Friday, December 31, 2010

2010-A Year in Review

2010 was an amazing year although it didn't start out so great.

January- After returning home from Xmas in Wisconsin we found out M would be deploying. For two weeks we prepared only to find out the deployment was pushed back until March. Ahh gotta love the army and their constant mind games!!one highlight of January was attending the Dear John movie premiere and meeting Channing Tatum, Nicholas Sparks and Amanda Seyfried

February- We celebrated my 26th and M's 30th bday with a huge party with our closest friends.

March- we got ready for M to leave and I adjusted to being a single army wife again

April- July: M was gone and I consoled myself by spending Manu weekend and week nights with my girl friends and lounging around in the pool. Summer was filled with cookouts and bbqs with friends. The last week in July M returned home and we went to Wisconsin for my cousins wedding and a much needed vacation to his familys cottage

August- we returned home and M started a new training class which had him gone quite frequently. We also started trying for a baby

September- October: celebrated Halloween and many bdays with our friends

November- we found out right before thanksgiving that we were expecting baby number 1

December- went home to wisconins where we shared the news with our family and friends

2010 ended in the best way possible and I know 2011 will be even better yet

Happy New Years everyone


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Thursday, December 30, 2010

First Dr's Apt!

Today was our first dr's appt. We had to cut our trip home short to make it but it was well worth it!

I'm being seen at the OB clinic at the posts hospital and was a little nervous to go there since I had heard horror stories. Two weeks ago when they called to make my apt I was shocked that I had no input in day or time. They schedule it for you. Originally my apt was just for an initial meeting where they would get my history. An ultrasound and physical was scheduled for Jan 18.I was a little bummed since M would be gone but oh well there wasn't anything I could do. Than on Tuesday this week they called and asked me to come in for an all day apt where they would do labs, my intake paperwork, a full exam, ultrasound and listen to the heartbeat. I was ecstatic since that would mean M would still be here for all that. Than the nurse asked if I was 13 weeks. I said no only 9. So she said that wouldn't work and schedule the physical and stuff for a later date. So today we went in for labs and to get my history and fill out paperwork.

I have to say I was so impressed by the staff and clinic. They were all so sweet and nice and I felt safe there.

After the paperwork was completed the nurse confirmed my apt for next week where we would get to hear the heartbeat. When M said he would be deployed she said she would go get a monitor and try to get the heartbeat for us. She warned us that since I wasn't fully 10 weeks that we shouldn't be worried if we didn't hear anything. She left the room and came back whispering for us to follow her. She told us we couldn't tell anyone what she was doing and she led us to the ultrasound room where a tech did a quick ultrasound. We were able to see our little peanut who measured right on track at 9 weeks 4 days with a heart beat of 171 BPM. It was so amazing. Just seeing our little one was reassuring and exciting at the same time. We have been so blessed! And I couldn't thank the nurse enough who snuck an ultrasound for us so M would be able to see his little one before deploying!

Tomorrow we are off to register. I know totally early right but here's the thing. M leaves in a few days for an unknown amount of time. Could be anywhere from 2-6 months. Throw in a pcs in June which may possible be moved to April and out of town family members who want to throw us a shower in April we decided to get a head start on registering. I know it means alot for M to be included and to feel apart of everything even though he will be gone. I figure were not jinxing anything by registering as long as we aren't buying anything for ourselves.

So ladies any must haves I need to register for?


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Friday, December 24, 2010

Merry Christmas!

I am thankful for three things this Christmas. The fact that this is the second Xmas in a row that the hubs and I have been fortunate to spend together. I'm also grateful that we were able to come home to Wi and spend the holidays with our families and most importantly I am beyond blessed to have a life growing inside of me

Thinking about becoming a mom has me thinking about a woman years ago, a teenager who gave birth to the son of God. This babe would later on die on the cross to free all mankind from our sins. So as we celebrate Xmas let us remember the real reason of the season

And I also want to thank the men and women who are overseas serving our country. While my soldier is home safe and sound many are away and their families are alone this holiday season. So please keep them in your thoughts and prayers

Merry Christmas Everyone. I hope you all have a blessed holiday

We are off to my aunts where we are going to make the big announcements to my family. Our parents know but not our extended family so we are very excited to share the news!!


