A quick catch up

September

• On the 15th me and Kamas celebrated 4 years of marriage. We have yet to spend one anniversary together. But I'm sure it will happen eventually. Maybe our 50th :)
• Graduated with my Associates in Business.
• Dixon turned one on the 22nd. We had a party at my Mom's house with family. D had a Sesame Street cake and got lots of presents.

October

• Me and D moved back to 29 Palms the first week of October. My parents and Cole helped move us here. We also went to Lego Land.
• Kamas returned from Deployment #3 on the 28th. His parents, Tyler, Milt and Melanie were all there when he got off the bus at 2 am.
• D went to his first trunk or treat dressed as Elmo.

November

• The Marine Corps Ball was in Las Vegas this year. Melanie watched D over night so we could go. I won $80 on a slot machine!
• We spent Thanksgiving with Milt and Melanie.

December

• D started walking this month.
• We went to Idaho for 3 weeks
• Spent Christmas with our families

January

• Went to a New Years Party at our friends house, but only stayed till 9 :)
• Kamas left for training at Camp Pendleton for 5 weeks (he is still gone)
• Me and D went to Pendleton to see Kamas and spend the night.
• We were minutes from getting our car towed. Luckily we arrived before the tow truck.
• I started school again. I still hate it :)

September!

Holy Crap I love this month. Fall is my favorite time of year and I believe that Fall starts today. Also really good things happen to me in September. Like getting married, 4 years on the 15th. And having Dixon, 1 year on the 22nd. And finishing school with my Associates in Business on the 12th. And moving back to California in about 3 weeks! September is also right before the month I get my husband back!
Dear September,
You Rock.
The End.
p.s. September is also cool because it is Brook's B-day month. Give her a shout out on the 17th!

This guy

Sometimes my heart hurts when I let myself think about how much I miss this guy

Half Way and Almost Done

Half Way
So we are pretty much half way done with this deployment. I still can't say that time has gone by fast for me, because it hasn't. But I feel like I can see the end. Kam is doing good and time is going by really fast for him :) I'm really glad July is here because it will be a busy month for me, then it will be August and then it will be time for me and D to move back to Cali. I am excited to go back to California even if it is 29 Palms. I am ready to live in my own house with my own stuff.
Almost Done
I am also starting my second to last class and I can't wait to be done with school. I hate it. For the past year and half I feel like I always have something hanging over my head i.e. homework. I will only have my associates but if I don't take a break now I will stab my eyes out with pencils. Online classes was pretty much the only option for me because I move sooooo much. I may not hate school so much if I went to an actual campus, but I don't see that happening anytime in the near future.

Accounting is the Bane of my Existance

So I just started my Accounting class last week and it is going to be a rough month. This is not my kind of thing. I will be honest and tell you that in most of my classes I don't read the book, I look up a few things here and there but mostly I just wing it. Im not going to be able to wing it with this class. And to make matters worse I had to order a stupid ebook. ebooks suck. So in order to do my reading assignments I have to be sitting at my computer. Lame. So instead of reading I do things like blog and order new swimsuits.

On a happier note, my Mom bought sidewalk chalk the other day. Its not the glow in the dark kind but I will be getting that later. Me and D were playing with it yesterday morning. D was more interested in eating the chalk than watching me draw.

Rain, rain go AWAY!

For as long as I can remember Malad has always been in a drought. Not enough snow fall, not enough rain, watering restrictions during the summer. Pretty sure the drought is over. It has either rained or snowed everyday since I have moved back. Not cool. Since living in California I have become a wimp when it comes to cold weather. I hate it. All I really want to do is to stand in the sunshine and draw with glow in the dark chalk (have you seen the commercials for that, it looks amazing, and I will totally be buying some. I'm not even going to pretend that it is for Dixon or my nieces and nephews. It will be for me.)
The rain is really messing up my weight loss regime. The regime includes going on a walk and eating less. I do OK with the eating less but I ROCK at walking. But people tend to frown at you if you go walking with your baby during a downpour, so I stopped doing that.
So to sum this post up, mother nature needs to cooperate and bring the sun so I can lose weight and not get Child Protective Services called on me for exposing my child to extreme weather conditions.
P.S. I have lost almost 8 pounds since I joined Weight Watchers. Only 10 to go.

