Crib Bedding!

Today I ordered the bedding for the crib! We finally decided on one that we both like and I ordered it from Target.com this evening. We made a trip to Target and got the crib mattress as well. The crib we have is either very similar or the same one as in the picture below. It is the same finish and I think its the same model.Tomorrow we are going to start cleaning out the spare bedroom and the closet to get everything organized so we can move all A.J.'s stuff into her new room! I am excited for this to be done because it will not only be one less thing for me to worry about, but it makes everything seem more real as well!

I had my glucose screening this week at the lab, so hopefully I passed that and won't have to go back for the 3-hour test later on. I should find out next week when we have our next appointment.

Merry Christmas!

Just wanted to drop in and wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday! We are enjoying our time back with our families in Chicago and had a wonderfull Christmas Eve, as well as a fun Christmas day so far!

We all got many awesome gifts and are enjoying playing with all of our new stuff this afternoon! We are gearing up for a big Christmas dinner and possibly a movie in the theatre later on tonight. I feel like we have been eating non-stop since we got into town, but I can't complain, the food has all been delicious.

Congratulations, Steph and Wade!

I got news last night that my friend from back home got engaged! I'm so excited for them and can't wait for their wedding this summer! Steph was a reader at our wedding and that was the first time I met her (now) fiance. They are perfect for each other and both so much fun!

They set the date for the wedding as July 3, 2010, so we should be able to make it and have a built in babysitter in Grandpa G! My parents will most likely be invited to the wedding as well and since Steph grew up about 100 feet from my parent's house, the wedding should be in my hometown.

Since it is 4th of July weekend, we should be able to take a few extra days of leave and make a little trip out of it. It will most likely be the first time that we head home with the baby, so it would work out pretty well (she will be about 4 months old). I am just so excited, I can't wait!

Winter Is Here....

Winter is here with a vengence in Western Washington. We have broken records for low temperatures all over the area yesterday and I got my first bloody nose this morning due to the cold, dry air. I don't think I've had a bloody nose since I was a little kid.

The heat in our house has been running almost non-stop for the past few days and the meteorologists on the news say that the cold spell isn't supposed to break until at least the middle of next week, so we have several more days of cold to look forward to. At least we haven't been hit by the HUGE storm that is slowly crawling its way across the entire country.

We may get some snow this weekend, which would be awesome (I LOVE SNOW!). If we do, I will make sure to take pictures of it and post it on here. My mom said that they have gotten quite a bit of snow in the past few days and it hasn't let up really at all and doesn't look like it will anytime soon. That sucks for everyone trying to get around back home, but it means that the snow might still be here in a few weeks when we get home for Christmas!

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Roommate Reunions!

So we were back in Chicago for Thanksgiving and the Saturday after Thanksgiving was my baby shower! A bunch of people came to the party and almost all of my roommates from college were in town for it! The only one who couldn't come was Abby.

We had a very fun time with all our family and friends over the holiday weekend and we are so thankful for all the wonderful gifts we received from people at our shower! We got the car seat, swing, crib, bouncy seat, and toys, not to mention lots and lots of clothes! Everything is so cute and we are so excited!

We made it back to WA and Thursday Abby was able to come out to WA and visit for a day or two! She actually came West because she is attending a fundraiser for her cousin out here, but she was able to come down to see us and spend some time here! She experienced the BN talent show with me on Friday morning and I'm sure its something she will never forget! LOL.

All in all, it was great to see everyone and we really enjoyed spending time with friends and family! Only a few more weeks until Christmas, so get your shopping done!

Thanksgiving!

I have so many things to be thankful for this year! First and foremost is the fact that D is home with me this year and not in any danger. I am thankful for all the men and women who serve our country, especially those who are not able to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with their families this year.

Secondly, and just as important as the first, I am thankful for this little baby girl growing inside me. I am thankful that she continues to grow and is still healthy! I hope that she continues along this path for her entire life!

I'm also thankful for all my friends and family who have supported D and I through everything during this past year, including his homecoming and this pregnancy. We are so excited to see everyone and we are so thankful for all the wonderful baby gifts that we will be receiving this weekend. We are excited to continue to share our lives with you, and I know that little Baby Gregorio will be so loved by you all.

Our Christma-fied House!

We finished the decorating this morning and I was able to get some pictures of the main decorations! Here is our tree:


Here are a few more of the rest of the downstairs, including our make-shift mantle for the stockings since we don't have a fireplace in this house like we did last year!


Here are the reindeer looking at each other from across the room! They're our favorite decorations that we have!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas!

So we decided to put up all our Christmas decorations this weekend. This includes the tree and the lights that I'm thinking about putting on the balcony. I bought some new Christmas music on iTunes and I cleaned the entire living room area!

I love the Christmas season and some people may say that I'm jumping the gun. Well, we go back to our parent's houses for Thanksgiving every year and I know that we will be setting up some decorations which may or may not include a tree back home. I know that we won't feel like setting it all up when we get back home, so we do it before we go! Last year when D was deployed I did this same thing, the weekend before I went home for Turkey Day! It was so nice to walk into the house and have it be all Christma-fied!

I am nervous though, I don't know how many of our ornaments broke in the move. I know some of them did (I can hear the pieces in the box) but I have been too scared to open the box up and look yet! Eek! At least I have already scoped some new ones out at Costco and other places if we need to replenish our stock!

I'll post some pictures of the house and the tree after we're all done (probably won't be until Monday sometime)!

Happy Veteran's Day!

I saw a quote on a friend's Facebook status this morning that I liked and think is appropriate for today!

"Happy Veteran's Day to all who have served and are currently serving to keep our beautiful country free. If you can't stand behind our troops, feel free to stand in front of them."

Ham...Oops!

