Finding a balance...and making the time!

So, I went to the gym tonight. I was hoping to run a solid 6 miles. I haven't run in probably 3 weeks (I went to KY for week and Christmas was part of that...)...anyways, I couldn't make it! I am soo disappointed in myself. I REALLY want to run the marathon in April. The training program I was going to use is already on week 4, which isn't really an issue since the longest run is only 7-8 miles (which is Saturday's run). I think I can make it...I will just need to push myself. Hopefully, I will be able to run the marathon in April...if not, I will at least be doing the half! It's really hard to find the balance between home, work, and exercise these days! I need to find the balance and make the time.

Ho Ho ho! Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas Everyone! I hope everyone far and near has a wonderful Christmas with lots of cheer! :-)

Though I wish we could be near family, I am grateful for my time with my Kaylee bug and Clay! Kaylee had a wonderful time opening presents this morning (she got into them while I was making cinnamon rolls and Clay was sleeping...so she started a little early!). She understands the thought process of opening presents and it was so much fun to watch. She seemed more interested in opening the presents than the presents themselves...but that is the fun of having a little one (they don't care about how many presents or what they get...they just love having anything!).

My brother's wedding

Well, my brother's wedding was last night. An 8:00 wedding does not make for very happy young children! Kaylee, Brentley, Zachary, and Bryan were all fussy during the wedding. Poor poor Bryan got his heart broken when his "big girlfriend" walked down the aisle to marry his Uncle and not him! He is IN LOVE with Jessica, my brother's wife. He cried to whole wedding because she was marrying my brother and not him. While sweet and sad, it was also quite funny! Kaylee danced the night away (literally..she did not get to bed until after 11!). She loved playing with her cousins and seeing her Mamaw, Papaw, uncles, and aunt! She also got to meet some family since we haven't been home since Kaylee was born. Overall, it was a nice night!

Oh my!

I think I have officially decided that I definitely want to run the Whidbey Island marathon April 11 of next year! I know it's going to be difficult with working, Kaylee, and it being way cold outside...but I truly want to do it. I am going to order a Warm As A Lamb stroller cover. I have been eyeing it for quite some time now, but I didn't want to buy it because when we eventually decide to try for baby # 2, I wanted to just buy a double (instead of buying the single now and then having to buy the double later as well). But, I decided it would be worth it and I can always sell it on craigslist. It's really cold here and I don't have a good rain cover for the stroller, so it'll be nice to be able to use this as both a means to keep Kaylee warm and dry! The reviews on it are amazing so I hope it's as good as it seems because Kaylee is going to be my running partner/training buddy for the next 4 1/2 months (on Saturday's at least). Pushing a jogging stroller with a 20 plus pound baby in it for my long runs will definitely get me ready for a marathon! :-)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! This past year has been a whirlwind. From moving across the country, purchasing our first home, a half-marathon, a trip to Key West for a family member's wedding, a 1st birthday celebration, and much more. We have so much to be thankful for. I am especially thankful for my wonderful family. Clay and I are so in love with Kaylee. We are so blessed to have such a beautiful baby girl. Even though it's frustrating at times, because we both are ready for Clay to fly, we are thankful for the fact that the Prowler RAG is way backed up and Clay is home a lot more than our friend's who are flying the F/A-18 in CA or VA. He probably won't start flying until March/April (but this day is being pushed back every day so who knows!). It's crazy to think that by the time he actually does get to fly, it'll be over a year since he has last flown anything! It's pretty normal though here in the Prowler community for the year mark to come and go! We are also thankful for my new job....even if at the moment I don't particularly love it. It's going to allow us to save the money (without affecting our other savings from Clay's check!) to get our front yard taken care of! I can't wait for it to be cleared out and have nice grass laid down! The backyard is also on our agenda...but we want the front yard to be taken care of first. We are also thankful for the opportunity for me to go home with Kaylee in December for my brother's wedding. He kind of sprung a wedding date of Dec. 19th on us and we really wouldn't have been able to go if my mom and sister didn't go in together to purchase us a ticket! I am so thankful and excited to finally visit Kentucky after almost a year and a half of not being home! We are thankful for a healthy baby girl! At her 12 month check up she weighed 20 pounds and 10 ozs and is 31 inches long! She dropped from just over the 50th percentile to the 25-50% for weight, but the doctor said that's normal once babies start walking. She just doesn't want her to drop any lower! She is perfectly tall though (the 95th percentile!). She's going to be tall and beautiful! :-) I am also thankful for a wonderful lady, Melonie, watching Kaylee while I work. She runs a CDH in her home and she's great with Kaylee. Even though it breaks my heart to see it, when I pick Kaylee up from her home sometimes she'll run to Melonie after I set her down, BUT...that is a sign that Kaylee truly likes her, so I am blessed to have such a wonderful person taking care of my baby girl while I am working part-time. I am also thankful for a housing market that is on the turnaround here on Whidbey Island. We just got something from our realtor stating that from this date last year the days on market for homes has dropped 50%! That's incredible. I can not lie when I say that I am terrified when it comes time to selling our home (not that this date is in the near future or anyting...but it still scares me). So, I am thankful that the housing market seems to be looking up! I am thankful for our family (parents, siblings) who love us so much. I am thankful for wonderful friends (both here in WA and throughout the globe!). The Navy makes it difficult for spouses to connect with other wives because once you do start to connect, you move. I am thankful, though, that I have made some life-long friendships because of the Navy!
I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving! We miss our friends and family who are not here with us...and we wish we could be celebrating the holidays with you! We love you all.

Happy 1st Birthday, Kaylee!!!!

Today is the day my little girl turns one! It's so hard to believe that a year ago my baby was born. It's amazing how fast you grow to love a new child and how quickly your world revolves around that child. Kaylee is my most cherished gift and I am soo thankful and lucky to be so blessed with such a beautiful child.

