I just want to take a moment to say Happy Thanksgiving to all my blogger and internet friends! I hope you are all happy and healthy, and enjoying your day with loved ones.
As a Military Spouse, it's been quite some time since I've spent Thanksgiving with my family. I miss them every year and look forward to the phone call when I get to talk to everyone. But, with that said, I am forever grateful for the adopted family that we have found while living here. Every year is a little different, but the people don't really change. This year we will be spending our holiday with Lauren & her husband, and two other individuals from his unit. I am looking forward to a low key day full of good food, good friends and good (hopefully!) football!
One of the hardest things these past eight months, and through my pregnancy as well, has been the lifestyle change that comes with having a child. It's not hard in that I regret it ... it's hard in that I simply don't have the time to be the wife, mom, friend, sister, cousin, employee that I want to be. My days are spread pretty thin, especially being a working mom, and finding the time to dedicate to my husband, child, job and myself is hard enough, let alone trying to fit in being everything else. I know that with time, things will get easier. Lucas is eight months old today and he is at an age where he is pretty demanding. I love that time with him and when he wants snuggled, or is sick and needs to stay home, I'm going to do it. Because if there is one thing I have learned this year is that time goes way too quick and it is very, very precious.
With that said, I am incredibly blessed to have some amazing people in my life [both here and far!] who understand this and accept the fact that I simply cannot do it all. I can't be everywhere and everything to everyone. I do what I can, when I can, but priorities have changed. Don't get me wrong -- there are aspects of the old life that I miss [as does every parent out there I am sure!] but I wouldn't trade anything. I am forever THANKFUL and grateful to those in my life who accept who I am and what I can give. Being far away from family, especially during the holidays, is rough. I am so blessed to have met so many amazing people through simply being a military spouse. Friends that have become family and will be a part of our lives forever.
It's easy to forget the people that aren't flesh and blood sometimes. But being a military spouse, sometimes they are all we have. I love them, and I love the ones who roll with the changing tide. So thank you for being there, whether I know you in real life, through this blog, through twitter, whatever. You all mean the world to me! And today I am grateful to that my family is spending the day with some of our best friends!
Happy Thanksgiving all!
November 22, 2012
November 15, 2012
Seven Months*
So, my kiddo turned seven months ... uh ... a while ago. October 22nd to be exact and he turns eight months old next week.
Whoops.
I wasn't kidding when I said that this blog had taken a back seat to things going on in our life. We currently have two family members battling cancer -- my Grandpa and my Father-In-Law -- and a very good girlfriend of mine was in a very serious accident at the beginning of October. We have been trying to figure out how best to deal with everything we currently have going on, and what to do to move forward.
So, I sort of stopped writing for the simple reason that I didn't have the energy.
BUT, I want to get the seventh month information down for the simple fact that all of these are going into a book and I don't want to forget. So here we go :)
The seven month milestone was a big one! Lucas started crawling at six months, one week, and by the day of his seven month "birthday," the kid was pulling himself up to thing. PULLING UP. M and I are both completely amazed by how advanced this kid is, and how eager he is to grow up already. I think a large part of this is because he spends his days with another little boy who is bigger and stronger and older (although who only just turned one in August). He wants to be just like Jackson and is doing what he can to keep up. Of course, this is speculation, but his sitter and I are both convinced this is a large part to why he is advancing so quick.
That and he is just a rockstar kid.
We also said hello to tooth number three, which took it's sweet time making it's way down. Top teeth are no joke. Our kid is pretty resilient, and has been a trooper through all of it. The only incidents we really have had were a couple bad nights when I'm guessing the teething pain was pretty uncomfortable, but it hasn't been anything that some tylenol and some good snuggles can't handle before bedtime.
I am constantly amazed at how fast he is growing. I was going back through some old photos from when he was born, and he just continually surprises me. He is changing every single day and I am loving watching his little personality blossom. He is funny, and adorable, and the love of our lives.
Whoops.
I wasn't kidding when I said that this blog had taken a back seat to things going on in our life. We currently have two family members battling cancer -- my Grandpa and my Father-In-Law -- and a very good girlfriend of mine was in a very serious accident at the beginning of October. We have been trying to figure out how best to deal with everything we currently have going on, and what to do to move forward.
