This has been Kellen's diet

Yes. Yes, that is chalk. About a week ago, I got Kellen an easel. He is still learning about coloring and everytime we went to our friends' house, he was good at drawing on the chalk board. I figured that chalk was alot easier to clean off the walls than crayons too.

So we got the easel. The first 2 nights were fine. No incidents to report. But on the 3rd night, he came out of his room looking like he just ate grape Tums. And now everytime I go in his room, there are little pieces of crumbled chalk on the rug. I don't know if it is because I bought him the colored chalk and it looks too tasty to resist or if he just couples crayons and chalk together as staples of his diet? Whatever the reason, it has made for colorful diaper changes.

Alright I need to go vaccum... all the chalk bits from his carpet... AGAIN!!! And for the record, chalk can be pretty sharp when you step on the jagged bits when you are barefoot in the middle of the night.

I die a little every night

Okay, Not really but I feel like it.

A strange thing has started to happen to me at night and now it is starting to happen in the afternoons as well.

After I eat a meal or snack or just drink about 8oz of liquid, I feel like I am going to explode. The only way to describe it is that really uncomfortable, full feeling that you get after making a complete glutton of yourself during a Thanksgiving meal, or 2 Thanksgiving meals if you have to visit 2 families. :-)

I am laid up on the couch, tossing and turning because I can't get comfortable and actually praying to burp or fart to relieve the pressure even though I know it isn't gas. (Kinda gross I know but I want you to fully understand.) And the weirdest part is, I can tell my metabolism is faster because during this time of Shamu-ness ('cause I feel like a whale) I can actually hear my stomach growling. My digestive track is saying "Feed me!" and my abdomen is saying "I dare you!"

I have been noticeably more bloated. And by noticeably, I mean I have noticed it because Dustin thinks all preggos are crazy. :-) I even busted out the preggo jeans the other day because my regular ones were a little too snug and I was going to be cleaning so no one was going to be around to get a shot of my plumber's crack whenever I had to bend over. (They are still too big but it was comfy!)

Luckily, I still have my mornings to eat. That is nice because I haven't felt as pukey the past few days. It is probably a mind over hormones thing. I am telling myself that I need to eat because it isn't going to happen later. And when I eat, I no longer feel icky. Everything bagels with chive cream cheese have been a staple in my diet for about a week. And I need to go to the store and restock because I'm down to my last one...

So there is an update on my expanding waistline.

Dr. Appointment

Today was the infamous Dr. Appt. I went into the appointment very nervous but I had a good feeling in my gut that everything was going to be okay even though I had a little bit of spotting yesterday.

They did all the regular paperwork and labs and then it came down to the ultrasound. I was scared because Dustin's boss made him go back to work and he couldn't be there with me. So... it was me and the boy. Can you imagine a half naked me and 2 ultrasound technicians trying to angle Kellen's stroller so that he could see me yet not get a peep show. It was tight squeeze but we all were situtated.

After about 5 minute of looking around, I heard "There is the baby and the heartbeat." And after a few more minutes, they played the heartbeat so I could hear it. I have never heard anything sound sweeter.

They estimated that I am somewhere between 6-7 weeks based on the baby's growth but my hcg levels were crazy. On the day of my D&C (9weeks preggo), my levels were at 30k. Today, my levels read at 72k!!!  That is crazy. They said they would expect that in twins (don't worry, there is only 1 in there). I think that because I got pregnant right away, my levels just picked up where I left off. :-)

So this is our peanut. You can't tell much from it but I know what it is and I'm happy!

Chicharrones aka Pork Rinds

Oh how I hate and love thee. I don't know when this love started but I believe that it may have originated in child hood. My father also has an affinity for thee therefore I believe this condition is genetic.

I remember the countless times I would sneak over to Walgreens on break and buy a bag of your delicious Hot BBQ flavor. Even through my endless morning sickness with Kellen, my body still tolerated your goodness.

Today I found myself almost demolishing an entire bag of you today.

Please let me be. Please take your bad cravings for thee out of my blood stream. I am tired of feeling guilty and like I belong in a trailer after indulging myself...

Purpose

This morning while I was making myself some eggs, not really important to the story, I started wondering about things. Usually this happens in the bathroom, probably because it is the most quiet place to think. Anyway, back to the story.