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Wednesday, December 22, 2010

I'm wearing my Crabby Pants Today

You would think with all the sleeping I've been doing on this trip home I wouldn't be crabby. But today I am and here is why

1. Nausea has kicked in in full force. I'm talking all day nausea, the kind that gets no relief. I constantly feel like I'm going to throw up and never do, instead I spend all day dry heaving. Its quite fun. Although in all honesty I read the sicker you are the healthier the baby, whether or not it's true it makes me feel better so I will take any kind of nausea and sickness as long as it means baby is healthy.

2. My brothers dog is annoying. Now I consider myself a dog person. There isnt a dog I don't love. I'm the girl that sees a stray on the side of the road and pulls over to try to get the dog in my car so I can take it to a vet. But my brothers dog is something else. She is a lab like ours but obnoxious. She barks at everything. She bites when you go to pet her and she is constantly walking and jumping all over people and things. If your laying on the couch she jumps right on top of you, if your sitting on the floor she's staring at your barking non stop. The other day I gave in and went to pet her and got teeth marks imprinted on my wrist where she bite me cause she was playing. I understand she's a puppy but my brother does nothing to stop this. He pays her no attention, never tells her to get off the furniture or to stop jumping on people. When she bite me he said it was because I don't like her. Ugh I am always glad when we get to leave this dog behind. Even my dogs barely tolerate her and they love to play with other dogs

3. My hair is pissing me off. In July I cut it short and have been growing it out. Since it had been cut into an inverted bob the lengths were a little uneven. So when I went in last week I asked her to cut it all one length. So my hair should have been about shoulder length. Then I asked for a few layers in the back mostly on top so it would appear I has volume. My hair is super thin and when it grows long it looks even thinner. My hair stylist had the haircut I wanted so I even said just like yours, no short layers cause the last thing I want to be is 9 months pregnant with short hair. I have a super round face so short hair tends to make me look a little heavier than I am. Did she listen, nope she cuts super short layers in the front if my face, im talking ear length layers framing my face and the left the back long. Yup you guessed it, I have a modified Rock mullet hair cut. I hate it. And to confirm my suspicions the hair cut makes me look heavy. Double chin heavy cause it does not frame or enhance my face it all. Its not a flattering cut. And headbands or any cute accessories only make the cut look worse cause of how short the layers are. Hopefully the cut grows out fast. I cannot do maternity pics with short hair. I know how conceited and immature do I sound. But as I'm sure you all can relate, it's my hair and it's something that makes me feel pretty and confident. As my waist expands and I gain weight I at Least want pretty hair, not a short mullet style!!

Oh well. What am I doing complaining. We are blessed with an addition to our family,I havetwo weeks off work and was able to go home so we can visit with our family and friends and I have a wonderful husband who humors my ever changing mood swings. All in all I have more to be happy about than crabby about!


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Monday, December 20, 2010

Announcement

So I decided to let y'all in on a little secret that may have had something to do with my lack of blogging lately.

The hubs and I are expecting!!


We are due in July! We are beyond excited and cannot wait to meet our little one

So why have I been asking for all your prayers? Well let me explain. We found out we were pregnant the weekend before thanksgiving. I immediately made a dr's apt for that Tuesday since my Primary Care Manager is off post and I needed to go through her to get an ob/gyn referral. When I went in for that apt to confirm the pregnancy the urine test was faint and when I told my dr I had some mild abdominal pain she immediately told me that most first pregnancies end in miscarriages and that it sounded like I had an ectopic pregnancy and she needed to order an ultrasound to confirm it. Well the ultrasound was scheduled for two weeks later. I was a wreck. Two weeks to wait and see, two weeks to get our hopes up to possibly have them dashed. It didn't help that two of my closest friends found out we were pregnant around the same time and both miscarried. So I was a mess. Luckily God intervened and I got an earlier ultrasound apt. There I got to see the little sac, no baby since baby was only measuring at 4 weeks and I was told that to see only the sac was normal. So after the radiologist and my dr confirmed that it was not an ectopic pregnancy and everything was normal my dr put in my ob referral. I luckily got referred to the hospital on post. I called to make my first apt only to be told that my referral wasn't for an ob, it was for a delayed menstrual disorder so they couldn't see me. So it took over a week to get the correct referral admitted. I guess they had a temp working in the referral dept and she had messed up all the referrals. Luckily last week my correct referral was submitted and I have our first apt schedule for Dec 10th. I cannot wait for that.

