MilSpouse Friday Fill-in...#35

1. What is your must have gadget? My straightener and my Kindle
2. How does your adulthood compare to what you imagined it would be like when you were a little kid? I really thought I would be a teacher and that I would not be married this early (got married at 22) and I never thought I would live on the opposite coast!
3. What is your favorite chocolate recipe? Good ole' chocolate chip cookies from the back of the nestle chocolate chip bag  4. How do you deal with military life when it gets to be to much or to hard? Take a step back and remember what this life offers me that a non military life cannot 5. What piece of advice would you give a new Military spouse facing their first deployment? Find friends that are going through the same thing...no one understands like some one in the same situation.

32/33 week Charlotte Update

How far along?
32/33 weeks

Maternity clothes?
yes. I actually wore a pair of non maternity jeans that are a few sizes bigger than my regular pants and while they were a little big it was nice to wear real pants. Shirts are half and half.

Stretch marks?
none

Weight gained:
total- 25lbs according to my scale and 27 lbs according to the dr scale. I wear a towel at home...fully dressed at the Dr so I am sticking with my at home weight!

Sleep:
Horrible! Restless leg syndrome is in full force and there is really nothing I can find that will help. So I spend most of the night moving around. Dr suggested no more naps and no more caffeine...led to headaches so I went back to caffeine and no naps and seems to be helping me fall asleep.

Best moment this/last week: My baby shower! I have some really great friends here!!

Movement:
She is a moving machine!

Food cravings:
Sweets, oatmeal, and chocolate

Gender:
Girl-Charlotte Grace

Labor Signs:
Non, some Braxton hicks but nothing too serious. More cramping this week than last but I'm still thinking nothing serious.

Belly Button in or out?
on its way out

Wedding rings on or off?
off...they are causing a rash like they did with Clayton

What I miss:
sleeping on my stomach

What I am looking forward to:
Having my body back and meeting my little girl

Weekly Wisdom:
Drink lots of water!

Milestones:
I am in the single digit weeks now!!!


Dr appointment went well. Nothing new to report. At 36 weeks I get my Group B strep test and then I start going every week! We are still praying that she holds out until at least the 25th of April...there is so much going on between now and then that I really don't want to miss out on!! The Dr did say she thinks Charlotte is going to be smaller than Clayton was but the Dr in the delivery room said that Clayton was going to be 7.5 lbs at most right before I delivered him at 8.8 so we will see :)

What's your name?

MilSpouse Friday Fill-in...#33

1. During military separations (whether short or long) how do you keep yourself positive and motivated? First and foremost I put all of my energy in to compensating for the lack of father for my son but as for me...Friends are so vital! I also like to do something fun to mark off days as we go. For our last big deployment I made a paper chain like you do in elementary school and wrote little things on the links that I wanted Jason to know or little things he missed. I loved making it and he enjoyed reading the messages.
2. What is your favorite concert you have ever been to? George Strait
3. What do you miss most about your “hometown”?Besides the obvious of friends and lifetime friends I miss sweet tea and southern foods (ie...grits, fried green tomatoes)
4. If you could run in any race, which charity would you choose to support? A charity that focuses on SIDS research. I had a friend lose her precious baby boy at the young age of 2 months and I was forever changed at how precious those little moments are. It is such a hard issue to understand and one of the scariest words you hear/see when you are the parent of a small child.
5. You find out Willy Wonka is your father, what 3 course meal do you INSIST he create in that stick of gum? Fried green tomatoes, pot roast with mashed potatoes and better than sex cake..yum 

Country-Project 52-Week 10

Clayton and his great grandparent enjoying the last few minutes in our version of God's Country.

Week 10-Project 52-Country

Character -Project 52-Week 9

My little Character 

Project 52 -Week- 9 Character 

30/31 week Charlotte update

The only picture I could find that showed my stomach at all during this week...we were having gelato for ice cream

How far along?
30/31 weeks

Maternity clothes?
yes. I actually wore a pair of non maternity jeans that are a few sizes bigger than my regular pants and while they were a little big it was nice to wear real pants. Shirts are half and half.

Stretch marks?
none

Weight gained:
total- 22lbs according to my scale and 25 lbs according to the dr scale. I wear a towel at home...fully dressed at the Dr so I am sticking with my at home weight!

Sleep:
Horrible! Restless leg syndrome is in full force and there is really nothing I can find that will help. So I spend most of the night moving around.

Best moment this/last week: Charlotte finally having the hiccups for just a second but I love that!

Movement:
She is a moving machine!

Food cravings:
Sweets, oatmeal, and recent Apple Cider..weird!