I started thinking about what is the purpose of my life. I know the obvious things are to above all, serve my Heavenly Father, and to be a great wife and mother. Those are givens that I understand and I embrace. I was just wondering if I was meant for something more.

God knows the plans he has laid out for us and it isn't necessarily for us to know these but sometimes I wonder if I am somehow a Butterfly Effect. I don't think that my sneeze is going to be responsible for a typhoon in Asia or anything like that but maybe what I teach my children will be passed down to future generations of men and women of greatness. How do we know that George Washington's Great-Great-Great Grandmother was the unknown most important element of his success? :-)

Of course I want success and happiness for my children and it is something that I pray on but sometimes it is fun to think about what you maybe unknowingly doing/causing and how that will one day effect the Kingdom of God.

BTW: If you have never seen the movie Defending Your Life, I suggest you watch. It has Meryl Streep and Albert Brooks and they are in limbo between Heaven and Earth. They are basically on 'trial' to prove that their lives were worthy enough to move on or if there were still things that they needed to learn. There is a really funny scene where they were able to see who they were in past lives. The idea of something like that is entertaining to me. I would like to see who I would've been had I been born in a different time and place.

After much deliberation...

I have decided to post

that we are pregnant again!!!!

This is very scary for me because I will always have the fear that I will miscarry again. I just don't like keeping it a secret because babies are supposed to be celebrated.

I go to the doctor on 2/10. It is hard to say how far along I am but the 10th will be 8 weeks from my D&C. I know that they told us to hold off trying again but after doing alot of research, I found that there is no proven increase in miscarriage rate if you get pregnant right away as opposed to waiting.

We decided that while we weren't going to 'try' we weren't going to prevent things from happening.

We need everyone's prayers that this pregnancy goes smoothly and that God will bless us with a beautiful, healthy baby and K will get to be the great big brother I know he will be.

Teaching Backfire

Being a good mother, I try to expose K to new things and help him develop new skills.

K got crayons for Christmas. Although he still tries to eat them. He is enjoying them. Until he gets caught using them on the wrong places...

This is K's little finger pointing to his masterpiece for Mommy. Thank goodness Magic Erasers were created.

I heard whimperings from the bedroom...

and this is what I found!

He somehow got stuck sitting in his drum and this was the damage. Luckily it was just a couple red marks.

Like Father, Like Son

Where have I been?

There is a pretty good explanation for my extended absence at the end of 2009.


At the beginning of November, D and I found out that we were going to be expecting a new little baby to bless our family. We were both soo excited but wanted to keep it quiet until we had gone to our doctor’s appt.

I went into the first appt and it was really nothing more than some paperwork and taking ‘samples.’ This was unlike what happened with Kellen’s first appt. but that is the army for you. This was on a Wednesday.

On the following Monday morning, I woke up with some very light spotting. I immediately called the doctor and went in. In my gut, I knew that it probably wasn’t going to be good but I stayed hopeful. After doing labs and an ultrasound, it was determined that I had suffered what was called Embryonic Demise.

It turned out that the spotting I was suffering was actually a fluke because my body had had a missed miscarriage. My body was so intent on being pregnant that it had held onto the baby even though it had stopped developing around Week 4 and I was supposed to be 9 weeks by now.

I had a suction D&C on Wednesday December 16, 2009. That was the end of my pregnancy. I was sent home with pain medication and told to wait to try to get pregnant again for 3-6 months. It was hard to deal with. Having K around helped a lot because his smiles, laughter and happiness are contagious.

It was unfortunate that I actually lost a friend through this whole ordeal. She was ever so kind as to tell me, 2 hours after finding out about my miscarriage that she was pregnant. Although I was happy that she had been blessed with another child, her timing was mean and stupid. The demise of the friendship occurred because I told her that while I was happy for her, I wasn’t ready to celebrate with her and listen to her brag about it on Facebook. She then ‘de-friended’ me on Facebook and hasn’t contacted me since. Oh well! I don’t need those types of people in my life.


So that is how I spent the end of 2009. Even though it was terribly hard, overall it was a good year. We moved, I got the opportunity to stay home with K from now on, we decided that we are ready to share our love and family with the next child God blesses us with, we grew stronger as a family and we grew more in the Lord’s love.