We are officially 8 weeks along and while I know that's still early I couldn't wait to share the news. So there you have it! Thanks for all your prayers and support. I continue to pray that baby is healthy and developing right on track!





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Sunday, December 19, 2010

Home for the Holidays!

Yesterday morning the hubs and I safely made it to Milwaukee,Wi! Even though I have lived in Nc for almost two years now WI is still home to me.

This week is jam packed with festivities. Get togethers with friends and family and hopefully a lot of relaxation!

Funny story- I have blogged before about my white coat syndrome and my high blood pressure anytime I go to the dr. When I went a few weeks ago it was sky high. Well my mom is a nurse and she constantly is telling me I need to go get it checked. Well this morning she brought up the fact that she just so happened to have a blood pressure cuff since my dad has high blood pressure. The minute she brings the dam thing out I freaked and my heart started racing. Finally after four tries and many minutes of calming me down the reading came back perfectly normal!! woohoo. Now when I go to the dr's in a few weeks I can say it is only high due to anxiety!! Yay for me

Anyway back to this weeks festivities. Tonight we are getting together with M's family for dinner and then my brother's gf and I are going to see Black Swan. As a former ballerina I can't wait to see this movie

Monday- We are going to dinner with my cousin and her husband since they will be celebrating Xmas in england this year where my cousins husband is from

Tuesday- We are meeting M's best friend who was the best man at our wedding and his partner for dinner

Wednesday- Spending the day with my family. I believe the hubs is going to make us a traditional Italian dinner

Thursday- lunch with my girl friends, one who just had a baby who I finally get to meet and the other who is pregnant for the second time

Friday- Xmas eve with my dads side of the family

Saturday- opening up gifts at my parents and than Xmas day with M'a family

Sunday- Xmas with my moms side of the family

It's a jam packed week for us but Its so nice to be off work and spending quality time with the hubs and our families.


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Tuesday, December 14, 2010

The Winter Doldrums

I love love this time of year. Everything about the season makes me smile, get togethers with family and friends, Christmas lights, hot chocolate and snow. We leave this Friday to head home to Wisconsin for two weeks and I can't wait!

Although it's finally turned cold
Here on Nc, I do miss the snow. And Fayetteville seems to be the town Xmas has forgotten. Hardly anyone decorates. Driving around at night you barely see any lights up. Maybe post is different but our neighborhood and surrounding neighborhoods have maybe one or two houses decorated.

In Wisconsin we have Candy Cane Lane, an entire neighborhood goes all out decorating and every day for the month of December people drive through and look at the decorations. They also have a Santa and volunteers from the Make A Wish foundation collecting donations.Wi also has Many Xmas activities, ice skating outside, Xmas plays, holiday of lights. Nothing here in Fayetteville so I can't wait to get home and be around snow and tons of holiday activities!

But what about after Xmas. I remember living in Wi by the time January hit the snow lost it's luster and people were waiting for warm weather to hit. Which wouldn't be until June! It was easy to get depressed and bored waiting for summer to start

Summer is full of beach trips and
Vacations, September is the start of school and fall, October you have Halloween, November thanksgiving and December Christmas. But nothing in January, yes February has valentines day but there is no major holiday or celebrations until Easter. Too bad we can't create a holiday for every month of the year. Cause I know when January comes around, the hubs will be leaving soon and the thought of taking down all my Xmas decorations depresses me.