Gender:
Girl-Charlotte Grace

Labor Signs:
Non, some Braxton hicks but nothing too serious. More cramping this week than last but I'm still thinking nothing serious.

Belly Button in or out?
on its way out

Wedding rings on or off?
off...they are causing a rash like they did with Clayton

What I miss:
Honestly a nice glass of wine and sleeping on my stomach

What I am looking forward to:
Having my body back and meeting my little girl

Weekly Wisdom:
Drink lots of water!

Milestones:
I am in the single digit weeks now!!!

MilSpouse Friday Fill-in...#32

1. Do you or your {spouse} ever wish your {spouse} was in a different branch of the military?Jokingly I always say that I wish he had joined the Airforce because they have better housing and better a better PX. But the Navy has good locations...but in the end I love the Army and am happy where we are in the military :)
2. What duty station(s) are on your “No Way, Hell No, Not Going, Have Fun Unaccompanied” list and why? Korea is the only one I would NOT go to. There are several that are on my "I will not be happy and you will have to pay for this" list but I would go. 
3. If you could be one age forever, what age would you choose and why? This age, mid twenty's . I love having small children and being young but not so young I don't get "things".
4. If you were a breakfast cereal, which one would you be? Cheerios. They are plain but have endless options.
5. What is your morning beverage of choice and why? Instant Breakfast...I love the immediate fullness it gives me to get through getting dressed until I can have some real breakfast (I must say that I am pregnant so I wake up starving!!!)  

2 Month update of 2011 Goals

1. Read at least one book a month and blog it on my book blog...my new Kindle and joining a book club should help with this one!

       I have read 2 books so far but working on some on going books right now.
       January's book club pick
       February's book club pick
       The Choice 

2. Make one new recipe a week.
     I have been doing pretty good with this one but not as good about blogging it :( 
     I have made Honey mustard pork chops and marinated flank steak though!
     Last week I made some very yummy Peanut Butter Balls 

3. Make a craft project a week and blog it.
     This was harder than I thought it would be but here are some of the projects I have done so far this year.

4. Blog every other day at least on this blog.
    You can see that progress yourself... I will get better I hope. Maybe writing on three blogs at a time is   too much! But I did make a blog schedule that will help me stay on top of the things I want to for sure blog about.

5. Cut back on my TV watching...I am thinking 2 shows a day.

6. Get "dressed" most days...I generally wear my PJ's all the time!

7. Make and follow a more structured day for Clayton.

8. Reread Babywise books and prep for Charlotte.
    I am on Chapter 5 and so glad I am rereading. I needed a refresher!

9. Have a date night with Jason at least once a month.
    January we went to see Harry Potter while my mom was still here and 

10. Stick to bedtime for Clayton!!!
       Failing miserably!!!

11. Breastfeed Charlotte as long as possible ( I am really aiming for at least 6 months)
      Duh she isn't born yet!

12. Walk at least one mile everyday even it is my in home walking DVD...I hate super cold and super hot weather and I live in the desert so it gets super HOT!!
      I may be walking a mile everyday but I have not actually set aside the time to do so yet...fail!

13. Stay on top of house work and stick to my house work schedule.
      Doing decent with this one

14. Plan a fun family getaway at least quarterly.
      Instead of us going anywhere this quarter, except the ball (whole post on that to come) we are having a  lot of people come to us since the baby is coming pretty soon.

15. Stick to our budget.
       Doing awesome even with having to get J's truck fixed and all the stuff for the baby!

16. Take my contacts out everyday!!!!
       I did great for about a week

17. Finish Jason's first Army scrapbook.
      3 pages are in the works

18. Read the Bible from beginning to end as a family.
      Did awesome for about a week...then j's schedule got crazy and we are seriously lacking on the family time. 

19. Teach Clayton to recognize ALL letters and numbers.

       I'm pretty sure he can do this and I enlisted Leap Frog Letter Factory to help!

20.Teach Clayton to pray.
     I received a daily preschool devotional at MOPS and it has some really sweet prayers that are great.  

21. Be more affectionate....I have a HUGE personal bubble and it needs to shrink!
      The bubble is getting smaller...still needs work though

22. Drink 65oz of water a day before I drink anything else.

      Actually doing great with this one...thanks to my camel back water bottle!

23. Send cards on birthdays and major holidays.
      With family I am doing ok but friends are not so great...Facebook comments count right?!?

24. take more pictures and videos.
      I am working on this I promise!You can check out my entries for Project 52 here.

25. Save more money for LONG TERM future.
      Um....