesterday without even one can, and I've done likewise today, but let's just say my head is KILLING me. I will not give in. I will succeed through the rest of the day, but tomorrow may not include that kind of will power. I need to be caffeinated and amped up for my mission.

I will own an iPad 2.

A Temporary Ending and a New Beginning

I have been a Scentsy consultant for almost a year now. It's crazy to think that it's been that long. I'm not one of the crazy in your face consultants and I mainly got involved with the company just because I love their products and I liked having a side hobby. It was a lot of fun until I found out that every other person that lives on base also sells Scentsy. Not very easy to meet your goals when you are not the competitive type and don't want to step on people's toes. With that being said. I think I'm going to take a temporary break from it until we PCS (whenever that may be) and I explore the market at our new base.

That brings me to the "new beginning" part of the post. I love taking pictures. I mean LOVE! A year and a half ago, I convinced my husband to join my birthday, anniversary, and Christmas present along with a gift card from my parents to Best Buy so that we could wait out in the cold rain on Black Friday to get my Canon T1i. I take pictures all the time and always wanted to make photography more than a hobby.

About a month ago, I decided to enroll at the New York Institute of Photography when Jess told me they offered correspondence classes. You can work at your own pace and they teach you everything about taking photographs and starting your own photography business. It seemed perfect for a stay-at-home mom/military wife. All of my finances were approved and I received my course materials this past week.

I am so excited to start this new venture and hopefully I'll learn some great tips. It would definitely be nice to not have to pay a photographer for pictures of Asher as he grows up. Eventually, I would love to do children's portraits, engagements, weddings, and maternity shoots, but for now, I just want to learn everything I can about my camera and how to actually use it.

I'm starting on my lessons after Asher goes to bed tonight. Lesson 1: Eye of the Photographer. Can't wait!

A few typical days in our life...

As I mentioned in my last post, the Air Force is super unpredictable which always makes planning anything nearly impossible. 20 minutes after his leave reached the final approval, someone wanted to take it away and put him on an earlier deployment rotation. It was resolved and Florida is still on, but that was a perfect example of why I never get to plan anything like a normal person. I know that all military personnel have crazy schedules, but I just can't help but feel that the lives of KC-135 flight crews are the most unpredictable. First of all, these jets are over 50 years old. They break... a LOT. It's not unusual for a one week trip to turn into a couple of weeks or even a month long. Also, the crew members don't learn about some of these trips until the day before. I thought it would be fun to share with you a perfect example of 48 hours (which I may expand to 72 depending on how much I feel like typing) in the life of a US Air Force Boom Operator's family.
Andrew will be playing the role of the enlisted husband and I will be playing the ever-supporting role of the military wife.

Tuesday 12:39pm

Husband: I'm going TDY for a week. I leave on Saturday.
Wife: Okay... Where are you going
Husband: East
Wife: East?
Husband: East
Wife: Can you be more specific?
Husband: I asked, but that's all they said. There's a possibility of Spain.
Wife: Okay.

Tuesday 1:44pm

Husband: TDY is canceled.
Wife: Okay... why's that?
Husband: Guard guys took it.
Wife: Okay. That's cool.

Tuesday 2:23pm

Husband: TDY is back on.
Wife: Um... okay?
Husband: I guess the guard guys didn't want it after all.
Wife: Did you get any more details on where you're going?
Husband: Still just East.

Wednesday 12:02pm

Husband: The original TDY is canceled. But I leave Saturday to go on a different TDY.
Wife: Where's this one going?
Husband: West.
Wife: West?
Husband: West.
Wife: So you don't know about this one either?
Husband: Nope.

Wednesday 2:33pm

Husband: TDY canceled.
Wife: Are you serious?
Husband: Yup. But now I'm flying a local mission on Saturday.
Wife: Okay. (Because it's gotten to the point that there's nothing else to really say)

Thursday 11:23am

Husband: I'm flying tomorrow instead. It's just a jet drop off and then we're flying back home same day. Or at least that's the plan. (This was followed by a bunch of other scheduling updates)
Wife interrupts: How about you just tell me a day or two before what you're doing, how long you're scheduled to be gone, and when you'll be back.
Husband: I'm flying tomorrow. I may or may not be back tomorrow night.
Wife: Okay.

Friday 3:30am

Husband: I love you, baby. I'll see you when I get home.
Wife: I love you too. *Goes back to sleep until the baby wakes up*

Friday 12:59pm

Husband: Starting engines for our way back home. I love you.
Wife: I love you too.

Friday 2:05pm

The wait begins to see if he actually comes home when scheduled.

Florida Here We Come

So ever since Andrew has been in the Air Force, he has always been deployed for his birthday. This year we are potentially fortunate enough to get to celebrate together so we're going to try to go all out as long as the AF will continue to cooperate. He technically has leave approved for 3 weeks in April, but we already had a scare today where they almost canceled it to send him on an early deployment.

