Green weekend

I know this post is a little late, but that is because I was waiting for an email with pictures..

Saturday morning we took Jack on the woof walk at the base. I haven't been able to get much exercise lately, so I got my workout in by carrying Caden in the moby wrap on our mile walk (don't judge- my 16 pound baby is half my size). We went for the first time two years ago, and Jack was pretty nervous, but he warmed up by the end, so Chris and I figured he would be a little better this year. Wrong. Jack was the most nervous dog at the event.. and there were at least 100 dogs there. Poor guy, I wish he had more fun sniffing butts with other dogs.

 

After the walk, we went to a farmer's market. We got fresh strawberries, kale, cabbage, bread, and honey. If you haven't had fresh, local honey, you are missing out! We stopped at a little park to feed Caden, and while we were there we took advantage of some cute photo opportunities.

On Sunday, we celebrated St. Patricks Day by going out and getting hammered! Just kidding, we stayed home with the baby, and I made good old corned beef and cabbage. I did have a sip of hubby's beer but that is about as crazy as we got.

Even though it was super simple, it was one of the best weekends we have had in a while! Have you started to take advantage of the warmer weather yet?

Bloglovin'

Thanks to some other lovely bloggers out there, I recently found out that Google Reader is disappearing, so now I'm on Bloglovin'! I still don't know my way around all this blog stuff...

 

 

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Green Living

I'm not sure where it started, but sometime in high school I became conscious of how our actions affect the environment. Then in my freshman year of college, I took a class called climate change, and I leaned about the full scale affects on our planet.
Disclaimer: if you are one of those wackos who do not believe in global warming, you can leave this page.. Your ignorance is not welcome here.
I'm not one of those crazy hippies who don't shave their legs because they don't want to throw away a razor, but I do take little steps every day to reduce my footprint. I've even recruited my husband, and he does his best to make his contributions as well.
American's throw away over 1,000 pounds of trash every day, and only about a quarter of that gets recycled... Even though it is so easy to reduce waste and carry that extra trash can to the recycling!
I would love to share some of the things that we do around our house to be eco friendly to maybe inspire others and receive some tips as well! So every so often I will share some 'green living' posts and hopefully you will enjoy reading them!
Btw, I really enjoyed reading the book Gorgeously Green because it was written by a woman who wanted to change the connotation of eco-friendly and make it more approachable for the modern woman. You can also check out Sophie's website here.

Oh, how pinteresting: nails

Since it is almost summer time, I've got my eyes on some cute nail ideas! Now, if I could only find the time to do them...

 

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What have you been pinning lately?

 

Veteran Navy Wife

November 2011

Looking back at my old posts, I realized that I have come a long way since I started this blog as a newlywed whose husband was on his first deployment. After three years, and spending plenty of time away from my husband and dealing with military bs, I feel like I can call my self an 'experienced navy wife' and fully capable of giving insight into this rollercoaster life.
Since starting this journey, I have experienced:

• A 3 month deployment with 2 days notice
• Moving across states while my husband was underway not once, but three times
• Too many short underways (1 week to 1 month) to count
• Not being afraid of being home alone after many duty nights
• Having my husband deployed for 7 months of my pregnancy
• Loss of communication for days on end
• My hubby getting to take part in a hall swap.. which included almost no way of communicating while he was in Japan for a couple weeks
• The strains of deployment on a marriage.. especially when pregnancy hormones are involved
• Worrying about whether we are going to get paid because congress can't agree on anything
• Wondering how this crazy thing called sequestration is going to affect our family
• Discovering how 'wonderful' navy medicine is
• Learning about my hubby's job and the annoying way a chain of command works
• The uncertainty of reenlisting
• TWO yard periods

I can now understand most of the things that my hubby says about work, mostly understand what his job is, and fully understand that nothing is certain in military life.
Right now, Chris's ship is getting ready to enter a yard period, where the ship gets repaired. The USS Essex was stationed in Japan for the past 10 years, so there are alot of repairs that are scheduled to take a year and a half. So far, there is no news that sequestration will affect the ship, but with all the changes we have been hearing about lately, I wouldn't be surprised. Chris is up for orders at the end of the year, and while he has an awesome eval, anything is possible, so we are preparing for all of our options. It is crazy to think that we could be somewhere completely new a year from now!