What I've learned in 8 months

Dixon will be 8 months old in 5 days! That is crazy to me. The days seem to take F-o-r-e-v-e-r but the weeks go by so fast. I though I would share some things that I have learned in the past 8 months. Granted it not a lot because D in my first baby and I've only been doing this for 8 months.

• Nap time is sacred. I did not fully understand that until D came along and now I count down the hours till it is nap time :)


• Take all the advice you get with a grain of salt. I still have a hard time with this one because I live with my parents right now and they obviously know more about babies than me (they had 4). But I also need to remember that I am a good mom and its OK for me to do things my way


• Having D on a schedule saves my sanity. But it is also OK to brake the schedule sometimes.


• Its OK to ask for help and its OK to ask someone to watch D for a while. I have a hard time with that. I think it is because Kamas is gone and I feel like I have something to prove ( I don't)


• My right arm is waaay stronger than my left arm because I almost always carry D with my right arm.


• Its OK to let your baby play by themselves sometimes. I sometimes suffer from mommy guilt that I am not entertaining him every waking moment.


• Don't let people pressure you into doing something you don't want to do. i.e. feed your baby ice cream and then have the night from h*ll because he won't sleep and screams all night.


• wearing high heels to church is almost always a bad idea.

Why I Love Malad

This is why I love Malad. Brook ordered my Mom's mothers day present and it was suppose to be here last Friday. We were at the Zoo Friday so there was no one home to sign for it. So now it had to be delivered today. While I was eating lunch in the kitchen (in front of the window) the UPS man (a Malad native) drove past my Moms house. He must have seen me sitting at the table because he stopped, backed up, and pulled into the driveway. When I answered the door the first thing he said to me was "Where is Brook? I have been trying to deliver this package to her house for the past 2 days." I told him Brook works on Mondays. Then the UPS man said "I stopped at the Elementary to have your Mom sign for it, but she wasn't there (she was at a meeting in Idaho Falls.) So I signed for the package and my Mom finally got her late mothers day present and loves it.
Moral of the story: if you live in a small town (Malad) the UPS man will drive around to your families houses and places of employment in order to deliver a package that one of you ordered.

What Happens Next?

I am so incredible proud that our Military was able to kill bin Laden. I know that this is a great day for America.
But now all I can think is what happens next? I can only imagine that there will be some attempts from al-Qaida for retaliation and that scares the crap out of me. Since Kam is in Afghanistan near the boarder of Pakistan I am pretty nervous about these next few weeks.
I haven't heard from Kam since early yesterday morning and I'm pretty sure they are in River City (communication blackout with the States)
So while I am proud and of our Military and know that this is a definite blow to al-Qaida, I can only keep wondering what is going to happen next? And pray that nothing does.

1 lb 6 oz

Is how much Dixon has gained since starting him on formula a week ago! I had to run over to Logan to Walmart to get more bottles and formula so we stopped at D's dr. and had him weighed. No doubt in my mind that switching to formula was a good idea.

It's Official. . .

WARNING: This post contains words like lactating and period (not the punctuation) it also contains my bra preference. If any of these things make you uncomfortable I suggest not reading this post.
I am no longer a lactating member of Society! I made the switch to formula yesterday and luckily for me Dixon loves it. The reason I switched to formula is because D has not gained any weight for about 3 months. He has grown longer and and his head has grown, but no weight gain. D's Dr. recommend supplementing with formula, but I decided to completely switch over. FREEDOM!!!
Now looking back I think my milk supply started to diminish when I started him on solids. He started rice cereal at 4 months, veggies at 5 months, and a few weeks later fruits. Once he started eating solids he wouldn't nurse very long. I still nursed him in the morning yesterday and today because that was the only time I was feeling engorged. I plan on nursing him in the mornings for as long as it takes me to dry up.
Ever since I decided to switch to formula I have been making a Pro/Con list in my head. And now I will share it with you.
Pros

• No longer worrying about what I can wear in public that will allow me to nurse modestly



• Someone besides me can feed him (now that D is eating formula it would be the prime time for Kamas to feed him, too bad he is gone for the next 6 months)



• I can now leave him with a babysitter and not have to worry if I pumped enough milk for him