I love you, Kaylee! Happy 1st Birthday!

Proud of my little girl!

Today is the 2nd day that Kaylee has only had her night time bottle! She is on some anti-biotics right now for her awful ear infection that we found out about on Thursday. We're putting her night time anti-biotics in her bottle because she isn't very good at taking them (it's a lot and she spits it all out in the midst of her fit she throws when we give it to her!). Ideally, I wanted Kaylee to be completely off her bottle by her 1st b-day (just 6 days away!). Then, however, she got the H1N1 and an ear infection so i backed off the schedule to get rid of the bottle. Friday, however, while frantically interviewing childcare providers and visiting their homes I realized that most CDC providers will not give a bottle to a child over the age of 1. I would rather Kaylee be fussy with us than be put in the situation where another person is taking care of her and not providing her with the comfort of the bottle...it just seems too cruel (to both Kaylee and the provider). So, Friday night I told Clay that on Saturday she would only recieve her night time bottle. Kaylee did amazing! She has been fussy these past 2 days, but she's been surprising great at this (after all..fussiness is to be expected. Try having someone take away your favorite thing and see how fussy you are). She wouldn't drink her milk out of a sippy before yesterday, but now..when she wants her milk...she knows she's only getting it in the sippy cup! I am so proud of her. She even drank out of a sippy cup with a straw today! She is such a big girl. I don't know how long we'll keep giving her the night time bottle, but my new goal is to have Kaylee completely bottle free for when I possibly go home in the middle of December! I don't want to take any bottles/formula with me. Kaylee is such a big girl! I am so lucky to have such an amazing and beautiful little girl!

A new job??!!

Sooo...I have a possible new job. It happened REALLY fast! I saw it online this morning on a website that requires you to come in and show them your resume to get a referral to get the job. So today at 2:00, I went and brought my resume to this company who said "yes, you are qualified. here is the information for the company. Fax your resume to them." So, I faxed my resume to them and about an hour later received a phone call asking me to come in for an hour interview at 5:00! By 5:15 they asked me to come in and work half a day on Tuesday and a full day Wednesday to get a feel for it. Crazy!!!!!! It's part-time (25-30 hours a week). The pay will increase after I have been there 90 days! AWESOME! I am thrilled. It's a really small, family owned company. They bring their dog to work everyday. They're extremely flexible...which is great! They said the last bookkeeper even brought her kids and dog into work with her sometimes! It just seems like a great fit and I am so excited! Also...I get to wear jeans (with a nice shirt...but jeans!!!!). Yay. Hopefully, it'll work out and they'll love me and I'll love them! HOPEFULLY!

Kaylee is better!

After a fever, tons of tylenol and motrin, Tamiflu, and lots of love and cuddling....Kaylee is finally getting better! She hasn't had a fever since Friday. The doctors say once the fever has been gone for 24 hours she is no longer contagious...but, I wanted to make sure and not take her in public still. She has been fever free now though for 4 days and Kaylee and I went and enjoyed some time out for the first time since she got sick. We went to Walmart (fun I know...but I needed wipes desperately and I also had to get my oil changed). Kaylee is getting happier and happier as each days passes and she is sleeping/eating better too! Today is the last day for Tamiflu, so I am glad that the medicine will all be over with soon (she hates getting it given to her!). It scared me to death when the doctor said that she had H1N1, but the doctor said she would be fine. He said there was more hype in the media about it than there really needed to be because unless you had an underlying condition, you would be just fine. At the ER here in Whidbey, they're not allowing anyone with flu like symptoms to visit the hospital. They're even sending people home that come in with flu like symptoms (except small children and/or people with underlying condistions). The doctor said that 95% of all flu cases right now are H1N1 cases. Thankfully, Clay and I are fine and we did not get sick (though I would have rather gotten sick than my baby!). Anyways, Kaylee is better and I am glad to have my little happy girl back! :-)

Time to get rid of the bottle...

Well, Kaylee is almost a year old! Can you believe it? I sure can't! With that milestone also comes the dreaded chore of getting rid of the bottle. Kaylee is quite fond of her bottle so it's going to be a difficult process (but I refuse to let my child have the bottle until she is 2....my sister!!). So the plan is to start with a bottle feeding each week. Kaylee typically has 4-5 bottles within a 24 hour period. She usually has one when she wakes up, then around her first nap, then right before her second nap, right before bed, and then on most nights she has one during the night (like around 3-5 am...because she STILL does not sleep through the night). I have taken away the bottle before her first nap this week. Next week she won't have her 2nd nap bottle. The week after that I wil probably try to get rid of the bottle before she goes to sleep. Lastly will be the bottle right when she wakes up (eventually we will get rid of the bottle during the night as I will probably give her a sippy as this time instead of the bottle). It's going to be a long, grumpy 4 weeks, but I just don't know that I can cut the bottle cold turkey.

For those who haven't had children yet, I can lend this advice:
Don't ever lay your child down with a bottle. We have done this and it just makes the child more attached to the bottle.
Introduce the sippy early!! Put milk in there that way they'll learn that the sippy isn't just for water/juice...whatever they drink.
Don't (if at all possible) let the child hold the bottle. I say that I won't do this next time, but I think back and Kaylee wanted to hold the bottle so bad that sometimes she wouldn't take it unless she held it. Even with the sippy, she'll only drink it sometimes on "her" terms. I don't really know that I could have done this differently...but I will certainly try with the next child.

Anyway, so we will see if I can hold out and not give in to the cries for the bottle. Hopefully, I will hold strong!

Painting ... again!