Sunday night I made ham and green bean casserole for dinner. We were going to have a nice, fall dinner, just me and D. I spent some time making a glaze for the ham so it would be nice and yummy.

I made the dinner and it was finally ready! We sat down to eat and D was having a hard time cutting the ham. Well, I just assumed that he was doing it wrong or being stupid, we didn't really think anything of it. We learned differently as we started eating.

The ham had another layer of plastic wrapped around the skin! No wonder it was so hard to cut! I was mad because all that delicious glaze went to waste! No worries, we ended up dipping the pieces of ham into the glaze in the pan!

I guess next time I will make sure that I check to see if the ham is double wrapped before I cook it!

I'm Boring!

So I don't really have much to update about. We are going out of town next weekend to attend a wedding, most of my family should be there, so it will be a fun time! I haven't seen most of them since our wedding, almost 2 years ago!

I have been doing a lot of research and online window shopping, looking for the baby stuff that I want so we can either buy it or register for it. I got the invitation to our baby shower yesterday, I'm so excited to see everyone and have me some good ol' Chicago style food! Hopefully most of the people we invited can make it, we don't get to go home much!

I am also starting to freak out a little about how much money all the stuff we want for the baby is actually going to cost! I'm starting to think that we won't ever be able to spend any money because we won't ever have any after this baby either! I guess that is the price (literally) of having a baby!

I have been busy with the Family Readiness Group (FRG) for D's unit. We are planning a Holiday Party that is starting to take shape and there are tons of other activities that are going on as well since we are coming into the holiday season. Should keep me fairly busy until the baby is born, then I'm planning on passing the reigns off to someone else!

We also have a Holiday Ball in December for D's work that I still need to buy a dress for. Should be interesting seeing that I'll be 6.5 months pregnant!

Crazy Week

So this week hasn't been the best on record. First, my car's "Maintenance Required" light came on, so I took it into the shop and they were able to find about $400 worth of things that needed to be fixed on it. At least the receptionist was nice and gave me a ride home while they worked on it.

This this morning D was driving to work and I got a phone call at 5 am because he had a flat tire and wanted to know if we had roadside assistance. Turns out, AAA won't change a tire if the person on the account is not there. D had to change the tire himself on the highway (in the dark, 30 degree weather).

I took his car to Discount Tire to get all new tires (it was overdue for them anyway) and not only was the bill incredibly freaking expensive, but they couldn't even put all the new tires on because 2 of the wheel studs are cross threaded. This basically means that the bolts are stripped and won't hold the nuts on (which hold the wheels on).

Because of this, tomorrow I am heading to yet another auto repair place to get the studs replaced. At least the guy on the phone told me that it shouldn't cost more than $50 (and 2 hours) to fix.

I swear, if we didn't need cars to get around here, I would get rid of both of them at this point (well, maybe I should keep them until the time to spend tons of money on them rolls around again)!

It's a GIRL!!

I realize that this picture is not the one that shows the gender of the baby, but it is the one that looks most like a baby, hence, I posted this one.

Tomorrow Is The Day!

After a fun weekend hanging out with Abby and Zach, I am glad to hang around on the couch with D and watch movies and eat left over spaghetti for dinner! Today after we dropped Abby and Z off at the airport we went to a gymnastics meet that 1SG's daughter was competing in. She did pretty well and we all went out to lunch afterwards!

This weekend we went to Seattle and walked through Pike Place Market. We had lunch at a little cafe called the Sound View Cafe. It was very good and fun on a typical Seattle day. We also stopped in at the original Starbucks that is across the street from the market. After the market we went to the flagship REI store, which is also in Seattle. We browsed for a while and then came back to Tacoma for dinner. We went to a restaurant that I've wanted to go to for a while, Johnny's Dock Restaurant and Bar. It is right on the water and we had a perfect table! They had awesome seafood!

Today is Mom's birthday! Happy Birthday, Mom!

Tomorrow we have our gender determination ultrasound (first thing). Hopefully the tech will be able to tell if the baby is a boy or a girl. I'm sure that after the appointment I will head out to the store and buy something in the color, either pink or blue, depending on what we're having. So exciting!

The Killer Wait!

We had a fun weekend! Saturday evening we went to dinner and watched the Iowa v. Michigan game with D's 1SG. Iowa won (of course) and it was a fun time! Sunday we went to a "tailgate" party on post with a bunch of people D works with. We had hash and eggs, teriyaki kebabs, steaks, tons of stuff! We watched a few of the games, but the Bears weren't on this weekend, so we left and went to Cabela's during the afternoon game.

Now that Monday is done and this week has officially started we are just waiting for Abby and Z to come to visit on Thursday, the next prenatal appointment on Friday and our 20 week ultrasound on Monday. I think Saturday I am going to take the kiddos down to Seattle and do the whole REI thing and Pike Place Market. We will have to see what they want to do. D has a competitive shooting match Saturday, so he will be there for part of the day and will join us later for fun and excitement (and probably dinner).

Abby had some excitement this weekend. She got a new toy since Monkey Man passed last week. The only problem is, she can never find it! LOL.

Steilacoom Apple Squeeze

Yesterday D and I ventured on over to the Steilacoom Apple Squeeze for a little Fall fun! The premise of the fair is you can squeeze your own apple cider, taste apple butter, eat apple fritters and caramel apples and just enjoy Fall! They also had a booth set up where you could bring an apple of "unknown" origins and the experts would try to classify it.

Of course they had the regular fair food there as well, you could buy hot dogs and the like, but it looked like most people were going for the apples. We hit up the hot apple butter line and enjoyed that while we waiting in line to buy pasteurized apple cider. They were selling already bottled (pasteurized) cider in gallon jugs, and they also had a large station set up for fair-goers to purchase a gallon-sized jug and squeeze their own cider fresh.