I guess I just have to enjoy them while I can and take full advantage of two weeks off work to spend with the family and my
Hubs




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Monday, December 13, 2010

Random Ramblings

This weekend I did nothing other than lay around all day and watch reality tv. And I came to some conclusions about the shows I watched. So enjoy my random Ramblings and opinions

1. Why is it that in any show portraying families who are dealing with money issues that the women always have their hair and nails done. Take BridalPlasty, The Real Housewives and Teen mom. Each show has someone that is experiencing money issues, either they can't pay their bills, were evicted from
Their homes or filed for bankruptcy yet I am always amazed to see they always are talking about these financial woes with a fresh Mani/ full set of nails and a pedi. Where do they find the money for that stuff If they can't afford gas or diapers for their kids

2. Back to BridalPlasty- a show competing for a total makeover before the wedding of their dreams. I thought maybe the girls on the show would be obese or in desperate need of plastic surgery. Nope these girls are all gorgeous in their own way! Sure some may need to tone up or diet before their wedding but what bride hasn't felt the need to do that. They don't need plastic surgery to be beautiful and their fiancées clearly love them
The way they are so why go through all the trouble. When a bride is let go the host says You will still have your wedding, it will just not be perfect. A wedding is about two people vowing and pledging their love for one another. Who cares if someone was married in a courthouse or on a yacht. Everyones wedding is perfect in it's own way. What kind of message is this show sending to young girls everywhere

3. Kathy Griffith-although she says she is not a bully I feel that she is. Did anyone watch the Divas USO concert live in Kuwait. She bashed Bristol Palin by calling her the white precious and making fun of her weight gain on dancing with the stars. Why crack jokes about a political figures daughter at a military event.I think she's rude, crass, insensitive and not that funny. Again that's just my opinion. My blog my opinions lol

4. Kelsey and Camille Grammer. I used to love Kelsey Grammer. I think he's hysterical and loved Fraiser, cheers and even seeing him in one of the Xmen movies. But watching the real housewives of Beverly Hills and watching his obnoxious ex wife flaunt her plastic surgery enhanced body, flirt with a guy half her age, create drama and
Brag about her four nannies and two surrogates for her kids makes me wander if he is as conceited and obnoxious as her

That's all for now. What irritate you all about realty tv


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Thursday, December 9, 2010

Tricare

Tricare how you annoy me! Don't get me wrong I'm thankful you are free and for the most part a pretty good insurance but you are a pain to deal with

When the hubs and I first were married I kept my govt insurance which I paid for. When we moved to NC and I got my job I need to enroll in tricare since my job didn't provide insurance. When I enrolled since there was an influx of beneficiaries, I got pushed to a clinic off post since I lived off post.

A few weeks ago I had to go to my off post primary care manager for a referral. Since there were some concerns I had to have some tests done before the referral was made. Once the tests came back ok the referral was put in the system

This past weekend I got my paperwork saying the referral had been approved and I was being referred to the clinic and main hospital on post. Perfect! I called to make my first apt only to be told that my PcM put in the referral for the wrong thing. So I couldn't make an apt. And my PcM when I called said it had been done correctly. My mom who is a nurse back home told me to call and demand to speak to the director of the clinic. My PCM is only a PA and my
Mom said every PA has to have a dr above them. So I called and the director reviewed my charts and saw where my referral was wrong. He promised to change it. That was Tuesday. It still hasn't been changed. I've spent every day on the phone with my PcM, tricares local office here in town and Healthnet. I keep getting told three different things and no one will give me a dr. It's getting to the point where I need to see a dr and soon and I'm not able to. I'm so frustrated. Again this morning tricare had no updated referral even though yesterday my PcM said she corrected it and submitted a new one. I am at a loss. It should not be this hard to see a dr. Especially when its medically necessary. If nothing is changed by tomorrow I told the hubs he better step up to the plate and do something about it as my sponser. He deploys soon and this needs to get taken care of now. Any advice on dealing with tricare?