Well, I have officially decided that the color I originally painted throughout the whole house was something that I just didn't love! So, after a few trial and errors, I THINK I have found something that I really really like. Before leaving for Key West, I tried 2 colors in the entryway. We are going with the second color. Tonight, I painted the entire entryway and one of the hallway walls. I plan to just take my time with it. There is A LOT to paint so my goal is to just have it finished before Kaylee's b-day party on November 22nd. I definitely think I can manage that! :-)

Key West

We got in last night from Key West about 1:30 am. It was a very long trip, but we had fun. Clay and I had to fly separately because we couldn't get him on the same flight as Kaylee and I, but wee managed to work it out. Though I had some issues coming back (we had to go around Houston because of the weather and therefore had to make a pitstop in San Antonio for some fuel....I almost missed my connection to Seattle and had no time at all for anything!), we made it safely. We all had fun. It was miserably hot while we were there but coming home last night almost made us miss that miserable heat! It was FREEZING in our house last night. We are happy to be home and we are happy that Jill and Reid took us in and allowed us to stay with them for 5 days. We enjoyed Key West and we enjoyed the wedding.

Thank you to our sailors and our soliders

So, I was watching Good Morning, America this morning and I heard the saddest story. A 30-something year old man was killed in the war. The man has left behind a wife who is pregnant with twin girls. This is so sad to me. I know so many people that have husbands who are deployed while they are pregnant. It is so sad to hear that a father never had the chance to meet his children and that mothers of these fallen heros are left to raise their children by themselves. It truly breaks my heart. It also brings home how precious and how brave our soliders and sailors are.

Happy 10 months, Kaylee!

Kaylee is getting big! She is getting the last one of her top 4 teeth in (giving her 6 teeth now). She has been fussy through this, but once this tooth breaks, I imagine it will be much better for her. She is the most adorable and precious little girl ever and I can't imagine our lives without her! She is so unpredictable, adventurous, and loving!

Well, it has officially been 3 weeks since Clay has been scheduled for anything other than watch! I know he is trying to enjoy his time off, but you can tell he is getting antsy. This is what Prowlerland is like! Growler guys are coming in with a force (at least hour days) and Prowler guys are just sitting on their butts doing nothing! It's just crazy to me. It is great to have Clay home though, so you get no complaints from me...only from Clay.

We haven't done much more with the house. Clay did change out the light fixture above the sink. We're looking for ceiling fans as we want to change out the fan in the living room. There is a fan in the office, but I think we're taking it down and putting up a regular light. This is stuff we are waiting on though...everything costs so much money. We have learned that things will come in time, but we have to give it time. This is something that I am not very good at!

I ran the half marathon last Sunday! It was an adventure. I truly did love it. I really hope to keep at it and run another one.

That's all that is going on here. I just wanted to post and say Happy 10 month birthday to my beautiful little girl!

Yay for today!

Today is the day I pick Kim and Siobhan up from the airport! I have already texted Kim and she is scheduled to depart Birmingham, AL in just half an hour! Siobhan will not leave Fresno, CA until after work....so we have a little while to wait for her, but the flight isn't nearly as long. I can not wait to see them!

Flooring

Well.....after a VERY long 3 days, Clay and I are FINALLY finished with the kitchen and dining room floors. We worked on the kitchen late into the night on Monday and then worked all day on the dining room on Tuesday. After completing the entire floor, we realized it was really squeaky and very bouncy. I called my step-dad at that point to figure out what the heck was up with the floor. When laying the dining room, we left the carpet underlay on the floor and then put the laminate ontop of that. My step-dad said that it actually needed to come up or the laminate would start to slide apart and break and come up. Sooooo...as much as it sucked, we pulled apart the laminate floor in the dining room and then pulled up the carpet underlay and the carpet tracks. This part REALLY SUCKED. At that point, we realized the kitchen flooring was about 1/2 inch higher than the dining room flooring, so Clay went and got plywood and cut it up into pieces to try to bring it even. Clay started laying the floor while I was on my run this morning and when I came back I realized that the floor still was uneven (even after he put in the plywood). So, he took it apart and then put leveler down to try to level the spot that transitioned into the kitchen and the dining room. That had to dry FOREVER, so we went to the park and let Kaylee parade in the grass and play on the swing. Once the leveler was dry, Clay started laying down the floor again. After all that, the floor is finally laid down. It looks so much better than the carpet/blue and white linoleum combination that was there before. For those looking to redo their flooring with laminate, it isn't easy but the results are beautiful. Clay and I redid both of our bathroom flooring and that was immensely easy....laminate flooring is definitely tougher.

There really hasn't been a lot going on these days. In all honesty, I am bored out of my mind. I am trying to find projects to do around the house to take up some of my time, but some of them I just can't do by myself and some of them just cost way too much. I am thinking about painting again. I am not sure that I love the color in the living room/dining room/hallways so I may be painting over it. If I paint, I think I will paint it something a little more subtle. I just feel like the color it is now is too tan. We will see.

I booked a plane ticket to visit Jill in Key West for her wedding. Kaylee and I will be making the trip all the way across the country by ourselves (unless by some miracle Clay can come). It should be interesting. I just hope it all goes smoothly. I am excited though because I have never been to Key West.

Just 2 more weeks until Siobhan and Kim get here! I am soooooooo excited that I just can't contain myself. I can't wait to see them and spend time with them (even if it isn't that much time). Kate, Kim, and I will run the half marathon together September 13 and then Siobhan, Kim, Kaylee, and I will head back to Seattle to take Siobhan to the airport. Kim doesn't leave until that Monday, so we're thinking about getting a hotel room and staying there so that we don't have to come back to Oak Harbor and then leave again back to Seattle the very next day (that's a lot of hours!).