The fair itself took up about one block in the downtown area of Steilacoom and it was the perfect size. It was fairly busy, but the weather was nice (a little windy, but we were right on the water) and there were several booths in which vendors showcased their wares such as handmade soaps, quilted everything and art.

All in all, it was a fun, Fall afternoon and we were glad we went. Steilacoom is a very pretty town, situated right on the Sound, and well kept, which many parts of the South Sound area have problems with. We enjoyed it and my only wish is that I would have thought to bring my camera along to get some pictures of the Sound with the Olympic Mountains in the background.

I'm Horrible at Updating...

So, considering the fact that I sent out the link to my blog you would think that I would actually be posting on a regular basis. Not so! LOL. This week has been crazy busy!

Friday 9/25:
Woke up at the crack of dawn and flew to Chicago (yes, my arms were really tired by the time I got there). Had fun and hung out with friends and headed up to Milwaukee for a wedding.

Saturday 9/26:
Wedding festivities in Milwaukee.

Sunday 9/27:
Ate Portillo's for lunch! Flew back to Seattle, got in late-ish Sunday night (it was dark).

Monday 9/28:
Took a day trip down to Portland for D's work, since I am the FRG leader he thought it would be a good idea for me to see the rehab facility down there since several of the soldiers are there or will be there in the future. This allows me to talk to the wives about my experience there.

Tuesday 9/29:
Had a meeting with Family Advocacy to learn more about what they do for soldiers and families and make a contact (as the FRG leader) with the woman who runs it.

Wednesday 9/30:
So tired, but had to get on the phone and figure out a bunch of bills that were perplexing us! Turns out that we are only billed for utilities every 2 months (would have been nice to know so I didn't stress about it all weekend!). The bank had the wrong address on file for us for our car loan, so that is why we never received a bill from them! Whew! Crazy day!

Thursday 10/1:
An intriguing and interesting Town Hall meeting for the Battallion. At least I got to sit next to D. ;) After that I had my first pre-natal massage and it was really nice! The lady was a little rough, but overall, worth it! Then we hit Farrelli's for dinner to celebrate one of D's NCOs graduating from BNOC (some NCO school).

That leads me up to today! I went to Barnes and Noble to get the book I need to read by next Friday and on my way home I finally wandered into the produce mart by our house. WOW! This place is fabulous! I bought a bunch of produce and some other stuff too, all for about $20!

One of the things I bought was creme pumpkins and peanuts to make the most fantastic fall treat ever. Well, turns out the peanuts I bought were "raw" so I attempted (and succeeded) at roasting my own peanuts! LOL.

I think D and I are going to go see a movie tonight. He really wants to go to Zombieland, so that may just be something we end up doing. I am planning on making dinner, but I could be talked into Chinese food! This baby may as well be part Chinese and part Mexican because that is what it LOVES to eat!

Gender determination in 16 days! Eek!

Lofty Goals

So D decided that he doesn't want to look 9 months pregnant when I am, so he wants to train for and run a 1/2 marathon. I think its a great idea and I told him that I have been thinking about training for one and running it after the baby is born. We are researching the races and training schedules now.

Some of the races we are considering are:

1. The Rock 'n' Roll Marathon and 1/2 Marathon in Virginia Beach, VA (September 5, 2010)
2. The Chicago 1/2 Marathon and 5k in Chicago, IL (September 12, 2010)
3. The Rock 'n' Roll Marathon and 1/2 Marathon in San Jose, CA (October 3(?), 2010)
4. The Great Turtle 1/2 Marathon in Mackinac Island, MI (October 23(?), 2010)
5. The Miami Beach Halloween 1/2 Marathon in Miami Beach, FL (October 30, 2010)
6. The Rock 'n' Roll Marathon and 1/2 Marathon in San Antonio, TX (November 14(?), 2010)
7. The Seattle Marathon and 1/2 Marathon in Seattle, WA (November 28, 2010)
8. The Rock 'n' Roll Marathon and 1/2 Marathon in Las Vegas, NV (December 5(?), 2010)
9. The Walt Disney World 1/2 Marathon in Orlando, FL (January 9(?), 2011)
10. The Rock 'n' Roll Marathon and 1/2 Marathon in Phoenix, AZ (January 16(?), 2011)

We obviously will most likely only do one of the races. We could hypothetically do one of the first ones in Virginia Beach or Chicago, and then one of the last ones in Las Vegas, Orlando, or Phoenix. I think we are pretty sure we will be doing the 1/2 marathon and not the full one.

I am personally excited to start running and training after the baby is born. I have done some research and am planning to take at least 6 weeks off, but more likely 8 weeks after the baby is born. With a 16 week training plan, we would be ready at the end of August towards the early part of September. I think my parents would be excited to come to wherever we decided to run and watch the baby (or run) with us. Since we are planning on training with the jogging stroller, running the race with the stroller shouldn't be too much of a stretch.

So Exciting It Needed It's Own Post!

The new season of The Biggest Loser starts tonight!

Hooray! I am so excited I can't even think of adequate words!

Another Update

So its been a while since I posted an update and I wanted to make sure that I got back on here and stay in the habit of blogging. Not a whole lot has happened over the past week, but there were several little things, so here goes!

This past weekend we went to the Poison and Def Leppard concert at White River Amphitheatre in Auburn, WA. It was a good show, even though I don't know very many of either band's songs. We enjoyed sitting the in the grass and watching Bret Michaels through binoculars.

Today I went to AT&T and ordered my new iPhone (the 16G 3G-S), and it should be here in about a week. They were totally sold out of them, so ordering it was my only option. I am way excited to get it and even more excited to get a case and start using it!