So, I sort of stopped writing for the simple reason that I didn't have the energy.
BUT, I want to get the seventh month information down for the simple fact that all of these are going into a book and I don't want to forget. So here we go :)
The seven month milestone was a big one! Lucas started crawling at six months, one week, and by the day of his seven month "birthday," the kid was pulling himself up to thing. PULLING UP. M and I are both completely amazed by how advanced this kid is, and how eager he is to grow up already. I think a large part of this is because he spends his days with another little boy who is bigger and stronger and older (although who only just turned one in August). He wants to be just like Jackson and is doing what he can to keep up. Of course, this is speculation, but his sitter and I are both convinced this is a large part to why he is advancing so quick.
That and he is just a rockstar kid.
We also said hello to tooth number three, which took it's sweet time making it's way down. Top teeth are no joke. Our kid is pretty resilient, and has been a trooper through all of it. The only incidents we really have had were a couple bad nights when I'm guessing the teething pain was pretty uncomfortable, but it hasn't been anything that some tylenol and some good snuggles can't handle before bedtime.
I am constantly amazed at how fast he is growing. I was going back through some old photos from when he was born, and he just continually surprises me. He is changing every single day and I am loving watching his little personality blossom. He is funny, and adorable, and the love of our lives.
November 8, 2012
Williamsburg, VA*
This past weekend, M, Lucas & I were able to participate in a Strong
Bonds Marriage Retreat, courtesy of the Army. There are a lot of things
I don't particularly like about the military, but there are a lot of good things, too [depending on who you ask.] We have been very lucky to be a part of a battalion and have a chaplain that truly believes in the power of working on marriages. Being married to the military is a tough, tough job, and with the incredibly high number of deployments that our guys have gone through in the last 10 years, it's no wonder that marriages suffer.
So whenever we have an opportunity to attend a weekend workshop and strengthen ours, we jump on it. This one took us to Williamsburg, VA. It was an incredible! M had never been before, and I had only been once -- a trip that included four other boys and a trip to Busch Gardens, which most definitely did not involve any sight-seeing -- so after our morning session on Saturday morning, we took the opportunity to head out with the stroller and check out old Colonial Williamsburg.
It was gorgeous! Truly remarkable. We wandered for hours. At one point we stumbled upon a wine & cheese shop -- two of the GREATEST things ever -- and indulged in probably the best cheese that we have ever had for our lunch. It was glorious. The glass of wine that we got most definitely helped as well.
Word to the wise -- pack comfortable shoes when planning on doing lots of walking. I KNOW this, but yet I didn't do it anyways. My zebra stripped flats from Target? Yeah ... not so much. CUTE. Just not very functional.
Saturday night we were able to indulge in a date night, child free, thanks to the nanny service that the Battalion hired for during the sessions. We were able to sneak away for a few hours to a very yummy and swanky restaurant, indulge a little more, and enjoy actual adult conversation. This does not happen very often.
Sunday, after our morning session, we took off for Jamestown. M wanted to see the big ships, and we took some time wandering through the Settlement Museum. It's amazing to see so much history. Our country started here and while we are still a relatively new country, it's amazing to see how much had changed. Monday we had to head back, but not before taking a quick spin through Yorktown. We wanted to visit all three towns, and I am glad we did. Who knows when we will ever make it back, and while Williamsburg was definitely the highlight of the trip, all three places are equally important in our country's history. It was fun to see.
But more importantly, free trip aside, it was so good for M and I to learn some new things about each other. I would be lying if I said that children don't make marriage harder than it necessarily has to be. With both of us being full-time working parents, it adds an extra stress to figuring out how to spend time together as a couple. Our nights are full and busy, and by the end of the evening, we are too exhausted to really even spend some quality time together. This was a much needed weekend away, as well as some good family time with no additional stresses thrown our way. The sessions were amazing and were very eye opening to our personalities and how we need to adapt to each other for this point in our lives!
All in all, a successful weekend.
So whenever we have an opportunity to attend a weekend workshop and strengthen ours, we jump on it. This one took us to Williamsburg, VA. It was an incredible! M had never been before, and I had only been once -- a trip that included four other boys and a trip to Busch Gardens, which most definitely did not involve any sight-seeing -- so after our morning session on Saturday morning, we took the opportunity to head out with the stroller and check out old Colonial Williamsburg.