I am still looking for a job. It's proving to be fruitless. I don't want to settle and I want to make sure it's something that will allow me to have as much time with Kaylee as possible...and it's just hard to find something like that. I am trying to not get too wrapped up in it and enjoy my time with my special little girl. It's just difficult because there is so much that we want to do with the house and it all costs money...which I need a job in order to have. For now though, we'll stick with the projects that are easy fixes and don't cost that much (i.e. lights, door knobs, paint, and so forth).

Clay is "flight side" as of today....whatever that means. I think that it means that he could fly in the jet (though even now he won't actually "fly" it, they have to do so many hours in the backseat before they can fly the plane). It will probably be a few months before he actually gets to fly the plane. I know he's ready for that day to finally come. It's been 6 months since he has flown and he's getting a little antsy.

Kaylee is getting her top teeth in. Her left incisor just broke though and her right front tooth is getting ready to come in. Her pedi thinks she'll get all 4 top teeth at once and I really hope so...otherwise, she'll have a gap in her teeth where her left front tooth is suppossed to be. She'll still be adorable either way though. She has been insanely fussy though with all of these teeth coming in. She's sleeping less at night (if that's even possible) and it's just been really hard on her. I know her poor gummies hurt, so I try not to get too upset about the extra lack of sleep.

Anyway, that's all in the Greunke household right now. Hopefully, things will become more exciting soon!

Proud of my husband!

I just wanted to take the time to say that for the past 3 days, Clay has spent a TON of time working on house projects! I am very proud of him for working so hard. There is still a ton that needs to be done, but we will get there eventually. Clay spent all day Saturday redoing our guest bathroom floor. He spent all day Sunday redoing the masterbath floor. Yesterday he pulled out a ton of bushes and plants from our front yard (it's crazy the amount of stuff it had/still has in it). We are working on making the house better. Once the mass amount of stuff is pulled out of the front yard, we really don't know what we're going to do with it because it is just such an akward shape and to level it and bring in sod will cost us an huge sum of money....so we're going to have to get inventive and think of some other way to make it look nice. Clay plans to seed the back yard this fall and redo our kitchen/dining room flooring before Kaylee's first birthday party (as our five year anniversary gift to each other). I am so proud of my little handyman! He has really amazed me these past few days with his effort and his handymanship!

Toddlers and Tiaras

So, sitting here alone (Clay has a night sim) on this Friday night...I am belittled to watch TLC's show "Toddlers and Tiaras." It kills me watching these parents put their poor children in these pagents. One lady said she has spent over $65K on pagents for her daughter (who is in the category 0 - 4...meaning she is less than 4 years old!). Seriously, wouldn't you rather see that money spent on say...your child's college education?! I just don't understand the thrill behind making your child dress up and compete against other girls based on things such as "beauty" and "talent." What "talent" can a 2 year old have? I mean really! It will be these girls that grow up with eating disorders and turn to abusive men, drugs, or whatever when they no longer "feel good" about themselves. It's truly sad that parents subject their children to this sort of "standard." When did this become okay? I just don't get it. Shouldn't we, as parents, boost our child's self image and esteem? Shouldn't we show them that inner beauty means more than outer beauty? I just don't get it.

Cleaning schedule

Well...I decided I am going to attempt to get myself into a cleaning schedule. I want to try to attempt to keep the house a little cleaner. I am hoping to vacuum twice a week at least, do laundry once a week (Kaylee's diapers 3x per week), dust once a week (which I NEVER do), bathrooms once a week, yadda yadda yadda......I am going to make a chore list to do each day of the week and I will hopefully stick to it. :-)

A sore body...means you're doing something right!

Well, today Kate and I braved the road and completed 13 miles! Thankfully, we did not have to push the jogger as the hubbies watched the kiddos. It was a nice jog at a slow pace (2 hours and 16 minutes), but we did it. I can officially say I have run 13 miles. :-)

Hot!

It's an amazing 80 something degrees outside and it feels sooo hot! Crazy how your body adapts to the environment. KY and MS heat is way hotter than this, but it feels so much hotter here. Isn't that strange? Maybe the fact that in KY and MS, houses have air conditioning keeps it a little cooler. Hmmm....it's a heat wave. I am just glad we're not in Seattle because they're having record breaking temps right now (will be over 100 tomorrow) and they don't have air conditioning either. It's funny when the news tells you to go to the library, senior center, or shopping malls to "cool down."

Whoooo Hoooo!!

Kate and I ran 10 miles this morning! 10...that's amazing. The most we have done up to this point is just slightly over 8, so I am stoked. It's crazy, but 2 miles is really a jump. I was able to do it though and it felt awesome. We took turns pushing the jogger, so neither of us got too worn down from it. Next weekend, we're doing the big shibang...going for the full 13!! I really want to do it before the actual half just to tell myself that I really CAN do it...so here's to 13 next weekend! I can't wait!

Happy 8 months, Kaylee!

Today is Kaylee's 8 month b-day! I started and originally posted this blog saying that we didn't have a lot going on..how could I forget this big news! Kaylee is 8 months old. She is getting soo big, soo fast. She is crawling everywhere, pulling herself up onto furniture (and scaring the crap out of me doing it!), and she even has 2 teeth!

Okay, other than that...not too much going on! :-)

We did have a couple come and stay with us for nearly a week. That was fun. It was nice seeing Lilian and James. We're excited for them to move here. Hopefully, their house hunting went will end up in good spirits and they'll have a house to show for their week long quest to Whidbey Island! Hopefully.