I talked to my Mom yesterday and she told me that this weekend while she was in Columbus, OH with my Dad they went tailgating for the Ohio State game with my cousin Jeff and his wife, Rachel. My mom and Rachel got to talking and they have my baby shower all planned out! They decided that a Chicago Sports theme would be perfect and we could serve Portillo's as the food! I added that they should also include 312 beer as part of the Chicago theme and that way the boys would be tempted to come too! We are hoping to have D there as well as my Dad, brother and D's dad and brother too! It sounds perfect to me!

This afternoon I am heading on post to sign-up for the Ft. Lewis Officers' Spouses Club. They are having a big sign-up event from 12-6 today and since we are going out to dinner tonight I told D that I would go later and then meet him at work to head to dinner. It is one of his co-worker's birthday's and a bunch are headed out apparently. This time I am ordering the pizza! Yum!

I'll update more as more things happen over the next few days!

Labor Day Weekend in Review

Labor Day weekend is coming to a close and we had a really good weekend, although it was uneventful. We didn't really have many plans, so we enjoyed relaxing most of the weekend. D had to go to work for some things on Friday, but for the most part we watched movies and Law & Order marathons on TV.

Sunday we had a going away party to attend for D's outgoing Company Commander. It was at a house near us that was amazing! It was situated right on a lake and they had a wonderful covered porch in the backyard, which was nice since it was raining!

Today we took the dog to the dog park for a walk on the trails and then we were wandering in the dog park when it started to rain fairly hard, so cut our trip short. We came home and have been hanging out since then. Dinner is in the oven and I have started creating a baby registry on Babies' R Us.

Most boring blog update ever. Probably because we have no life. Hopefully things will get more exciting in the future.

Dinner Out Last Night...

Yesterday was D's 1SG's birthday so a bunch of people from the office went out to eat to celebrate, and obviously I tagged along because there really is not much that I like more than eating out. :) Well, needless to say, we had a GREAT time!

There ended up being 6 of us that went and we went to a place that serves mostly pizza and calzones. Farrelli's is in DuPont, which is right off post and is actually very, very nice. We had heard about DuPont when we moved here and I continue to hear that it is expensive, but I am sure it is worth it if you live that close to post in that nice of an area!

Today I decided to start looking into someplace we can take a little mini vacation this fall (a "baby"moon if you will). Well, we had originally talked about heading East towards the mountains, or maybe down to Portland, but today I found a website that has vacation rentals and most of them are reasonably priced. There were a few up North of us (Whidbey Island) that are right on the beach and look AWESOME! I am going to show them to D tonight when he gets home!

Congratulations, D!

Yesterday was the Change of Command Ceremony for D's company and he took command! It was a cool ceremony, and my first (of many I'm sure). The weather didn't quite turn out the way I had hoped it would, but the ceremony went on, despite the 57 degree temperature and rain.

As the incoming commander's wife, I was presented with a bouquet of yellow roses to symbolize the friendship I will have with the unit and the soldiers of the unit in the months to come. D gave his "acceptance" speech and it was short and sweet, unlike the outgoing commander's speech. LOL.

I got a chance before the ceremony to talk one on one with D's Battallion Commander and he already told me that he wants D to take some leave because he knows that D hasn't in a while. He also said that I am welcome to blame the long hours that D will inevitably work on him. He really likes D and wants to keep him in both this position and the XO position until we leave, instead of finding a replacement to take command like he should. It is definitely a compliment to D that the BC has such confidence in him, but I don't think he really wants to do twice the work.

Afterwards, as tradition dictates, we hosted a luncheon for the men of the unit, as well as "friends of the unit." This was my job as D says. I slaved over Subway sandwich platters and cookies all morning. Needless to say, everything was gone by the time the luncheon was over and I got several compliments on my excellent cooking skills! ;)

Visit From Trick and Mel

The Space Needle.

D and my parents at the top of the Needle.

My parents came out to visit us this past weekend and we were able to do the fun touristy things in Seattle that we haven't had a chance to do yet. We went to the original REI store in Seattle and followed that up by hitting the top of the Space Needle!

We stayed in a cool hotel downtown and went out to P.F. Changs for dinner, which was exactly what I had been craving! Yum! On Saturday there was the Seattle Urban Race (not sure of the exact name) and it looked super fun. My dad talked to the race organizers and they were telling him some of the things the teams had to do. The first stop was one of a few bars and they had to taste several different beers and choose the one that matched what they were looking for. Then they had to ride public transportation and complete a Sudoku puzzle. Throughout the course of the day we saw a lot of different teams running around the city and eventually we somehow ended up at the finish line when the final team was finishing!

Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning we hit up Pike Place Market and the original Starbucks store. Sunday morning we went there for breakfast and between the 4 of us, we polished off 3 dozen of the freshly-made mini donuts. They were to die for! Some of them were plain (and piping hot) while others had powdered sugar, chocolate and sprinkles, and cinnamon sugar all over them. Yum!

Great News!

The doctor's appointment went really well on Tuesday and we got to hear the heart beat (175!) and the midwife said that it sounded strong and steady, which she was happy about. My next appointment is 18 September, so I just have to wait until then to hear the heart beat again!

Since the appointment went well we started to tell everyone that we hadn't told yet. I will be 12 weeks on Saturday, so we figured that hearing the heartbeat and being almost out of the first trimester we are pretty safe in telling people.

So the parts of the day that make it great are as follows.

#1: I called Tricare to see if I still needed to call and make my ultra sound appointment for 20 weeks since I am doing centering and not regular appointments. The girl at Tricare didn't know, but I called the midwife number and she was able to schedule my appointment right then on the phone! I wasn't supposed to call and make the appointment until I was between 13 and 14 weeks, so I am glad it is done!