November 2012

Friday's Letters



Dear Mom, You really are the best grandma that a little boy could ask for. Dear Son, You have developed a love for screaming the past few days, and it is not crying-screaming, but the I-scream-at-you-and-wait-for-you-to-scream-back-with-a-smile-on-my-face kind. Two days around your daddy's side of the family, and you already picked up their loudness. Dear Nurse, I know it was your first day back to the peds unit, but you did a terrible job at giving my baby boy his shots. Dear Tax Return, I can't wait to get you! After all the responsible stuff, we are going to have a little extra for shoppingggg. Dear Husband, This week you got a tattoo of our son, and it is a-maz-ing. I can't wait until the first time Caden realizes its him!

Hubby's tattoo- Caden's face on a Woody doll (from Toy Story) holding a HELLP syndrome balloon

weekend with the fam

This past weekend we took the little man back home to Phoenix to see family since he has changed so much in the two months since our last trip. We also picked up my mom, who is staying with us for two whole weeks!
To say the least, Caden was a spoiled little boy the whole weekend. For almost 3 days he was held, cooed at, and never set down. We had to fit a lot of visits into one weekend, so by the time we made our drive home, my baby boy was more than exhausted and just wanted his momma. Doesn't it make you feel good when that happens?
Caden got to meet two new faces during this trip. He got to meet his cousin, AnnaBelle, who was born just 4 days before him. She looked so dainty next to him though! It is so cute to see babies interact with each other at such a young age.. Caden was all smiles and even grabbed her hand and held on for a good two minutes. He also got to meet some of our good friends, who are expected their own baby any day now. Chris and I tried to pass on all of the little things that we have learned in the past four months that no one had told us about.

Caden and his cousin in their sunglasses

It was good to see the family, but it sure feels good to be home. Of course, we all woke up with a cold the day after we got home, so we are still recovering from that. Oh, and my son has now become a grandma's boy!

Oh, How Pinteresting: Quotes

 

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Valentines Day Catch Up

This year, Valentine's Day was extra special because I had two valentines!

We stayed home, and I made a yummy dinner of home-made chicken parmesan and spaghetti with red sauce. I don't mean to toot my own horn, but it was possibly the best chicken parm I have ever had (and it is one of my favorite meals!).

My hubby loves smores, so for dessert I made baked smores. I cut out two cute little hearts, put them on a plate, and before I could take a picture Chris scooped out the remains and plopped them onto the plate making it look not so pretty anymore. To make it up to me, after we ate our dessert, he went into the kitchen and did his best to cut out two more hearts so that I could have my picture. Isn't he sweet?

 

November through March is like a never ending spending spree in our house, and since Caden was born in October, we can add another month to that list. Besides all the holidays, we also celebrate my birthday in January (Chris really spoiled me this year by getting me a diamond bracelet) and our anniversary in March. So, long story short, we decided that there would be no expensive gifts this year, which I personally think is better for valentines day because it forces you to do something from the heart.

This year Chris really proved how well he knows me.. He knows how much I love chocolate, so he spoiled me with a box of godiva chocolates; he knows how much I "like coupons" so he made me his own coupon book full of things like "Take the night off, I got Caden;" and instead of flowers, he started me my own little garden, which I have been wanting for the longest time. I love that man.

 

I had a hard time figuring out what to do for the hubs, especially since it isn't easy for me to get out of the house during the week and the weekends we spend together, but I ended up finding a really cute idea on another blog (you can find it here) and making it my own. All I had to buy was a map when I went grocery shopping, and the rest we had at home.

 

 

Friday we spent with our friends, Sarah and Marcus, whose son is only 5 weeks older than Caden. They were so cute together, especially since the last time we saw them was Thanksgiving, and the boys were too little to notice each other then. This time, they were actually old enough to interact and it was absolutely adorable. Seeing the two of them together made me a realize how big my little guy is- he is 5 weeks younger than Junior but has at least two pounds on him. No wonder my back is always sore! We all went out to lunch then Sarah and I took the boys to the mall for a 'mommy and me' date. It was so nice to get out of the house and have some girl time. The rest of the weekend was filled with a duty day, catching up on homework, and taking advantage of a sale at Babies r Us. I'm finally caught up with my class, housework, and blogging. Yay!