Clay's birthday was this past week. He ordered a new laptop off QVC a few days before, so that is his birthday present. The only bad thing is that it doesn't ship until Aug. 13th. He's really excited about it though. It has all top of the line features...4 GB, 500 GB RAM, a Blue-Ray DVD player, and loads of other stuff that I know nothing about. It's HP's top notch computer and we got a great deal on it (thank God for easy-pay on QVC though..otherwise, we couldn't afford it). So, he'll get that laptop, and I'll take over his old one since the desktop is officially in internet decommissioning! Something is wrong with it and it just won't connect. We had some issues with it connecting in Meridian though, and I was told that the internet itself may have a virus on it (if that's even possible)...who knows. Anyways, I made Clay some birthday brownies and Kaylee and I both got him cards. We went to Maggie's 2nd birthday party that day, so it was a fun day! Clay got to hang out with all of the guys and have some beers and I held Kaylee as she slept in my arms (nice at the time...made an awful night for her though later). It was fun seeing all of the wives and meeting some new ones.

We FINALLY got a new jogging stroller. It was at the NEX for a grandtotal of $129. I just hope this one lasts a while. The tires have to aired up before I can use it, but I am excited to have a working stroller again. Clay tried to fix the other one but it just didn't hold up. I have heard good things though about InStep strollers and they have very good reviews. I, of course, would love a Bob....but I am not paying over 3x what I paid for a jogging stroller! Just not doing it. I am going to have to get used to the fixed wheel though. Fixed wheels are better for runners (versus walkers) but it will make it more difficult to walk with....makes it harder to steer. Oh well...can't have it all..and I would rather have it easier to manuver while running than walking (especially for those longer runs!).

I am still looking for a part-time job. Nothing on the island seems promising...though I feel like I am applying for anything and everything I see that is listed as part-time (with the exception of retail as I would have to work nights and wouldn't have anyone to watch Kaylee). I want something set in hours so I can have reliable childcare for Kaylee bugs. The extra money would be really nice...but I supposse everything happens for a reason and if we're made to be poor right now...then that's fine. :-) Clay will just have to learn to deal without his Taco Bell "diet" as he calls it!

We're building our mileage this week. Kate and I (and whoever else decides to run with us....we're collecting more people these days!) ran 2 miles on Monday, will run 7 tomorrow, 3 on Thurs, and 9 on Sat. It's nice to finally be getting closer to the 13 mile mark! I sent off the paperwork to register for the half last week and I am getting more and more excited about it! Plus, an added bonus, I will get to see Kim (who is flying from Meridian to run it with us) and Siobhan (who is flying from Lemoore to support us)! Very exciting!

Well, that's about all. I guess maybe I had more going on that I thought!

Pictures!

So, we did a photo shot today! I can't wait to get the pics back from our friend Kate! She did an awesome job at photo shotting us today. Kaylee and I wore our matching dresses (thanks Grammy!) and Clay wore a polo. We went to the beach and just spent an hour having fun taking pictures. Kate did a wonderful job (I have seen like 7 of the pics lol) and we are going to have to find some way to thank her (she did it for free). I can't wait to see the pictures and put some of them on our walls!

Yay!

I had a fun day today! A few girls met at the park today and had lunch. It was nice to get out of the house and chat with some other ladies! Then later in the day, Clay and I walked to the farmer's market and got some chocolate truffles! They have the BEST truffles at the farmer's market. They're insanely amazing! Even though Clay dropped 4 of them on our garage floor (which I am extremely sad about), I did get 4 of them all to myself! :-) Delicish!

Kaylee pulled herself up to stand in the pack-n-play today! Though she didn't stand for very long, and she grunted thru the struggling of pulling up her weight, she did it! She is growing up so fast. Tomorrow her knee pads will arrive (yes, the make baby knee pads...and if you saw her poor legs, you would feel the need for them too!). I am so excited to get them. I think we're also going to the pool again tomorrow. She (read me and Clay) had a lot of fun with her at the pool. It's good for her to get into the water and play. They do swimming classes for babies and I am thinking of joining a class. It'll be fun for both me and Kaylee! :-)

Anyway...that's all for now!

Ha ha

Why is it that feeding Kaylee has been a game lately? She will hardly eat unless she has her own spoon. So...it's been give her the spoon so she'll open her mouth...and then hurry up and shove in the food before she realizes what has happened!

I have tried giving her the little banana puffs and yogurt melts, but she doesn't quite get how to pick them up with her fingers yet. She likes how the banana puffs taste, but isn't so sure about the yogurt melts. :-)

Blah

Do you ever just feel....Blah?!

I am stuck in a rut and I need to pull myself out because I am driving myself insane! Everything these days just seems to feel so despressing. My jogger stroller is messed up. Clay tried to fix it with some fix-a-flat stuff, but the tire is crazy hard now. I really just want a new one and I keep trying craigslist, but noone is getting back to me about the dumb Bob strollers and I refuse to pay $350 for a stroller (plus we just can't afford it either). So it's been difficult to find how I am going to run lately.

I feel "fat." Yes, I know I am not fat...but you try having a baby and afterwards nothing fits you like before and then tell me that it isn't okay for me to FEEL fat. My closet looks so depressing...stuff that was big on me before having Kaylee now fits perfect or even a little snug. I hate it. I am almost down to my pre-pregnancy weight (just one more pound to go), but nothing fits the same! It's sooo annoying! I just so badly want to go on a shopping spree, but we don't have the money. It's so frustrating.

I want to work, but I am facing that hard decision of when it is okay to go back to work. I feel like so many wifes look down on me because I actually want to work and "be away from my daughter." Even though that's not it at all. I love Kaylee with ALL of my heart, but I need some me time too. Working would give us extra money too. I am facing a hard decision of when it is okay to go back to work and how much should I work. It's a very hard decision. I don't want to spend a ton of time away from Kaylee if I am not going to make enough to make up for the time I am missing with my daughter. Ideally, I would find something part time...but it's difficult to find something part time that will coincide with daycare...and that would allow me to make enough to pay for daycare.