It was gorgeous! Truly remarkable. We wandered for hours. At one point we stumbled upon a wine & cheese shop -- two of the GREATEST things ever -- and indulged in probably the best cheese that we have ever had for our lunch. It was glorious. The glass of wine that we got most definitely helped as well.
Word to the wise -- pack comfortable shoes when planning on doing lots of walking. I KNOW this, but yet I didn't do it anyways. My zebra stripped flats from Target? Yeah ... not so much. CUTE. Just not very functional.
Saturday night we were able to indulge in a date night, child free, thanks to the nanny service that the Battalion hired for during the sessions. We were able to sneak away for a few hours to a very yummy and swanky restaurant, indulge a little more, and enjoy actual adult conversation. This does not happen very often.
Sunday, after our morning session, we took off for Jamestown. M wanted to see the big ships, and we took some time wandering through the Settlement Museum. It's amazing to see so much history. Our country started here and while we are still a relatively new country, it's amazing to see how much had changed. Monday we had to head back, but not before taking a quick spin through Yorktown. We wanted to visit all three towns, and I am glad we did. Who knows when we will ever make it back, and while Williamsburg was definitely the highlight of the trip, all three places are equally important in our country's history. It was fun to see.
But more importantly, free trip aside, it was so good for M and I to learn some new things about each other. I would be lying if I said that children don't make marriage harder than it necessarily has to be. With both of us being full-time working parents, it adds an extra stress to figuring out how to spend time together as a couple. Our nights are full and busy, and by the end of the evening, we are too exhausted to really even spend some quality time together. This was a much needed weekend away, as well as some good family time with no additional stresses thrown our way. The sessions were amazing and were very eye opening to our personalities and how we need to adapt to each other for this point in our lives!
All in all, a successful weekend.
November 1, 2012
Halloween*
These past couple of weeks have been bananas, and I have seriously slacked on the blogging front. We have gotten bad news after bad news it seems in the past few weeks, and I sort of hit a wall where I couldn't really deal with it. So I needed to take a break from some things and regroup. I've been avoiding twitter for the most part, and blogging hasn't been a priority as I dealt with some things.
But. I'm working on some posts to get back up an running, to include our seven month update that I completely missed last week, some cloth diapering posts and our experiences with Baby Led Weaning so far. So as of now, we will resume our regularly scheduled programming.
Yesterday was Lucas's first Halloween! Obviously, at seven months old, he doesn't really know what's going on, or why he's wearing the crazy outfit that mama made him wear. But I gotta tell you, I think I had the cutest lion around:
Our Halloween was, for the most part, pretty low key. Lucas did some crafts at the sitters while also getting some costume time in with the other two kiddos. Afterwards, we headed over to another friends house where I strapped him into the carrier and we walked the neighborhood with her and her kids. It was nice and relaxing, and also perfectly cool (weather wise!) I can't wait for the next couple of years, when he really understands the concept of "trick-or-treat" and I get to watch him run all over the place, knocking on doors.
I can't believe how big this guy is getting, and my heart melted a million times over seeing him dressed up in his adorable costume. I am looking forward to all the memories we are going to create going forward!
Hope you all had a wonderful Halloween!
But. I'm working on some posts to get back up an running, to include our seven month update that I completely missed last week, some cloth diapering posts and our experiences with Baby Led Weaning so far. So as of now, we will resume our regularly scheduled programming.
Yesterday was Lucas's first Halloween! Obviously, at seven months old, he doesn't really know what's going on, or why he's wearing the crazy outfit that mama made him wear. But I gotta tell you, I think I had the cutest lion around:
Our Halloween was, for the most part, pretty low key. Lucas did some crafts at the sitters while also getting some costume time in with the other two kiddos. Afterwards, we headed over to another friends house where I strapped him into the carrier and we walked the neighborhood with her and her kids. It was nice and relaxing, and also perfectly cool (weather wise!) I can't wait for the next couple of years, when he really understands the concept of "trick-or-treat" and I get to watch him run all over the place, knocking on doors.
I can't believe how big this guy is getting, and my heart melted a million times over seeing him dressed up in his adorable costume. I am looking forward to all the memories we are going to create going forward!
Hope you all had a wonderful Halloween!
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