Friday's Letters

Caden's vday present- a high chair! (Looks like a baby lazy boy to me)

Dear Baby Boy, You are growing way too fast! This week I had to put away all of your 0-3 month clothes. Dear Father of my Child, I'm sorry, but we can't keep every one of Caden's outfits that looked cute on him. I know it is possible that we will have another boy, but let's face it- our son makes every outfit look cute, and we just don't have the storage for that! Dear Sleep, Where have you been lately? Dear Fibro Pain, You are really kicking my butt this week. I know, if I improve my relationship with sleep you will get a teensy bit better. I'm trying. Dear Valentines Day, I know you get a bad rep from some people, but I am so glad to know you! Dear Caden, You get two letters this week because you rolled over!! Couldn't you have waited for me to get my video camera ready though? Dear Hubby, You also get two letters, since you were so thoughtful and sweet on v-day. I am so lucky to be your wife.

pumpkin pie cinnabon

 

Coffee, that is..

 

 

We are BIG coffee drinkers at my house, and we love trying new flavors. This is def my new favorite creamer, hands down! I absolutely love cinnamon rolls, but they are usually an occasional treat for my fam, but not anymore, now I can have a 'cinnabon' every morning! And it is super yummy with pumpkin pie coffee. You have to try it!
Now that I've had my morning coffee, lets see how much cleaning and homework I can get done before the little one gets up from his nap..

Sleeping baby

Like a million other moms out there will tell you, getting a baby to sleep is a constant battle. I have something to be grateful for- Caden sleeps from 10-8 almost every night, while many babies don't sleep through the night until they are much much older. Grateful is an understatement- I don't know how I would have survived if Caden didn't start sleeping through the night.. I am the kind of person who needs 9-10 hours of sleep a night, and a big part of that is because with my fibromyalgia, I don't relax my muscles enough to allow my body to rest. So I constantly remind myself that I am blessed that my baby sleeps through the night.


But that doesn't mean we don't have our problems. Like the fact that Caden wakes up starting around 11 or 12 every single night because he wants to come into bed with me. Most nights I wrap him back up, stick his binkie in his mouth, and rub his face until he falls asleep at least three times before I give in. And while I love snuggling with my baby, its not easy on me. He wiggles around nonstop, and he has to sleep either on my chest or half on me.. I have never been a back sleeper, and the constant weight on my chest makes my back hurt more than normal. Oh, and did I mention that Caden will only sleep with me? Chris tried to give me a break the other night, and as soon as I handed him over, Caden started screaming.. After a few minutes I took him back, and of course he fell asleep as soon as he hit my chest. I love that my son loves cuddling with his momma so much, but I wish it wasn;t such a battle.

I try to sneak out of bed to get his bottle ready before he fully wakes up in the morning. This adorable face is hard to leave though!

Caden has also decided that he doesn't like napping, and that might be because I have been leaving his arms out of his swaddle during the day so that we can break him of the habit. The last two days, I have left both arms out, and it has made for some frustrating yet funny moments..

 

Yesterday, about 20 minutes into his usually 45 minute long nap, Caden woke up with his "I need attention now!" scream that he uses when something has scared or hurt him. I knew he scared himself with his arms, so I tried to soothe him without picking him up.. When it wasn't working, I decided to give in, but as soon as my hands went under his arms, the crying got quieter, so I pulled back.. Caden's eyes opened, the corners of his mouth turned down, and he stuck his bottom lip out.
He was about to let out a cry when he noticed me smiling at his pouting face, so he ended up smiling mid-cry.
I wish I could better explain the cuteness of that moment. Yes, I gave in and picked up the little stinker.
Today, his first nap lasted 20 minutes once again, so right before his next nap, a light bulb went off in my head.. I set an alarm on my phone with a white noise app and left it next to him so that 20 minutes into the nap, the sound would gradually come on. I went in to check on him after the alarm went off, and Caden's eyes were rolling back to sleep.

Success!

But then he saw me, and my plan backfired.