I miss my friends. Yes, I have made some new friends while here in Oak Harbor...but it just isn't the same. I miss my Meridian girls. I miss Kim, Siobhan, and Shawna. I miss Ashley and Sadie and all of the other girls that left before I did (like Mandy). I just miss having a good friend to talk to and to feel free to just walk over to their house and just chat! It's just not like that here.

Anyways...like I said, I am stuck in rut and just need to pull myself out! I am annoying myself!

The interview...and other stuff

Well, the interview went okay. I doubt I will take the job even if it is offered to me though. It is a lot of hours (I would be working overtime at least once a month due to the monthly close). I wouldn't be allowed to take off certain days of the month because of the close either. The position isn't what I thought either. I would basically be the assistant to a staff accountant...not what the description described! The pay isn't great either...and to be away from Kaylee that much for little pay isn't worth it. Basically at the end of the year, after taxes and childcare, I would make about $8000. That's not a lot considering the amount of time I would be away from Kaylee. If the pay were better, I may consider it...but I just don't think this one is for me.

Other news...our jogger went kirput yesterday! We went to inflate the tires and I guess we overinflated it because it started seperating from the rim. Well, Clay thought he could fix it and punctured the tire. So, we had to walk it home on the flat tire (2 miles)...which I think messed up the rim. So, we're stroller hunting today. I am hoping that I can find a Bob on craigslist for pretty cheap. I'll probably try to go ahead and get a double so that I won't have to buy another one whenever we decide to have another baby. If I can find a single though for a good price, I may just get it...I can always sell it on craigslist later.

Two nights ago we had dinner with our friend, Mike Ammendola. That was great. He is a good friend of ours from when Clay was at OCS. He just got home from deployment and it was really great to see him again. We're doing dinner tonight with him as well. I guess that is one thing about the Navy....you almost always have the chance to meet up with old friends at some point in time.

Wish me luck!

I have a job interview! I applied for a financial accountant position with a local bank on friday and to my surprise, I got a phone call today asking me to come in for an interview. I don't know anything about the position, except that it is a financial reporting position and it's titled Financial Accountant II...whatever that means! I am excited. I am nervous. If this position pans out, I would have to find childcare for my little girl! I may just cry! While I love Kaylee with all of my heart, I am excited about what having a job could do for our family. I am also, however, saddened at the thought of not getting to spend as much time with her. Oak Harbor has left our pockets a little empty though. It is quite expensive to live here and the BAH does NOT cover our mortgage let alone the utlitities that we have to pay. Having an extra income would mean spending money, saving money (since we have done none of that since being here!), house expense money, and lets not forget the most important of all...Kaylee money! It would provide a cushion which 1. we don't exactly have right now and 2. would make me feel a little more secure in our finances! So...with all that, wish me luck! Pray that God will make this work in whatever manner it is suppossed to!

Happy Early 1st Father's Day, Clay!

Tomorrow we will celebrate Clay's 1st Father's Day. I gave him his presents early because, lets face it, I suck at keeping a surprise. I get so excited about it that I just can't wait to give it away!

Kaylee gave Daddy a mug with her handprint on the back. On the bottom of the mug, it says "Happy 1st Fathers Day 2009." The 2nd picture is what is on the front. The mug was filled with kisses for lots of kisses and hugs from lil Kaylee bugs.

I gave Clay a wooden Prowler replica. He has an F18 that he bought prematurely while CQing at the boat, thinking he would get Growlers (an F18 doing the Prowler mission). Though it is very likely that Clay will fly a Growler sometime in his career, I decided he needed the plane he would be flying in the near future to add to his "collection."

We love you, Clay! Happy Father's Day!

Kaylee won't sleep and it's driving me insane!

For the past 2 days, Kaylee's naps have been nonexistant! She slept today for 20 minutes (2 intervals of 10 minutes). I know she's exhausted. I have tried putting her in her crib and letting her cry, I have tried holding her, I have tried making her fall asleep in the car, running in the stroller with her...all of which have failed! I don't know what's wrong with the poor girl. She feel asleep in the highchair today. It only lasted for 10 minutes until Clay came through the door and she immediately woke up. I wasn't going to move her from the chair until she woke up. I tried to put her back down, but it didn't end in success. She was hyper to play again so I tried the jumparoo(usually the jumparoo will wear her out enough and allow for her to be put down)...no success! Her eating habits have changed as well. She was eating between 1 - 2 jars of baby food at every meal (3 times per day). The past two days she's only eaten 1/2 jar - 1 jar and I am lucky if I can get that without tricking her and shoving the food in her mouth when she opens it to cry! I think it could be teeth...but I don't see anything. She doesn't have a fever...she's not sick. She's tired. I'm tired. Ahhh...what do I do!?!

Paying off the bills!

Well, we officially have one less bill!!! We moved ourselves from Meridian, MS to Oak Harbor, WA in hopes to pay off the GTO. Though we didn't exactly make enough to pay off the loan, we almost did and we pulled the money needed out of savings and are officially sans one bill! Hopefully, come the beginning of next year, when we get our tax return back, we can pay off the Jeep and have no more car loans! Yay, for having one less bill!!!!

A bit much...don't you think???!!!

So, I am randomly looking on Jillian Drawers website (because I am slightly addicted thanks to Jess!) and I ran across this. I am all for saving the environment and being as green as possible, but I personally think this takes it to a whole new level!

http://www.jilliansdrawers.com/products/formom/menstrualcare/menstrualkit

It's a reusable menstrual kit. Yes, reusable. It's pads are washable and it uses this cup (called a DivaCup) as a tampon. To me, this is just gross. If you're that concerned with saving money and being green, try the Mirena (a IUC that allows you to not have a period and only has to be replaced every 5 years). It's a great form of BC and it'll save you money not having to buy those monthly products. I could just never see myself washing my blood off a reusable pad...but, that's just me. It is definitely cheap, and it says it'll save $150 for the first year, and more for every year after that....but I just wonder, how far will being green take us? I, personally, think that this is one of the most amuzing things I have ever seen and I could never see myself using this....EVER! For those of you who may, I hear perioxide gets blood out pretty well...happy washing!