#2: My parents are coming to visit for the weekend and they will be here tonight! We are picking them up at the airport later on! I am excited to see them since I haven't seen them since we were home on block leave. We are staying in a hotel one of the nights, so that should be a fun time too! We will also get a chance to do the fun "tourist-y" activities in and around the area while they are here!

Some Belly Pictures

5 weeks 3 days pregnant.


7 weeks 1 day pregnant.


11 weeks 2 days pregnant.

I am finally posting pictures of my belly on here! It has been so long since the first time we took pictures, 6 weeks! I have my first doctor's appointment tomorrow morning, and I am so excited! I am going to try and take pictures every week from now on!

Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks!

D has been pretty busy lately trying to teach Abby new tricks! He bought an exercise ball a few weekends ago and decided that the dog needed to learn how to balance on it. He also wants to make sure she knows how to jump up on it on her own.

So far he has gotten her to jump up on it a few times, but that is it. She will stand on the ball as long as he holds on to her, but when he lets go, she forgets that she is balancing and just starts looking around the room. She always starts leaning to one side or the other and slowly starts falling over. It is so funny!

Salon Day!

Today I am going to the salon to get a haircut and highlights. I have needed a haircut for a while now, so I figured I would suck it up and make an appointment for a fun hair day! Of course today it is cold and rainy, so it will be nice to get my hair washed and all that stuff, but hopefully it doesn't look like a drowned rat afterwards!

The weather here has been really crazy lately. The middle of this week was 90 degrees and now it is 59 out! The high this weekend is supposed to only reach the mid 70s! Abby is loving it, as I am sure D does too!

D and I did some research last night on loans to buy a new (used) car and we were excited because online we got pre-approved for the amount we wanted! That is good news! I don't know when we will actually get it, but at least we know we can.

I will try and post pictures of my hair and my belly this weekend! I am horrible about taking pictures and when I do, I always forget to upload them to my computer and put them on here! I PROMISE!

Baby Things I Want!

There are a bunch of baby things I want that I think are gender neutral enough to buy before we know the gender of the baby. I am posting a few of them here. The good news is that starting today, I have a 15% off coupon for Babies 'R' Us!

The side view of the stroller.


The stroller and the infant car seat separate.


The pack 'n' play.

Picture Promise

I promise.

I will post pictures on here before the end of the weekend.

TGIF!

I think the title of this post says it all! This weekend will hopefully be a good one. To start it off right, I had an ice cream sundae for breakfast this morning. It really hit the spot. I usually try to be a good girl and eat something breakfast-y for breakfast, but for some reason, this morning I was just not feeling it.

I am not particularly crazy about breakfast food for breakfast anyways, but give me a bowl of cereal, pancakes, or waffles for lunch or dinner and I am there! I would rather eat pizza or leftovers for my morning meal any day!

Now I am trying to figure out what we are going to do this weekend. I think we are going to do movie marathons! I know D really wants to see The Goods, so we will probably see that tonight and then maybe even go see another movie tomorrow afternoon or evening, depending on the weather and what we have going on.

In other good news, I am 10 weeks pregnant tomorrow!

Pacific Grill

Tonight D and I were in downtown Tacoma running an errand after D was done with work. The store we were at was close to a nice restaurant that we saw called Pacific Grill, so we decided to check it out.

I ordered the Filet Mignon and D had the Ahi Tuna, plus we each had salads and D got Bleu Cheese Tater Tots as an appetizer. The food was so delicious! The restaurant itself was beautiful and I decided that I was going to have dessert. When D asked our waitress for the dessert menu, she told us that each night every server in the restaurant is able to give one table a free dessert. She chose our table! We got a decadent Julia Child Brownie Sundae. It was to die for!

Needless to say, we were both impossibly full after that dinner! It was fun to go out on a date though, and we also got to see some of downtown Tacoma and the University of Washington at Tacoma. It looks like a pretty cool campus and a nice area. I got the feeling that the area is a lot busier during the work day when people are walking around and eating outside for lunch.

Only 2 more weeks until my next doctor's appointment!

Tuesday Plans

I have been spending my weekdays sitting (or laying) on the couch and watching copious amounts of TV since we got here. I decided this afternoon that tomorrow I am going to do things around the house and get up and move!

First on my list of things to do is take the dog to the off-leash dog park in Steilacoom (a few minutes from our house). I read a blog in which a dog owner talks about the park and it sounds like it is HUGE and much better than the dog park that we went to often at Ft. Benning. The blogger was talking about the tall grass and the hills and dales (it sounds more like a natural setting than the baseball diamond that she used to run around on!).

Taking Abby to the dog park will have more than one benefit. To start, I know she will love riding in the car to get there, and she will really enjoy running free since she hasn't been able to run since we moved here (no yard, much less fence). Secondly, seeing as it is summer, I figured that it can't hurt for me to get out and get some fresh air! I might feel a little bit better if I can get out than I have been feeling lately with all the laying around and being lazy.

The second thing I am planning to do tomorrow is make either cupcakes or a cake. I have been craving cake (specifically Fun-fetti cake) so I decided that I am going to take matters into my own hands and suck it up and bake. For most things, if they are not pre-made, I have been finding restaurants to just buy whatever I am craving, but Fun-fetti is a specialty cake that I am going to make myself!

I can't wait to get started on everything tomorrow!

Pot Lucks Rock!

Today D's company had a Pot Luck lunch in honor of the old XO leaving the company and D becoming the new company XO. I went to it because D asked me if I wanted to and because I was hoping for some yummy food! I definitely got my fill of the delicious food and I have developed a new theory!