• I don't have to pump anymore



• Goodbye nursing bra, Hello new Victoria Secret Very Sexy Push Up Bra (TMI? )



• I don't have to worry about him not taking a bottle from someone else (when he was nursing he would only take a bottle from me most of the time)



• I can wear what ever dress I want to church


• I can wear layers without worrying how I am going to nurse with 3 shirts on



• and once again FREEDOM! (the thought just occurred to me that I could now leave D for days at a time without a ton of preparation, not that I would, OK some days that sounds appealing, but I wouldn't do that, probably)

Cons

• I now have to buy formula and it is expensive



• I had to buy bottles because I only had one



• I now have to wash bottles



• I no longer get 7 extra points for Weight Watchers



• I have to make sure that I have a bottle and formula in my diaper bag when I leave the house



• When D eats his bottle he makes a huge mess



• I don't really know how much D will drink at meal times so that sometimes leads to wasted formula



• No more nursing covers



• Formula spit up is way more smelly


• The return of Aunt Flo, seriously the day I decided to give D a bottle I got my period, for the first time in over a year (once again, TMI? )

I guess it is a little bitter sweet that Dixon is done nursing, but honestly I am surprised I lasted this long. If I knew that Dixon loved formula I probably would have made the switch sooner. Mostly I am happy to be done nursing, but I am glad that I nursed D for 7 months.

Update

Here is a little update. I don't want to take the time or have the mental capability (last night D hit a new record on how many times a 7 month old baby will wake up-7) to write cohesive paragraphs so I will use bullet points.

• I started Weight Watchers last night. I'm excited for it but you can't take kids to the meetings so I'm going to have to figure out what to do with D on Thursday nights.


• Both of D's ears are infected and he is teething and that is what is making him a dragon baby. But I think he is starting to feel better


• Kamas called and I got to talk to him for about 15 min.


• My very awesome sister booked me a hot rock massage today and she is going to watch D.


• Part of the reason D woke up so many times last night is because he would wiggle into weird positions and wake himself up


• I can't wait for summer to get here because we have a lot of fun things planned

That's all I can think of right now and D is trying to help me type.

Hard

Today I should be doing a million and one things besides this. I should be doing laundry, picking up my room, doing dishes, doing homework. But I can't seem to make myself do any of it. D is sleeping (hallelujah!) This past week he has been hard. He has been one fussy baby for the past week. He has an ear infection but it doesn't seem to be getting any better, so we are going to the Dr. again tomorrow. But this time we are going to Logan to see D's pediatrician. I hope the Dr. can give me some answers because I feel a little (a lot) helpless right now. So far this deployment has been hard, harder than the other two. Partly because I now have D to take care of and partly because In the 3 weeks Kamas has been gone I have yet to talk to him on the phone for longer than a few minutes. The last 2 times Kamas was deployed he had access to a phone everyday and we were able to video chat almost everyday. I took it for granted. I keep waiting for the weeks to go by so I can look back and say, wow that went fast. So far all I can say is, wow this is taking forever. I miss him. And I hate the fact that he is missing D learn new things. I hate the fact that when D says Dada I have to show him a picture of his dad, and I hate the fact the Kamas hasn't heard him say Dada. But I love that Kamas has a job he loves and is proud of. I love that he takes his responsibility to his troops very seriously. I love that he loves me and D and is able to provide for us. Mostly I love him. Being a military wife is hard and lonely, and so very worth it.

Military Spouse Survay

1. How long have you been a Military Wife? 3 and a half years


2. What branch of Service is you husband in? USMC (Marine Corps)


3. Active/Reserve? Active


4. Whats his job? Amphibious Assault Vehicle (AAV) Crewman


5. How many deployments have you gone through? Just started our 3rd


6. Camo or dress uniforms on your man? Cammies because he looks like a bad ass :)


7. What do you like about being a military wife? I like that I am proud of the job my husband does.


8. Do you live on base? Never have, but we will when he gets back.


9. What is your favorite base so far? Camp Pendleton


10. What is the hardest part of military life? Long separations, hurry up and wait, learning the acronyms (it is seriously a whole other language), and learning military time (after almost 4 years of military life you would think I could figure it out, but I can't)


11. Do you go to the grocery store of the commissary? Both


12. Do you work or stay at home? Stay at home and I'm going to school


13. Do you have a lot of military wife friends? Not a lot, but some


14. Do you prefer walmart or the MCX? MCX (Marine Corps Exchange) but walmart was closer to our house


15. How did your husband propose? (if you are my parents don't read this answer)The first time we were in his truck making out before he went to boot camp. The next time it was in his parents living room and this time he had a ring. I said yes both times.