And now he is asleep in my arms. Oh, the innocence of a sleeping baby..

Friday's Letters



 

Dear U.S. Navy, Thank you for recognizing national-nurse-your-hangover-day and giving my husband the day after the superbowl off of work. However, it doesn't make up for all the missed birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays. Dear Jack, As much as as I wanted to get rid of your annoying (cat) toy that quacks like a duck, I won't now that I heard you imitating it this morning. Your puppy whine sounds nothing like a quack, but nice try. Dear Baby Boy, You did the sweetest thing this week.. You were laying on the floor, and I was kissing your cheeks to make you laugh. When I picked my head up to see your expression, you put your hands on either side of my face and pulled me down to give you another kiss. Yes, it made me tear up. I love being your Mama. Dear Hubs, As I'm writing this, I can hear you playing with our son in his room. You both think it is so funny when you pull his arms down and say, "Get your hands out of your mouth!" I think its adorable.

Tell us about Grandpa

I was looking through posts that I never posted, and this was one of them. I had found a writing workshop on another blog, where it gives you a random topic for you to write about, and this was mine..

Tell us about Grandpa.

This was my prompt. How Ironic. This time last year was a very difficult time for my family; my grandfather underwent heart surgery. He spent the next two months in and out of the hospital and a nursing home, until we said our final goodbyes.

I was so very close to my grandpa. The wounds of goodbye are still so real.. I guess a year really is not enough time to heal. In front of me on our entertainment center is a picture frame that says "I heart Papa" and a picture of us when I was just a baby. It is the only picture in our house at the moment.

The past two years have been rough. Last year, I sent off my soon-to-be husband to bootcamp. I remember sitting at my desk in my dorm writing Chris a letter, and telling him that my grandpa was going to have heart surgery. That I was scared that he wouldn't be able to walk me down the aisle. I remember being scared to go to Chicago, in case I wouldn't be able to make it back to my grandpa in time. I remember calling Chris numerous times after graduation telling him that I was packing a bag to drive two hours home because there was another complication with his recovery. I remember being told that he was asking for me. I remember lying to my grandpa that it was Saturday when it was really Thursday so that he wouldn't get upset about me leaving school. I remember not being able to tell him that I got married, in case it made him get too worked up and raised his blood pressure.I remember calling Chris and telling him that I was leaving for Phoenix again. Him telling me that everything was going to be okay, that my grandfather was a strong man. Telling him that No, this was it. I was going home to say goodbye. I remember sitting in a cab with a driver who didn't understand that he was driving me home to say goodbye to my dying grandfather. That everytime the beeper went off to say that he was going over the speed limit, I wanted to scream and cry. I remember Chris calling me and asking me if I wanted him to come home. I remember thinking for a split second that this was no excuse to come see me. Realizing that he just wanted to support me. I remember being relieved and scared that we made it to the hospital. I remember seeing my grandfather on the respirator. Waiting with my family in the waiting room. Waking my mom up to tell her that it was time. Seeing the pain and denial in her eyes. Filling up his room with the 20+ people in my family. I remember being the one to hold his hand as he passed on. Kissing his unshaven cheek to say one more goodbye. I remember wanting nothing more than to have Chris there. Crying like a baby at the airport when I saw him. I remember tears at the funeral. Hugs. Stories. Laughter. Prayers. Feeling my grandpa looking down on me, knowing that he was proud that my husband was there in his uniform to honor him. I remember getting a tattoo after the ceremony, one part for my grandpa, one part for my husband. I remember crying not because of the pain, but because of the thought that "all these needle pricks are for the pain you had to endure."

My grandpa was a stubborn old man.. I have heard so many people in my family say that they got their stubborness from him. He was a good man, who provided for his family, and loved them in his own way. I was always his girl, his little flower, and I looked up to him like he was my father. My mom and I will always have a connection to each other through him- she was the youngest, the 'baby girl,' 'daddy's little girl.' When I came around, I was 'Papa's little girl.'

My grandpa knew it was his time to go for a long time. Even when we all told him to keep fighting, he knew different, he knew that he needed to let go. He held on until my aunt, the only one who had to fly, could get to the hospital and say her goodbyes. I have a feeling that if he had known that Chris was now family, he would have held on long enough for him also.