I have decided that Pot Lucks are the best thing ever for pregnant ladies! I have been going crazy because I feel like I eat the same thing day in and day out and I am so bored of all the food we have at home. We are trying to save money, so I really don't like to run out and get food too much. That being said, I was able to eat tons of food and pick and choose home-made dishes that were already prepared and different than what I normally eat! How awesome!

I had pot stickers, green chili chicken enchiladas, macaroni salad, braised beef sandwich, zuchini bread, ambrosia salad, and tomato and cucumber salad (that I brought). I was stuffed and it was all sooo good!

Baby Gender Predictor

So I saw a link on a message board today and decided to try it out. After entering some basic information (my birthday, date of conception, Daddy's birthday, etc.) I was given a 72% chance of having a baby boy (!). D and I have both said that we would like a boy or a girl, but I think secretly he wants a girl and I want a boy.

I will have to wait and see if the prediction was correct (another 13 weeks or so) until we have the ultrasound at 2o weeks to determine gender. D and I have said since the beginning that if the ultrasound technician is able to see the gender, we want to know! I don't think that either of us could wait if we knew it was possible to know.

Back to the original topic, the gender predictor. I have been hearing and reading about how gender prediction has been right for so many people in the past. Hopefully the one that I just filled out is correct! I will keep updating as the pregnancy progresses.

It's Been Forever!

I have not posted anything on here in forever! We made the move and have gotten settled into our new house. D is getting adjusted at work and finds it much different than his last position, but I think he will end up liking it.

There has been a lot happening around here lately. The first big thing was the shooting on post at the PX the other day (Wednesday I believe). A man shot and killed his girlfriend and then shot himself. I was driving by the PX when it happened and I saw all the people running around outside and was confused about what happened. D told me a few hours later and I checked the news. How sad.

The other BIG piece of news from the past few weeks is the fact that we are expecting! Tomorrow I will be 7 weeks pregnant with our first child! We are estimating the due date as March 13, 2010, but will know more in a month or so when we have our first real appointment with the doctor. We had an intake appointment on Wednesday and the nurse eased my mind (I was really worried and freaking out!). So far, my symptoms have been on and off, some days I feel sick and want to throw up, other days, I feel fine!

In a related topic, I think we are going to start taking pictures fairly regularly of me and my belly so we can document and watch how I grow throughout the pregnancy. Once we start doing this, I will start posting them on here.

I almost forgot! D and I went to the No Doubt concert last weekend up in Auburn. It was so much fun! Paramore opened for them, and they were awesome, then No Doubt rocked the stage for almost 3 hours! They played all their great songs and really just blew me away! I had hear that they put on a good show, but man, I had no idea it would be that awesome!

Anyways, I am going to sign off now!

Moving Time Is Here!

It is getting down to the wire and the movers are coming on Thursday to pack all of our stuff and Friday to load it onto the truck. Dan and I decided that we will make the guest room the "do not pack" room and put all the stuff we are planning on taking in the cars in there. That should keep it separate from all the rest of the stuff and make sure there is no confusion.

Since they are coming in a few days, that means that today and tomorrow I have to go through the house and get all the stuff together that we are taking in the cars. I also have to separate clothes that we are packing and clothes we are moving. On top of all that, I want to make sure that everything is clean so that it isn't nasty and gross when we actually get it delivered to us in a few weeks.

Unfortunately, I am being lazy and not motivated at all to start doing any of these things. I just keep telling myself that I have tomorrow to do it, even though I know that I won't have enough time to do it all tomorrow and I won't feel like doing it tomorrow either.

The upside is that I talked to the landlord today and he informed me that he moved us to a different unit because the neighbors are "nicer" and that the water and power will already be turned on when we get there on the 5th. I am so excited, because that means one less night in a hotel and one more day we can spend actually unpacking and getting settled. I want to be able to go through the house before our stuff comes to make sure everything is clean and all that.

Crazy times ahead! One week from today we are off on Oregon Trail 2k9!

Dinner Date!

Last night we had D's best friend and his new girlfriend (?) over for dinner. For some reason, I was completely weird and out of it and was struggling with the cooking and timing part of everything. They said they were going to be over between 6:30 and 7, so I decided to start making the appetizers at 6:25ish.

Well, needless to say, they got to our house about 6:35 and the appetizers were not done and dinner was not started. I was hoping to have the apps done and dinner simmering away when they got here. Oh well, we got to chat and enjoy the (awkward) company while dinner was cooking.

The good news is, D likes her! D and his best friend have this weird relationship where we joke about them being hetero-sexual life partners. These two guys are attached at the hip and basically disapprove of anyone the other person is dating (I finally was approved after a while!). Anyway, he said to me after they left, "I am really surprised at the fact that I liked her!" The fact that N was willing to introduce us to her was already a big statement!

This is a big step for D and N in their relationship. Good thing my standards aren't so high anymore. It was a bitch to live up to it! I can be friends with whomever I please and D can bitch about it, but his opinion doesn't really matter until I want him to come out to dinner with the spouses. LOL.

The countdown continues...11 days.

I Like Texas?

So now that we are 1 week away from having the movers here and just under 2 weeks before we begin the big move, I am realizing that I will actually miss living here. It will be really nice to get out of here, but it will be a big pain to have to figure out where everything is and get acquainted with a new town and post and all that. I kind of have a routine here and it will be sad to leave that. These feelings were prompted by the "For Rent" sign that went up in our front yard seemingly overnight last night.

The reason this feeling of sadness is so weird is because I have spent the 13.5 months we have lived in Texas hating it at the worst and tolerating it at the best. I have always looked forward to the moment we would get to leave here, especially during the deployment. All I could think about was D getting home and us moving out of this god-forsaken hell-hole to somewhere with cooler temperatures and vegetation. My wish has come true!