This says it all...

November 5th

I'm sure everyone has watched the news and heard about what happened here on Fort Hood today. It was a senseless act of violence. It is sad. It is indescribable.

I am so thankful to God that Dustin was working nights this week because it meant that he was safe at home, sleeping in the bedroom when it happened.

I heard gunshots this afternoon but I didn't pay any attention to them because that sound isn't uncommon when you live on post. I'm not sure how it happened but I was in the bedroom and Dustin told me his Sgt. called and asked if he was okay and if he lived on post. He told him that something happened and the post was going to lockdown and to make sure to stay by the phone because they needed to ensure 100% accountability for the unit.

Within minutes, the sirens on post were going off. Imagine the old school sirens they used to sound during the cold war. The Announcement said "Attention Fort Hood. Take Shelter Immediately. Close all doors and windows. Turn off all heating, ventilation and AC units. Take Shelter Immediately." I was concerned but thought maybe gas had been released and they didn't want to risk us inhaling it. I told Dustin what was said. I was a little disappointed because I had a chicken in the oven so I knew the house was going to be hot. I was right.

Dustin looked on the internet and found out what happened and then we all sat together stayed glued to the TV, watching CNN.

When I realized that the gunshots I heard were the ones of the shooter, I felt sick. I still feel sick. I can't understand why this person would do this. He shot up the Soldier Readiness Center. This the center where soldiers go to finalize things before their deployment. These families were mentally preparing themselves to not see their family member for at least a year with the possibibility that they might not come home. They never got to say goodbye. Before your spouse leaves it is a high stress time and there is alot of fighting usually. My heart goes out to their families. I don't even want to imagine the heartache and regret they are experiencing.

Please pray for these brave men and women and their families. Pray for the victims and for everyone else who is serving our country. They lay their lives on the line for you everyday and their families sacrifice too so that you can live free with your families everyday. There is a saying that being an Army Wife is the hardest job in the Army and sometimes I really agree.

Brave Rifles 3D ACR 4/3 Longknives

Yum...

I made delicious French Breakfast Puffs this morning. I was inspired because my friend made them yesterday. I found the recipe on Pioneer Woman Cooks.

They are sweet and yummy and moist and filling and dangerous... :-)

On a side note, I went into Kellen's room and this is how I found him. He was quietly watching TV.

Whippy Cake

I just became a fan of Bret Crosby's wife Becki's business Whippy Cake. She has great things. They are girly and cute and sophisticated. She has a contest where she is giving away one of her stylish rosy headbands and beautiful choker. Check it out. Whippy Cake

Kellen's Room

Just a little preface: My hubby is a BIG TIME Gamer. He grew up playing video games, has a big mario tattoo on his back and his Bachelors degree is even in game design. He is already trying to make sure that it is something that Kellen appreciates. :-)

This is what Kellen's room looks like. We bought these for his room either before he was born or soon after and we finally put them up. His room looks awesome now. Its so fun. Sorry that pics aren't the best but you still get the idea. :-)

Here Kitty Kitty

Growing up, did you ever drag a string behind you as you walked so the cat would chase you? That is how I felt this morning but the string was my cool socks and the cat was my son.

I am a big fan of the Toe Socks. I have quite a few pairs and I love that I get to pull them out once the weather starts getting colder.

Here is the stylish pair I'm sporting this morning. Yes I know you are jealous of my pink toe socks with brown monkeys and yellow bananas. And yes that is a bunch of bananas on my big toe.

If you take notice, the top pf the socks have 2 yellow puff balls tied on. These are the object of my son's affection.

I was walking down the hall, looking for Kellen's sippy cup and I hear giggles coming up on me pretty quickly. I thought "Aww, Kellen wants to play chase with me." Nope, nope, nope! He was a man on a mission. I did a couple laps around the house with him in hot pursuit till I sit down and let him have his fill.

He soon lost interest started doing something bad right instead. :-)

Halloween

Our Halloween was so unremarkable that it probably doesn't even deserve a post but everyone else is posting and I guess I'm just a copy cat.


For the record, I'm a forgetful person and thought I put the camera in the diaper bad and I didn't. So all I have is 2 pics I took with my cell phone because then it was too dark to take anymore.