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Monday, December 6, 2010

Wives of Faith-Christmas Carnival Day 1

I am so excited to participate in the Christmas Blog Carnival hosted by Wives of Faith
. To join in on the fun go HERE

Today's topic is Your favorite Christmas tree ornament or Christmas decoration – Do you have a favorite Christmas ornament or decoration? You know, the one that once it is in its rightful place, you know it’s Christmas. Write about it–why is it special? What does it look like? What does it mean to you? If you include a picture of this treasure in your post, you’ll get an extra drawing entry for one of the prizes.

My favorite Christmas decoration is this..

The Willow Tree Nativity. I was at a friend's house a few years ago and fell in love with this piece. I immediately had to go and buy it for my own personal collection. During the holiday season we all get caught up with buying gifts, making holiday plans with family and friends and traveling that we sometimes lose sight of the true meaning of Christmas. I have this piece proudly displayed in the center of our living room on top of our bookcase and every time we look at it it reminds us of the true meaning of Christmas.There is more to Christmas than buying gifts or receiving them for we received the greatest gift a long time ago and that is God's son Jesus who was born to die for our sins. As a child and even today I have always been fascinated with the Christmas story. I always wandered what Mary and Joseph felt during their journey, both before and after Christ was born. I watch the movie the Nativity Story constantly and love reading books based on the Christmas Story. So this piece means a lot to me for it is a constant reminder of God's love for us and his ultimate sacrifice.



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Sunday, December 5, 2010

The Legend of St Nicholas

Happy St Nick's everyone. One tradition we celebrated since we were younger was St Nick's. Every year on Dec 5th we would hang up our stockings in hope that St Nicholas would come and leave us a gift. ON the morning of the 6th we eagerly awoke to see what awaited us in our stockings. This tradition is something that the hubs and I have started and I am excited for him to see what is in his stocking tomorrow morning!

I thought I'd share the legend of St Nicholas with y'all

The Legend

Strictly speaking, the tradition of St. Nicholas is not synonomous with the role of Santa Claus in the U.S.. As practiced in many European countries, the celebration of St. Nicholas is separate from the Christmas holidays, and occurs during the 2 weeks prior to December 6th, which is St. Nicholas's day. Sometimes St. Nicholas Day is the main holiday for gift giving, and not Christmas.

In the Netherlands, legend has it that Sinterklaas (Dutch name for St. Nicholas) arrives in the Netherlands by way of steamboat from Spain 2 weeks before his traditional birthday, December 6th, along with his helper, Zwarte Piet (Black Pete), who will help disperse the gifts and candy to all the good children. Sinterklaas, along with the zwarte piets, will go abroad at night and stride about the countryside wearing his red mantle, his mitre, and his golden crosier and sporting a long, white beard. Referring to his book that lists all the good and bad children, Sinterklaas will deliver presents to all the good children, but watch out if you've been bad! The bad children may be taken back to Spain with him. The Low Countries (Belgium and Luxemburg) have basically the same traditions surrounding St. Nicholas, but not to the extent of the Netherlands. Children in Luxemburg call him Kleeschen, and his helper is Hoseker (Black Peter). Belgian children know him as Sint Niklaas.

In Germany, St. Nicholas is also known as Klaasbuur, Sunnercla, Burklaas, Bullerklaas, and Rauklas, and in eastern Germany, he is also known as Shaggy Goat, Ash Man and Rider and is more reflective of earlier pagan influences (Norse) that were blended in with the figure of St. Nicholas, when Christianity came to Germany. After the reformation, St. Nicholas's attire began to change, maybe as a reflection of the change from the Roman church, and he started to wear a red suit with fur. His dark-skinned helper is most often known as Knecht Ruprecht. Although he still visits many homes on Dec 5th/6th and leaves candy and gifts in the children's shoes, more recently St. Nicholas has begun showing up on Christmas Eve in Germany and is called Father Christmas.