16. Did you marry him after or before he joined? After, but we were dating before he enlisted


17. How long have you been together? We started "hanging out" in May of 2006 but weren't "official" until June of 2006


18. Any kids? One, Dixon, who is being so helpful while I type


19. Any kids yet to come? Eventually


20. Is your husband one of those "I am a soldier hear me HOOAH" types? No because he is a Marine :) but no he is not super Moto (motivated)


21. Have you ever done combatives with your husband? Not really sure what combatives are, if it is like MCMAP, than no. He is way bigger than me and does not know how to play soft :)


22. How many base have you lived at? I have lived at 2 and Kam has lived at 3


23. If you could change one thing about the military? Organization


24. Do you like military balls? They are alright but it is sooo hard to find a modest dress


25. Where does your family live? Idaho


26. What do you do for a job? Take care of D and go to school and be the most awesome wife ever


27. Have you ever gotten in a fight with an NCOs wife? nope


28. Name one thing you do while your husband is gone? hang out with family and lose some weight (hopefully)


29. Do you think other wive do that to? Most def

What was I thinking?

So I have a lot to do in the next few days but I don't want to do it becasue that means that Kamas is actually leaving (well he will leave regaurdless). Right now I am trying to keep up with my homework, which by the way I turned in this weeks assignment last week so now I hope my teacher will accept last weeks this week. I also have a 6 page paper due in 6 days. And I have to pack up our apartment, turn off utilities, and take care of a sick baby that may or may not have RSV. I am seriously wondering why I thought I could do this school thing right now. I want to wave a magic wand and have all of this be done with :)Lets end on a happy note with picutures of my cute baby.

Things on my Mind

• I wonder why in the last 2ish years the thing to do for a lot of women is to start a photography business? I personally suck at taking pictures (most of the pics of D are on my phone) It seems like 1 out of 5 people I know are super in to photography. Don't get me wrong I think it is great and I wish I was better at taking pictures, but I am just confused on where this phenomenon came from.
• I am thinking about cutting my hair but I don't want the mom bob, you know the short hair cut women get once they have a baby. I totally understand why you would do it but I like my long hair, I'm just looking for something a little different.
• I really want to be better about blogging and I am thinking about posting more about military life. I read a ton of military spouse blogs everyday and I love them. I also need to find my camera cord so I can download pics to my parents computer.
• I only have 5 classes left until I have my associates. After that I don't really know what I want to do or what I should get my bachelors in.
• I absolutely love it when D takes long naps during the day, Nap time is the Best time :)
• I finally ordered an electric breast pump and I think that D is close to being done nursing. Lately he is not too interested and won't nurse for very long.
• I think am I going to start weight watchers soon. I want to loose 10-15lbs
• I can't wait till it is warm enough to go on walks with D. I hate being stuck in the house all day.
• Kamas will be here Saturday morning! We haven't seen each other since January 16.

Happy New Years!

2010 was an eventful year Kamas re-enlisted, found out we were pregnant,we moved to a different base, I started school, had baby D, survived 2 month long field Mojave Vipers, a 10 week school, and many trips to the field. Celebrated 3 years of marriage a week before baby D arrived. We have lived together for over a year for the first time since we were married (kind of if you don't count all the time Kamas had to be gone for weeks at a time). It was a good year.

In 2011 we are facing another 4 weeks of Mojave Viper, packing up and moving, and another deployment this summer. Me and D will be moving back to Malad when Kam leaves, unless Emily miraculously get the basement finished in her new house :) I will get my associates degree in September and D will turn 1. We can expect Kam to be home sometime in the fall/early winter. Mostly I can't wait till this year is almost over so Kam can be back home with us :) Good thing D will keep me busy till then.