I don't have a picture but all day I sported a Halloween shirt, a black skirt covered in safety pins, exaggerated eye makeup and bright pink tights. What was I? NO CLUE! I just gathered together a few elements of costumes I wore in the past but I was comfortable. I don't know why but I enjoy wearing tights. Pantyhose can all curl up in a little ball together and burn for all I care but me and tights are BFFs. I think that I might go buy some more even though I will have to wear more skirts, that is a cost I am willing to pay. :-)


Kellen's costume turned out basically the same as when I did the run thru. In my head, I had imagined Dustin stepping in to help me and Kellen would turn out perfectly groomed. The reality was there was crying from Kellen and Mama, yelling, reapplying make-up, cursing and finally begrudgingly loading ourselves into the car. Once we got going, we were good and a happy little family again.




Fort Hood implemented a rule that only allowed trick-or-treating on post between 6-8. On paper this sounded like a good idea because I knew that my 15mo wouldn't be able to handle much more. We decided to go to the community next to mine (the Officers' houses). It seems everyone had this same idea. Everyone sits in their lawns or driveway in chairs handing out candy. It totally takes away from the experience of knocking and waiting anxiously to say "trick or treat?" as fast as you could so that you could get the chocolate treasure and hit the next house. It was also slim pickings of houses to go to. Growing up, my Dad would occasionally sacrifice the experience so that he could stay home and pass out candy. They don't do that. The reason I'm thinking is that with the Army, you are here a year and gone the next. The Dads want to be involved in as much as they can.


It just wasn't the Trick-or-Treating that I remember as a kid is all... I feel kinda bad being disappointed because Kellen had fun, we had fun and we got candy that we really didn't need.


Once we were done pillaging and looting, we hit up Subway. (Figured we should Eat Fresh) Kellen fell asleep to and from Subway. BTW I had to put a towel on his car seat and high chair so he didn't cover them with his black hair spray. He woke up when we got home and shared some of Dustin's meatball sub and then I bathed him for 15 minutes. That was 15 minutes of lathering him up, scrubbing him, changing the bathwater and Repeat.


He was in bed between 9 and 10. I was hoping that with the excitement, he would sleep in the next morning. Yeah... That didn't happen. And to add insult to injury, Daylight savings ended so he woke up like normal except now the clock reads 6am...

So this may not seem like a big deal to most people but it is my own personal victory.

Today I sewed a pillow cover for my living room. I have 3 more to go but I think that they will go quicker and be of better quality cause I have ironed out of kinks in my process. This is the before and after. I went from plain to fancy... :-)

I really like the fabric. I'm not sure that it matches the couch but it matches the rug and the candles on my sconce. I just think that the couch color is so faded that even Crayola wouldn't have a name for it.

Freebies

I am so happy that I have started this blogging thing.

1. I have been able to read up on all the people I have lost contact with after leaving

2. I have seen just how creative people are and it has inspired me to be creative.

3. I LOVE LOVE LOVE giveaways. I am hoping to win one of these days but in the meantime I keep plugging away. My latest entry is into the blog of Rookie Cookie, Remarks from Sparks. She does amazing digital prints with all sorts of quotations and scriptures and such. Check out her work on http://www.zazzle.com/logophilia.

Wish me luck!!!

Carving Pumpkins

Deciding when to carve pumpkins is a very important decision. If you do it too early, your pumkins wilts and rots away. If you do it too late, your pumpkin will begin to go bad from sitting there.

The quality of the pumpkins we got was directly related to the quality of the patch we got them from. Dustin's pumpkin started rotting top and mine had a spot on the back where it started getting soft. Kellen's was the only good one.

I love my husband dearly but he can be as stubborn as me. Rather than listening to me, he tried to hold his pattern on the pumpkin. When that didn't work, he tried to draw the design and when he wasn't happy with that, he finally listened and taped on the design so he could punch out the outline.


Kellen didn't like that and proceeded to rip the design off.

Dustin was forced to freehand his pumpkin.


I don't know why but I put Mickey and Minnie on my pumpkin. It was last minute choice but it looked pretty good.


And of course in honor of Kellen's costume, I carved Frankenstein.


On a sad note, due to the state of our pumpkins, we chose not to save the seeds so there will be no delicious roasted pumpkin seeds this year. :-(