In France, he is now called Pere Noel (Father Christmas) and he travels in the company of Pere Fouettard. Pere Noel leaves presents for good children, while Pere Fouettard disciplines bad children with a spanking. Pere Noel only sometimes leaves presents on St. Nicholas day, more often now on Christmas. St. Nicholas day was celebrated formerly in Russia, but under Communism he was changed to Grandfather Frost and wore blue instead of red. In Sicily, he comes on Dec 13th and is called Santa Lucia.

The History

St. Nicholas was born in 271 AD and died around December 6, 342 or 343 AD near the Asia Minor (Turkey) town of Myra,. where he later became Bishop. He performed many good deeds and was a friend to the poor and helpless, and upon his death, myths soon sprang up about him all around the Mediterranean Sea. He was reputed to be able to calm the raging seas, rescue desperate sailors, help the poor and downtrodden, and save children. He was soon named as the patron saint of sailors, and when Myra was overthrown, his bones were transported by sailors to Bari, a port in Italy, where a tomb was built over the grave and became the center of honor for St. Nicholas. From here the legend spread on around to the Atlantic Coast of Europe and the North Sea to become a European holiday tradition regardless of religion.

The Holiday Today

In anticipation of St. Nicholas's nightly visits, children in several European countries put their shoes in front of the fire place. They sing traditional songs and provide a carrot or hay for the horse. At night Black Pete puts gifts and candy in the shoes.

In the Netherlands, families celebrate St Nicholas's birthday the night before his feast day (December 6th). At one point during the evening, a loud knock will herald the arrival of Sinterklaas and at the same time candy may be thrown from upstairs; when the door is opened, a bag of gifts will be on the doorstep.

For families with older children and adults, different twists are added to the gift giving and may include gag gifts or the drawing of gift ideas or names, and most times are accompanied by poems with a "personal touch" that poke fun at the recipient in a gentle way (or not, depending on the families ;) ). Wrapping the presents up in odd packages and planting a trail of clues is also part of the general fun, and can sometimes be pretty tricky to get to, depending on the squeamishness of the recipients.

I found the legend HERE



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Thursday, December 2, 2010

A Christmas Tradition

Traditions are very important in my family.My parents and grandparent's were big into celebrating the holiday's and making it special for us kids. Every year both my grandparent's and parents gave my brother and I ornaments. Now as an adult I have boxes full of ornaments dating from my first Christmas to college graduation. Those boxes are still at my parent's house and it's time to collect them this year and bring them home. One of my favorite traditions and Christmas memories is this..

My Grandpa in his free time used to make cakes. I'm talking about cakes that would put some of the cakes on cake bosses to shame. My parent's wedding cake was three tiered with water fountains and lights decorating the cake. It was a masterpiece! Every year on our birthday's my grandpa would make all us grandchildren these elaborate cakes. How we looked forward to this. When I was in kindergarten, since I went to a Catholic school we were actually allowed to celebrate Jesus's Birthday in our class. That year my teacher had us put on a special mass celebrating Jesus's birthday and afterwards we had a big birthday party for Jesus. My Grandpa offered to make the cake. The cake was a simple sheet cake with pretty frosting that read Happy Birthday Baby Jesus on it. On top of the cake was this



This was to be the start of my Fontanini Nativity Set. Every year after that I got a few pieces for my nativity. I started off with the major pieces, Mary, Joseph, the stable, three kings, angels and shepards and expanded to other biblical characters. Every year I looked forward to setting up my nativity in my room and anticipating what new pieces I would get. Each figurine also came along with a story card and every night I would make my dad read me one of the stories. How I loved this time of year

Now my grandpa is gone and this nativity always reminds me of him. I will never forget Jesus's birthday cake nor the traditions and memories my Grandpa created when starting this nativity set. I also left this nativity at my parent's house when we moved because I didn't want it to break and this year we will actually have room in the car to bring it home.
Just the other day I was on the Fontanini Store's website looking to expand my nativity collection when I saw that they had published all the character's stories in one book. I immediately ordered it and it is arranged on my bookshelf in proud display. I read the stories here and then which reminds me so much of my childhood, Christmas with my family and especially of my grandpa.

What is your favorite Christmas tradition


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