So with fingers crossed, we are planning a big trip to Florida to spend a week with his parents at their condo then we want to fly up to Wisconsin and visit the rest of his family where they can meet Asher for the first time. It would be awesome if it actually works out because we've just been going and going nonstop since January and there have been so many stresses with Andrew's job. I, personally, think we deserve a break. What better way to get away than by going to the complete opposite side of the country. I wouldn't mind to get away from the cold either.

If everything works out like it's supposed to for now, my mom is coming to visit in less than two weeks. We'll go on our first real family vacation in April for Andrew's birthday. One of my biffies from Kentucky is coming to visit in May and we're going to see WICKED!!! Then, I'm packing up Asher and Socks to go stay in Kentucky for a couple of months while Andrew is deployed since this will be his first deployment that I'm not working. In June, my friends and I are going on a mini road trip to Gatlinburg, TN, and the following weekend will be the first Davis Family reunion (my mom's side of the family) that I even remember. Then, my last weekend in Kentucky will be the wedding of one of my best friends from college!!!! Asher is supposed to be the ring bearer (no pressure on mom or anything). He'll be 9 months old at that time so we'll keep our fingers crossed that he doesn't scream bloody murder or anything embarrassing. So anyway, things are about to get CRAZY around our household. Let's just hope the Air Force doesn't decide to butt in. I'm worn out just from typing this, but I can't wait. The journey begins March 15 :)

Not Being a Slacker

I haven't blogged in a few days, but it's not for the fact of just not wanting to. So much has been going on the past few days. Saturday started with a "Mommy's Night Out" which was spent at Babies R Us... yeah lame, but when you're a mom, it really is a fun store. Sunday, I experienced a day of girly firsts. I had my first leg wax, bikini wax, and airbrush tanning party. It was so much fun and needless to say, I was riding a slight confidence wave.

That wave crashed Monday morning when Asher decided to projectile vomit all over me, him, my phone, the couch, my blanket, and even made it to my MacBook while on a Skype call with my mom. At least someone else got to witness how disgusting it all was. This was followed by a nasty green diaper that took 5, yes, FIVE wipes to clean up. My husband called to check on how our day was going and quickly wished he hadn't asked. He was awesome though and volunteered to bring me a buffalo chicken wrap from the Funspot to help make my day a little better.

That night we went to have dinner with the Goldberg's since they are PCS'ing soon and the next month is going to be pretty hectic with their trips and my mom visiting. We went to Twigs which I had only been to once before. It was absolutely wonderful until... yes... until... MORE vomit. His clothes were soaked, there was some on me, and it was just not good for anyone involved.

I made the mistake of trusting Andrew to pack the diaper bag so all he had was a sleep sack as the backup outfit which won't allow him to be fastened in the carseat properly. Not a huge deal, we figured something out, but it was just not the best scenario.

That brings us to yesterday. We decided to run some errands but wanted to have lunch at Red Robin first to try their new burger. Towards the end of our lunch Asher had some poop issues. Every time Andrew would put his burger down and get his hands cleaned off to take him to the bathroom, he would keep going so we would wait a little bit longer to make sure he got it all out. Little did we know that our child now had diarrhea for the first time. I'm talking out the back of his diaper up to his neck and also coming out of his pants leg. Not great.

Andrew took him to get changed. It ended with half of his outfit being thrown into the trash at Red Robin. Asher was also very nice to share the poo on my outfit as well. We had a couple of more errands to run so I had the lovely stench lingering around with me the rest of the time. I called the pediatrician's office to see what may be going on, and they pretty much just told me to go to Urgent Care and not wait to get an appointment with them even though it would be less than 24 hours from the time of the phone call.

Andrew is on Charlie alert so he has to be ready to go at anytime so we ran home where I could drop him off and then headed back out to urgent care. Asher and I waited there for 2 and a half hours to finally see a doctor long enough for him to say we needed to take him to the emergency room. UGH! Luckily, the ER took us back almost immediately. We did have to wait for lab work to be done on his stool, but my little man was a trooper. The entire time we were at urgent care and the ER he never made a peep. He was the best baby ever. If he hadn't been having his symptoms you would've never known he was sick. He was smiling and flirting with all of the girl nurses. We finally got the results back and said it was most likely just a stomach virus. They told us to keep him hydrated and basically ride it out.

We finally got him home and that's when he had just had enough of the sickness. He was screaming in agony and there was nothing to do to completely comfort him. There is nothing worse for a mother than to not be able to help out her child. He was miserable all night and understandably so.

He's feeling much better today, but he still just wants to sleep and cuddle. He was smiling long enough to talk to both grandma's on skype today. Here's hoping for a calmer second half of the week.