I have to admit that I am even kind of nervous to move to Ft. Lewis/Tacoma. Ft. Hood was kind of our first real duty station in the Army and it will be weird to be living somewhere else and have to make new friends all over again. BLAH. I was telling D the other night how it seems like we finally are getting invitations to parties and dinner with friends and now everyone is moving.

On another related note, since the move is now so close, I feel like there is more I should be doing to prepare, but when it comes right down to it, I can't think of anything I could do now that won't have to be done all over again in a week or two. My laziness prevails, and I am able to stockpile my energy for more important things, like watching TV, reading books, and attempting to make babies. ;)

Weekend Plans

Here are some pictures from Thursday night. There was a crazy thunderstorm that night too, so it was way cool.

This weekend is shaping up to be busier than Memorial Day weekend was for us. Yesterday D was off work because it was the Army's birthday, so we got to hang out and just spend some time together, which was really nice.

Thursday night we had Sam and Nick over for dinner and we got to enjoying some alcoholic beverages. D says that when Sam and I get together and consume alcohol we should not be allowed to be in the same room. I think its because we are too much alike! He mentioned something about us being loud and talking shit! Haha!

We were out on the back porch, Nick had brought his hookah over and we were smoking that and cigars when we realized that our neighbors were out smoking their cigars. We like our neighbors, so we invited them to hop the fence and join us. Pretty soon 3 CPTs from D's unit and his BN XO walk over. We ended up bull-shitting and just hanging out for a long while with them. It was super fun because all those guys are hilarious! It was kind of sad because everyone is getting ready to leave now, it is so close!

The really good news about having a 3-day weekend is that D has Staff Duty today, so he really only gets a regular length weekend. I am bummed for him. He always seems to get screwed by his dates for Staff Duty. I guess someone has to do it. Either way, I am meeting him for lunch and most likely bringing him dinner and a snack way later on since he has to be there all night.

At least he gets to look forward to our BBQ on Sunday at the Dell's. Rachel called way earlier this week to invite us over on Sunday for a cookout at their place. We have realized that out of all the people in the BN, they are most like us, so now we try to hang out on the weekends. LOL. They went deep-sea fishing last weekend and it sounded interesting, but Rachel definitely did not sell me on it!

Monday is the Co. party and I am in charge of going to Walmart to pick up all the food that was ordered. It is fried chicken with salads and bread for 200! Thankfully I have D to come along with me and help me get it all from the store to my car. I am looking forward to the party because I actually really like some of the people D works with, even if he hates them in a professional setting. He has agreed with me that outside work, they are not that bad!

The countdown continues, we have 17 days until we leave for WA and even less than that (12 days) until the movers come and take all of our stuff! CRAZY! I am trying to think of cool (cheap-ish) things that we can do here to mark the end of our time in TX. I am thinking maybe a trip down to San Antonio to go to Sea World (free!) or something like that, but who knows what I will be able to talk D into...

Until next time!

Summer!

The pictures above are some of our new townhouse in Tacoma.

The great thing about the fact we are moving in 3.5 weeks is that I do not have to look for a job for the summer!  I am perfectly content just sitting around, surfing the internet, watching TV, relaxing in the sun, playing on the Wii, etc., etc., etc.!  I only have one move related thing on my calendar for this week, so I am going to try and get that knocked out today, then the rest of the week is mine!

D has Friday off, so that is nice.  It gives us another day to hang out and relax together.  It seems like now that he is home from the deployment, we still don't see each other during the week.  Even when he is home, he is busy getting work together for tomorrow!  He has staff duty on Saturday, so that kind of ruins the weekend, but at least we get that extra day (Friday) since he will be sleeping all day Sunday.

We found out late last week that we were approved for the townhouse in Tacoma that we were hoping to get.  We submitted our application and they called back a few hours later to tell us that we were good to go!  It is super nice and we are pumped about it.  The only downside is that we won't have any yard or grass, so that means Mom will be taking Abby for early morning and late evening walks in the rain!  We wanted to downsize from our current house and didn't want to live in a house, we wanted to have people come and do everything for us, like mowing and shoveling, etc.  (Not that we have had to shovel here in TX or that its been below freezing either, LOL!)  

So, the countdown continues:  22 days until everyone arrives in Central Texas and 23 days until we get in the car and take off on the 4 day journey up to Ft. Lewis.  I'm getting excited.  I am mostly excited to get out of here!  

I am thinking about surprising all the family who are making the drive with us.  I am thinking about buying bleacher seats to a Seattle Mariners game the first week in July.  It would be the day we are able to get into our house.  We are arriving in Tacoma on the 4th of July, and hopefully moving into our house on the 6th.  Would a 7:20 pm game in Seattle be too much?  I don't think we will have HHG, so we really won't have all that much to do on the 6th.  I will ask D about it tonight when he gets home from work.

I am signing off now...

School's Out!

That's right folks!  Today was my last day subbing in Killeen!  We are moving this summer, so I said goodbye to all my friends over at MVES and headed home to enjoy summer!  So far summer has been sort of boring, but I am sure things will pick up!

The past week has been slow, so I haven't really had much to write about, but yesterday was the worst day ever.  I was out in the inflatable kiddie pool that DH bought me at Walmart and I dropped my cell phone in the water.  Phone is still "drying out" in the tupperware full of rice.  I am hopefully, but realistic in thinking that it may work again someday.  If not, DH had an extra phone for me to use, so I am not completely cut off from the world.

In addition to that awesomeness, we still have not received our per diem pay from the deployment.  DH has been home since March, and its now June.  It turns out that there is a problem with the orders he deployed on and the woman who is supposed to fix them doesn't feel like it.  Totally frustrating!