Kaylee's 6 month checkup

Well, we went and had Kaylee's 6 month checkup today. She's growing quite well! She is 16 lbs 7 oz and 27 1/8 inches long! She's 50-75 percentile for weight and 75-90 percentile for height...quite the big girl! She's moved onto stage 2 foods last night. She did quite well with her oatmeal with bananas and applesauce. I gave her some carrots in stage 2 today and she loved them as always. She's growing up and getting big. The nurses were concerned about Kaylee's feet and hands...they are really cold and her feet continuously stay purple-ish in color. They were worried she may not be getting enough blood to them. The doctor said that she can hear and feel her pulses in them, so it's nothing to be concerned about. She suggested keeping socks on her at all times and just to bring her in if they got dark in color. She didn't seem concerned, she said she may just have cold hands and feet. Hopefully, it's nothing. She did well with her shots and is napping it out! She feel asleep in the car....enjoy the pics of her in her new carseat!

:-)

Kaylee got a new carseat!

We measured Kaylee and she is 27 inches long. That's not official as it wasn't done by a doctor, but by Clay and I, but we're pretty sure it's accurate. She only has 2 inches left in her infant carseat (the height restriction is 29 inches). So, instead of waiting, we went ahead and got Kaylee a new carseat today. It's soo cute! It's pink and brown (which I love because she's finally out of a blue and gray carseat and in something that looks like she's a girl....Clay hates it though since it's not gender neutral). When she takes her first ride in it...I will post some pics! :-)

It's been 6 months already???

Kaylee is 6 months old today! Six months...can you believe that?!? It's crazy how fast they grow. My little girl is becoming a (dare I say it) BIG GIRL! Gasp! She is rolling all over the place, trying so hard to scoot, sitting for a few minutes at a time, eating solids, and really just becoming so fun. I am a little worried about her appetite as she ate two jars of baby food the other day! Two jars in one setting...I think she may have her daddy's appetite and that just wouldn't be good for any of us! :-P She wants to feed herself, but I am just fearful it'll end up in a total mess. We have carpet in our dining room (another thing we plan to change) and I don't want baby food everywhere on the carpet. She still has no teeth...but I think they're coming. She puts anything and everything into her mouth and she'll wake up screaming trying to knawl her hands off. She's such a joy to be around. Clay and I are so blessed to have such a beautiful and healthy little girl!

Kaylee's new highchair!

We got Kaylee a new highchair from craigslist! Love it!

Sleep!!

I want, need, and desire sleep! :-) Kaylee hasn't slept through the night since she has been born. I, therefore, have not gotten a full nights sleep since about 8 months pregnant (that was 7 months ago!!!). I am tired and I want sleep! This had lead us, read Jen here since Clay sleeps through the crying anyways!, to let Kaylee cry it out at nighttime. We have done this for 2 nights now. The first night was EXTREMELY rough. I wound up sleeping on Kaylee's floor because it was so bad. She cried from 1:00 am to almost 2:30 am and then woke up again at 4:oo am. It was ROUGH. But, last night was GREAT! We put her down at 9:00 and she woke up at 11:00 and started crying. Clay went in there and tried to do the whole paci thing...and she fell asleep. She did wake up a few times during the night, but she only cried for a little while! She slept til 7:00 this morning! It was AWESOME. I am praying that this will continue and that I will finally have a baby that sleeps through the night!

Cloth diapering it!

So, I have decided to go solely with cloth diapers. It is definitely cheaper (though a big upfront investment) and it's way better for the environment (and our pocket books since it takes up room in our garbage can and we are only allotted so much trash before we have to start paying extra...$4.50 per bag!). Tangent: we pay over $200 every 2 months for water, sewer, and garbage! It's a set amount of water (so if we use less, we don't get money back, but if we use more, we pay more). Insanely expensive I tell you....end tangent! So, today I ordered 9 more cloth diapers and a toilet sprayer to wash the yuck off them into the toilet. Yes, it did cost a pretty penny...but, again, it's an upfront cost. I already have 13 cloth diapers, so I figure that this will be our stash and we'll be good to go without needing to wash them every day and a half (plus, I finally got Kaylee some pink ones!). We shouldn't have to buy diapers again at all unless we want to use them for traveling purposes. I am excited about this! The average person uses about $1500 in diapers by the time potty training comes around. The cloth diapers cost us a total of $400 for all of them. For those that can't do the math ;-), that's a savings of $1100!! That's for one child too! Assume we have two children. We have already spent the $400 initially and we don't have to buy any more...which saves yet another $1500! The savings continue to grow with the amount of children one has....yes, eventually the diapers may need to be replaced, but still....such a great investment! Plus, I really actually like them! They're not as gross as I originally thought they would be and they look sooooo cute on!

Almost done packing!!

Title says it all...woot woot!! :-)

Good news and sad news.

Well, the carpet is almost all finished being put into the house. The carpet people come today to finish up. They have the master bedroom, closet, and some loose ends to finish. They should be done by mid-day! Yay! We are almost completely finished painting. I need to paint the kitchen and that's all! The whole house is completely re-done. I am so excited to see how it looks with our stuff in it. I painted my accent wall in green and then did the dining room, rest of living room, hallways, bathroom, and master in a mocha/cappacino color. We (read Jen here) painted the bedroom twice because we first painted it a color and then decided we didn't like it. So, we just ended up painting it the same color as the living room since we loved that color so much. Kaylee's room is pink (of course) and the office is a blue/gray color. We've started to bring some of the boxes in so we won't have a ton (even though we still will) to do on Saturday when Abe and Rachel come to help us move our stuff in.