Mac Mommy with Her New Mac Daddy

Now that our refund check has come and the car is going to be paid off, my entire household is slowly being converted to Apple products. It started a couple of weeks ago with me getting a MacBook.. Today, Andrew got the MacBook Pro that he's been wanting. The new ones came out yesterday so we decided to get the older model at the discount price. The people at the Apple store told me the wrong price so when we tried to price match at Best Buy, we were very disappointed and they looked at me like I was an idiot. They did, however, have a brand new open box item that had only been returned yesterday because of the new model replacing it. I got it for about the same sale price we were originally wanting which was awesome!

In the end, Andrew almost bought the exact same laptop a week ago, but this time (for the exact same price that we would've paid then) we were able to get the MacBook Pro, a 1 TB external hard drive for us to hook up to our network and share, an Apple TV, a case for his computer (which apparently doesn't fit like he wants but that's besides the point), and a Backyardigans movie for Asher. I'd say our Best Buy trip was a success. Now to play the waiting game for the iPad 2 release. Andrew refused to let me get the original since it's going to be replaced in the very near future. It's very understandable, but I'm also super impatient. It'll be worth it though. Then, the wait for the iPhone 5 on Verizon. So yes, we are slowly but surely making the switch all because of one, Jessica Goldberg. Well, not really, but I like to blame her regardless. Time to get off of here and play with all of our new toys :)

February 23, 2009

Good news: Asher doesn't have an ear infection. If he did, we were going to have to see an ear, nose, and throat specialist since he's so young and it would be his second one.

Bad news: Asher does have acid reflux. We just have to be more careful with how he eats and has to take Zantac twice a day. She's going to check on how he's doing with it at his 4 month check up.

I'm glad it went okay at the doctor's because honestly, it was not a good day to hear that I had a sick baby. Today marked the 2 year anniversary of my sister's death. Two years ago today, I dropped Andrew off for his first deployment since we had been married and I had moved to Spokane to come home and find out that my sister had taken her own life.

I quickly made arrangements to fly back home to Kentucky, but February 23, 2009 was hands down the worst day of my life. It did however prove to me that if I was strong enough to make it through that one solitary day, I could make it the rest of my life as a military wife. Being away from family is always hard, but being away from everyone you know, even your husband, on a day like that takes a strength that I didn't even know I possessed.

I made it through that day, and that entire deployment, which let me know that I could handle whatever the Air Force decided to throw at me. I am a stronger person because of it, but that doesn't change the fact that I miss my sister greatly. Her life ended only 2 months after I got married so she hasn't been here for some of the best moments of my life. Moments that you can't wait to share with you siblings. Trips that I have taken, the birth of my first child, my first Christmas in Kentucky with my new family. Special moments that just seemed to miss a part of them with her absence.

Life goes on without the loved ones we've lost, but it never seems completely right again especially when their life ended so early. We never truly get over a death, we just learn how to accept it better and to live our own as if each day was our last. I think about her all of the time, but on days like today, it's much harder to go on with life as normal. I didn't get the chance to let her know how much I loved her, or that I did think of her often, even when I didn't always call. There was so much that I would've said, and you can't help but wonder if maybe one of those things would have been enough for her to change her mind.

As this day comes to a close, and the anger and sadness that I feel lessens a little more, I can't help but say that though 2 years ago on this day was a very trying one, there has been so much that has happened since then that makes me the person I am today.

This was the last picture that was taken of the 2 of us together.

RIP Amanda Gayle Wallace Hammonds July 22, 1979 - Feb. 23, 2009

Broken Cars and Broken Babies

So yesterday Andrew took one of the vehicles into the shop. It took him a while to get it there because apparently the engine started smoking, the car was dinging at him nonstop and then it would shut off. He kept pulling off on the interstate and shutting the vehicle down and restarting it. He finally got there and the guy apparently knew what was wrong with it just by him driving up. When they tried to restart it just to move it over, it wouldn't start. Awesome...

He had them drive him to another car dealership and Asher and I drove over there to meet him. We were looking around for vehicle ideas for when the Trailblazer finally bites the dust. Let's just say it's not as fun when the car is going to be paid off on Friday. If you already have a car payment, then replacing it doesn't seem like a big deal, but when it's going to paid off... different story.

The night definitely got a lot better when we went to my boo's house. Let's just say our husbands can cook! Actually that's an extreme understatement. My husband started us off with grilled shrimp, and then her's made the most amazing prime rib I've ever had in my life. That meal was like a little slice of heaven on a plate.
Everyone should be extremely jealous.

Needless to say. One of the Best... Dinners... EVER!

On another not so great note, I have decided that Asher most likely has another ear infection. Boo. I guess we'll see for sure tomorrow when we go to the doctor. Keeping our fingers crossed that it's still just a cranky growth spurt but highly doubtful.