I completely forgot that I had wrote this post, but man am I glad that I did. As I reread my own words, I remembered the little details that I had forgotten, like how I noticed that no one had shaved my grandpa's beard, even though I knew he would have wanted that. And when I got to the part about having to wake my mom up to tell her that it was time for her to say goodbye to her father, I felt the pain of that moment all over again. Pain because I remember sitting next to her not knowing how I was going to wake my beautiful, finally resting, mother with such awful news, and finally just throwing the words at her with force, since I didn't know how to handle it myself.
My whole pregnancy I thought about how my son will never have a relationship with my father the way I had with my grandfather, but with the chaos of having a newborn, I didn't think about it again until a few days ago, and it hit me hard. I wish so much that my grandpa could hold my son in his arms, because I know he would be so proud. I wish more than anything that I could see the look on his face when I told him that Caden's middle name was after him, and the only reason we didn't name him Jack was because my sister had already named our dog that, and then hear his laugh again.

I love you, Grandpa. I cannot wait to tell my son stories about you.

Friday's letters

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Dear Netflix, Thank you for allowing my husband and I to watch tv shows whenever we want. Right now we are addicted to Heroes, and I am so glad that we don't have to wait a week in between episodes! Dear California Weather, I don't mind when you make it rain during the week, but on the weekend? No bueno. Dear Jack, I'm sorry I laughed when you fell off the top of the couch this morning, but you didn't get hurt since you landed in the recycling, which made it even funnier. I put Caden's blanket up there so you wouldn't lay on it! Dear Hubby, Please win us lots at the casino tonight! Dear Baby Boy, As much as I love cuddling with you at night, your constant wiggling keeps me up all night (not to mention its a bad habit that will only get harder to break as you get older) so you need to stay in your cradle. In two more months, your going to switch to your crib, so we have some time, but I know I need to start trying now!

Stockpile: Then and Now

 

Two years ago, I started couponing and trying to save money on our grocery bill, since California is outrageously expensive. And, like any good bargain hunter, I am always a tad proud of my 'stockpile.'

The beginning

As you can see, the vitamin water was running low.. When that happens, I always keep my fingers crossed for a sale to pop up!

Buy 10 (on sale), get 5 free? Yes please!

I love my vitamin water.. And it was even worse when I was prego.

In 2011, thanks to my stockpiling and couponing, I saved $1000 on our grocery bill. I didn't keep a record last year, since hubs when on deployment and I moved back home, but this year I'm hoping to beat my record. That being said, we now have a new stockpile...

Formula is a money pit.. and of course my son has expensive taste and has to have the most expensive brand. (I blame it on the hospital since they were the reason I had to supplement, and this is what they gave me!) So anytime I have a coupon or a deal, we buy the max, since baby boy goes through one box every 5 days.

It's funny, the things that a baby changes around the house, even a stockpile...

Friday's Letters

Dear Son, you are the best baby ever. Seriously, you never cry just to cry, you already have such a personality, and we can take you anywhere. I remind myself of this everytime I wake up from a night of no sleep, get peed on, or get nothing done because you want me to play with you or hold you all day. You are a baby, afterall. Dear Jack, You are still the best furbaby ever, but you have to remember that you are not a real baby, and you cannot do things like ride in the carseat, with Caden, on the freeway. Dear School, I did not miss you. Maternity leave should be longer. Much longer. Dear To-Do List, stop growing! I will get to you as soon as I take care of the baby, do my homework, clean the house, and show my husband some love. Dear Hubby, Thank you for making my birthday such a great day and getting me something I knew I wanted (a new knife set and Philosophy products) and something I didn't realize I wanted (a diamond bracelet). Dinner and dessert at our favorite restaurant was the icing on the cake (or the tiramisu)!

 

Baby!

If your wondering where I've been the past few months, I've been with the new man in my life :)

On October 24, at 3:14 am, I gave birth to the most beautiful baby boy I have ever seen.

 

 

 

The past two and half months as a mother has been so so wonderful. I am absolutely in love with my son, and he continues to amaze me every day. His smiles are the best thing ever.