The good news from yesterday was that we got a call from the rental agency about the townhouse in Tacoma we want.  There is one available starting in July, so now we have to wait and see if our application is approved.  I am assuming it will be, but we are in a waiting game now.  We are ready to put down our deposit and everything but I am afraid someone else will snag it before that can happen!

27 days until SLS, WPT, and JAG get here for the cattle-drive to WA.  Can't wait to get out of here!

Drunk People Are Funny...

I somehow got roped into being the designated driver last night for DH and our next door neighbors who are two Officers from the BN that outrank DH.  Thats fine, they come over to the house right before we are getting ready to leave and take a shot of Patron.  Already I can tell that this night is going to get interesting before its all said and done.

We hop in the car and head over to the ball.  The place is packed and the next door neighbors take off in search of more booze no doubt.  DH and I wander in and start chatting with some of his soldiers and their wives/girlfriends and other people that he knows.  We grab drinks and attempt to find our friends and get ready for the reception line.  We don't find our friends, but we hang out until DH's company is being received.  We go into the banquet room and find our table.  

After going through all the traditional Army things (bringing in the colors, saying the prayer, toasts, etc.), we sit down to eat.  The food is HORRIBLE!  That is fine, at least there is chocolate cake on the table.  Well, that was awful too!  We make it through dinner and the Grog ceremony begins.  The Grog ceremony is a traditional ceremony in which all of the Company Commanders from the BN recite a short speech about the unit and its history.  After they recite their bit, they proclaim that they are going to add a certain type of alcohol to the mix in order to honor the past.  They are required to take a sip (or chug) of their alcohol before they dump the rest in the pot.

That was interesting to say the least.  Following that, we had the special guest speaker, and started the raffle.  Needless to say, we have been in attendance for more than 3 hours and we have not heard any music yet!  They finally remove the colors and the formal part of the evening is over.  Anyone who wants to is allowed to leave and the "ghetto" dancing and music begins.  The XO and his wife continue to call off numbers for the raffle, the only problem is that everyone lost their tickets, so no one is winning or paying attention for that matter.

We are finally ready to leave and we find our two charges who are riding home with us and head outside to the car.  We get stopped just outside the doors and start chatting with the XO and his wife (who are two of the funniest people ever).  We are all chatting about God-knows-what and I realize that everyone in this group (all 5 people other than me) are WASTED.  We are all laughing and having a good time though.  The XO's wife has to go inside and call the last few numbers for the raffle, so I say jokingly that I am going to go inside and claim whatever prize no one wins.

We get in the banquet room and realize that there are 6 raffle prizes left, about 10 people in the room and no raffle tickets.  The staff had picked them all up off the tables!  I look a the XO's wife and she says, "Which one of these do you want?  Just pick one!"  DH and I made it home with a "Date Night" package.  It included a bottle of champagne, Chili's gift card, tickets to the movie theatre, chocolate, mints, scented candle and body lotion and body wash.  Pretty sweet!

Anyways, I am going to start working on my editing that is due tomorrow and get ready to start the day.

Adios!

Army Balls!

Haha the title of this post is kind of inappropriate, but hey, I think its funny!  In all seriousness, today is the Army ball!  We are getting all dressed up and going to a formal basically.  It will be like Prom, but with drinking.  DH and I have been to so many formal dances together from high school to West Point, that we are old pros at it now!

I didn't even have to buy a new dress.  When we went home to Chicago over block leave I tried on a dress that my sister wore to a dance when she was in high school and it fit me!  I am wearing the shoes from the wedding.  This night is turning out to be a fairly cheap night as far as the Army goes!

The one thing that worries me is that I don't really know any of the other wives from the BN, so I don't really know if everyone will be wearing the same type of formal gown that I am wearing.  We also will have a receiving line, which DH says I am awesome at, but cause me undue anxiety.  It's not that I am shy or anything, but I just want to make him look good and sometimes I am not the most appropriate person in the world.  Oh well, I guess he knew that when he married me.  LOL.

I have to go dry my hair and all that fun stuff before DH gets home from work so he can have the bathroom and shower to get ready.  I will post pictures once I get them uploaded to my computer.

The Stagecoach Inn

So today we are going to a marriage retreat that is being put on by the BN. It is being held at the historic Stagecoach Inn in Salado. I have never been there, but everyone I've talked to says that it is really cool. We are excited about staying in a hotel and getting away from home for a few days, but unsure about the whole "marriage retreat" part of it. We decided that our best course of action is to bring wine in case we find ourselves bored with the regularly scheduled activities.

This weekend will be especially fun because Sunday is our official First Wedding Anniversary! I can't believe that it has already been a year since our wedding. I feel like the deployment flew by and now the time state-side is flying too! Pretty soon we will be up at Fort Lewis, enjoying the rain! We are really excited about moving up there, both to live there and experience something new, but also for the move itself. SLS, WPT and JAG are coming down here to make the 2,500 mile drive with us, our dog and both of our cars. It should be an interesting 4th of July!

I'm off to Salado now!

Trying It Out

So, I decided that I would start blogging a little bit about our life and see how it goes.  I might get really into it, or I might quit in a few weeks, but hey, at least I can say that I tried it!

Today was kind of a crazy day, even though I didn't technically have to work (side story), I ended up editing all day to get my stuff done for my freelance job.  I also went strolling with a friend through a cute little old-fashioned downtown.  She was looking for bridesmaids gifts and I was along for moral support more or less.  We did get to sample free fudge though!

So I was supposed to work this afternoon in a first grade class.  Well, I guess the system called me this morning to tell me that the job was canceled, but me, being proactive, I went online and entered a do-not-call so I wouldn't get calls in the early morning and get woken up.  I missed the cancellation call.  I drove all the way to the school only to find out that the job was canceled.  Kind of annoying, but hey, at least I didn't have to work!