Here are some more pics of D because that is what people really want to see :)

Baby Dixon

So this post is waaaay late. About 3 months late :)I had Dixon on September 22 at 2:03 am. He weighed 7 lbs and 14oz and was 21 inches long. The 21st was my due date. On the morning of the 21st I had a Dr. appointment and was 3 cm and 75% effaced. The Dr. stripped my membranes. After I got home I started having contractions but didn't really pay attention to them because they weren't very strong. I texted Kamas about 1pm to let him know that I was having contarctions but they weren't very strong yet so don't worry about coming home yet. (He was at school at Camp Pendleton during the week and only home on the weekends) My Mom called me around 4 p.m. to see how my Dr. appointment was. I told that I thought I was having contractions. She asked how far apart they were and I said that I hadn't been timing them. So then I started timing them and they were about 10 min apart. My mom wanted me to go the hospitial then but I knew that they would just send me home so I waited. I had plans to go to my friend Heather's house for dinner that night. From about 5pm to 8:30 pm my mom and my sisters kept calling me about every half hour telling me to go to the hospitial. I didn't want to go yet because I didn't want to get sent home. I went to Heather's house around 5 and ate dinner and hung out with our friends. By about 8pm the contractions were about 3 to 5min apart and really uncomfortable. By this time Kamas was on his was home but it is about a 2 and half hour drive. I went back to my house and my friend Breanna was nice enough to stay with me. At 8:30 pm I decided that I should go to the hospital. Breanna drove me to the hospital which is about 20 minutes away. Once I was there they checked me and I was at 4 cm and 80% effaced. I had to wait about 20min before they decided to admit me. Once I was finally admitted I was hanging out in my room and Breanna was staying with me until Kamas go there. By now the contractions were strong enough that I couldn't talk during them. I knew I wanted an epidural but had to wait for the anasteialogists to get there. One of the nurses asked if I wanted fentenol (sp?) through my IV. At first I said no I would just wait for the epidural but about 10 min later I changed my mind. The nurse told me it would feel like I had drank 4 margahritas, I told that I have never drank alcohol and she said that it would make me feel really good then. Kamas finally got to the hospital about 11:30 i think. Things got a little blurry for me then. I finally got the fentenol and that made me feel weird and light headed but didn't really do anything for the pain. around midnight I finally got the epidural and felt so good. I was tired so I asked if I could take a nap now. The nurse checked me and and said I was a at a 9 and 100% effaced almost time to push so no nap :( I only pushed about 30 min and Dixon was born! The Dr. layed him on me right after and he pooped and peed all over me.

Some things about Dixon

• He is a chubby baby and at his 2 month check up he was in the 97th percentile





• Been on 2 plane rides from Palm Springs to Salt lake and back





• Found out that he has acid reflux and now had medacine





• Got us kicked out of the new Harry potter movie because he had hiccups and onry old man complained





• been to a few movies on base and will be good as long as someone is standing up while holding him





• would only take a nap if someone was holding him (just today he is on his 3rd nap with out someone holding him!)





• Sleeps in his carseat in his crib because of his reflux





• rolled over from his belly to back when he was about 2 months old but hasn't done it since





• likes the noise of the shower running and sometimes that is the only way to get him to sleep if he is really fussy.





• has his dads temper :)

The past 3 months have been a blur but we love him and can't imagine life without him:)

Didn't work

So my master plan didn't work. Here is a super attractive pic of me 39 weeks 4 days.

Master Plan

The goal of my master plan is to go into labor tomorrow. Here is how this is going to work:

1. Get up in the morning and clean my apartment (except the floors, I am leaving those for Kam because Sweeping and Swiffering should not be done when 9 months pregnant)
2. Do Laundry
3. Start taking Primrose oil pills that Heather gave me, they are suppose to help induce labor
4. Find the energy to go to the commissary so I will finally have food in this place
5. Maybe take Zulu on a walk depending on how hot it is outside

I have been telling baby that he had to wait till Friday (tomorrow) because Kam has been in the field since Wednesday and if I went into labor while he was in the field then he wouldn't be able to come.

If for some reason my master plan doesn't work Kamas and I will be going out to dinner because our anniversary was on the 15th (3 years!). We have yet to spend one together, good thing we are married for eternity :) I'm sure we can manage to spend one together eventually.

I did finally finish my 10 page paper. It was due Monday at midnight and I turned it in around 5 pm, plenty of time to spare.