I am finally getting enough sleep to function and learning how to manage my time with a newborn around the house, so hopefully I will be able to share more soon! Wish me luck, in this short little post I had to stop twice to take care of a screaming little one..

Maternity Photos/ A Letter

 

Dear Caden,

It has been a long nine (ten) months, but your due date is just around the corner.

 

I will never forget telling your Daddy that you were going to enter our lives. He was on deployment, sailing toward Japan, when I told him over the phone. We had chosen the date for him to call, two weeks after he left and were both very very anxious for the news! I will also never forget when your daddy came home for two weeks in between underways and asked the doctor to do an ultrasound just for him. This time I got to see his face when he found out you were a boy.

 

 

I'll tell you a little secret- I always knew you were a boy. We had your name picked out from the very beginning, and your Daddy kept telling me that we needed to pick out a girl's name, but I always pushed it aside. We got the idea for your name right before your Daddy left for his first underway to Hawaii, two months after we got married. I was walking him to the boat the morning they left, and as we crossed a bridge there was a sign that said, "Please break for cadence." Long story short, that led to Caden.

 

 

You are one lucky little boy to have a father like your Daddy. He is going to teach you how to be strong and athletic, and caring and loving. Most importantly, he is going to lead you by example, so that you always have someone to look up to. I can't wait to watch the two of you be boys together, although I know your both going to drive me crazy at times.

 

 

You also have a mom who is going to love and nurture you with every fiber of her being. I'm sure you will think I am overprotective, but I hope you can see that it is just because I love you.  I also hope you love my cooking as much as your Daddy does! And don't worry, I will always make your favorite dessert.

 

 

Words cannot express how much your Daddy and I already love you.

We hoped and prayed for you to enter our lives for what seemed like forever, and now we are just counting the days until we get to meet you!

Friday's Letters

36 weeks

Dear Hubby, yesterday we went to Home depot to get the very last piece of the cradle that you have been refinishing. We then walked out of the store with the side panel leaning against the register.. I know how proud you were of all the work you put into our son's cradle and am so sad that you won't be able to give it to him. Dear Jack, I think you somehow know that you won't be the only baby of the house for much longer because you are even more attached to us.. If that is even possible. Dear $40 Mini Sewing Machine, Thank you for going above and beyond the expectations I had for you! One sheet, one blanket, and one changing pad cover down.. Two more sheets and a blanket to go. And a crib skirt? And curtains? How much sewing can I get done in two weeks? Dear Baby-in-my-Belly, you won't be in there for much longer! Boy, am I excited to meet you!

Adjust the sails

If I could choose one word to explain the past month and a half, it would be adjustment.

Adjust verb  To become or make prepared.

Acclimitize I moved back to San Diego, into a new apartment, in a new area.

Adapt After six long months, my husband finally came home. Other milspouses know how much of an adjustment homecoming can be. When my husband leaves, I resort back to the independent woman I was before he came into my life. When my husband is gone, he copes by leaving his emotions at the door. It takes some time for us to get back into our routine of being a couple.

Reconcile Deployments are hard on a marriage. Making an addition to the family also puts new stress on a marriage. Without going into detail, I can say that my husband and I haven't stopped working on our relationship since he returned, and we were in desperate need of some work. All of that work is really paying off, our marriage feels stronger now than it ever has.

Accomodate For some reason, I thought pregnancy would be easy, but I was so wrong. I have a hard time slowing down and asking for help, so this has been a learning process for both me and my husband.

The adjusting is going to stop now- our little one will be here in just over a month, and that is going to be a whole new world full of twists and turns!

friday's letters

He was sleeping so awkwardly on my body pillow, I had to take a picture

Dear Baby Boy, You are really growing now! I'm sorry you feel squished, but you can't push my ribs out any farther! I'm starting to think your half vampire and going to just break them in half any day now.
Dear Accounting 201, please be nice to me. I haven't faced accounting in two and a half years, but will start this class on Monday. We didn't have a good relationship the first time, so I don't know how its going to work when we take it to the next level.
Dear Jack,  I guess you decided that you needed one more spot because one morning you woke up with a new one on your back. Or maybe your trying to tell me that you just pretend that you don't like baths because it appeared two days after your last bath.
Dear husband, is this deployment almost over?