On a sadder note, we had to take poor Max to the vet yesterday. He was whippering when he stood and his tail is limp. We were afraid he had a broken leg or something. No broken leg, but it turns out that poor Max has a slipped disc and could possibly have to have back surgery (talk about our luck!). Poor guy is to be confined to no playing for 6 weeks. That'll be just a tiny bit difficult considering we have two dogs.....but we're going to try our hardest because we definitely don't want the poor guy to have back surgery! He got a shot yesterday and is on two medications to help with the pain....but you can tell he's still hurting. He couldn't even walk up the steps to get out of the garage this morning. Keep him in your prayers and pray that his back heals just fine without surgery!

Carpet is coming Thursday!

Tomorrow we will walk into our new home and spend the first night in our very own house! Clay and I are really excited about buying our first house....but with the joy of homeownership also comes the joy of fixing things. Our first big thing to fix in this house is definitely the carpet. I don't have any pictures of the sky blue, bleached, dog poop colored stained carpet, but once we're staying in the house, I will be sure to post some. The carpet is horrendous! I am so excited to have new carpet coming and being installed on Thursday and Friday. Carpet is way too expensive so we had to go with something of medium quality, so it won't be the best of carpet but it will be brand stinkin' new and it definitely won't be blue!

After picking Clay up from the airport and celebrating our homeownership together, I will probably go to Walmart or Home Depot and pick up the much needed paint as well! I will begin with one accent wall in the living room and then paint all of Kaylee's room. If I am not entirely bored of painting at that point, I want to paint the rest of the living room/dining room/kitchen area a golden beige/mocha color (I haven't quite decided). The only issue with this is that I will have to continue the painting of this color into the hallways...which is obviously a lot of painting. What the heck right..I have another week of living without our furniture and out of a suitcase and the internet won't come until Wednesday I believe...so why not just paint and get it all out of the way! We're also painting an accent wall in the office/guest bedroom but we haven't quite decided on a color (I think I want to copy Siobhan's idea and do a navy theme...which may lead to a navy accent wall). Lots of painting to do and I am excited about it. This is after all the joyous part of homeownership...being able to do whatever you want!

We're Homeowners!!

Well, I made the long 3 hour trip to Oak Harbor from Rachel and Abe's house this morning at 6 am and signed our closing docs at 9:30! We had some issues at the closing, but it was all worked out and we got a new fridge and dishwasher out of it...so all is well!! I stayed in Oak Harbor until I could get the keys and then made the 3 hour trip back (it went fast though thanks to Kim!). Kaylee, Sandy, Max, and I are staying with the Cooks until we leave Saturday to pick Clay up from the airport. We'll all stay in our first home for our first night TOGETHER! How exciting!

So, today was a great day! We closed on our house (finally!!!!!), Siobhan and Jeff found out they're headed to Lemoore which is what they wanted (though I am very sad they won't be coming here), Aaron (my step-brother) and his wife had their baby, and Clay finished the awful, dreaded SERE school....what a big day! I can't wait to see my hubby and open the door together to our new home!

There might be an end in sight!

Well, I got word from my realtor that despite everything the loan documents were sent to the title company yesterday. My realtor thinks we'll be able to close on Thursday or Friday....which would be PERFECT. Clay comes home Saturday and I don't want him to have to worry about not having a place to live since he starts class on Wednesday. We still won't be able to move our stuff in because the carpet needs to be replaced, but I spoke with the carpet guy and he said if the carpet is purchased on Friday, he could install it on Thursday/Friday of the next week. This wouldn't be soo bad because we can get the moving truck for Saturday. Our friend Abe is coming to help us move and he can't come until the weekend anyways....so hopefully, it'll work out perfectly. Plus, the guy was extremely generous and said that even though the 35% discount for carpet ends this month, he'll hold the discount for us until May 8th (that's a HUGE savings for us).

On a different note, Clay enters his "FUN" stage of SERE school today. He's been camping in the woods now for nearly a week and is already probably starving and extremely weak...but today the true torture (being literal here) begins. I know he'll be fine, but I just hope it isn't too horrible for him. Clay...Kaylee and I love you soo much!!!

Kaylee is sick....which adds to my amount of stress. She isn't running a fever, but the poor girl is extremely congested and coughing like crazy at nighttime. I am pretty sure it's just a cold, but I just feel so awful for her. I contemplated taking her to the doctor (though she doesn't have one here yet and we're not re-enrolled in tricare prime yet because Clay hasn't done it)...but what good will that do? Unless she has a fever or is extremely irritable, I just want to stay as far away from public places as possible...especially with everything going on right now with this swine flu.

It looks like there may be an end in sight to all of this craziness called Jen's life! I am soo ready to have a place to live and to begin the journey of home ownership. Closing can't come soon enough!

This SUCKS!

I hate home buying. This is the WORST experience of my life. It's awful..the whole procedure. The appraisal came back. The work orders MUST be completed before closing....which means that the seller must purchase and have the carpet completely installed before we can even close. I called the carpet guy and if the carpet is ordered today (unlikely) then it could possibly get here Wednesday...even if it is ordered today, it may not come until Friday. This means we're looking at mid next week for the carpet to be installed...which means we're looking at May 6-8 to close! This is RIDICULOUS! The seller doesn't want to have to buy the carpet and my realtor thinks they may walk away from the deal....which leaves us with nothing (no home, no money, no where to stay....nothing!!!!). I am soo upset with this situation. If they walk away, we will rent. We're not wasting another month to month and a half with this whole situation again. We need somewhere to live. We have been here for 2 1/2 weeks and it is so upsetting. I just want somewhere to put my stuff and call my home already!

Sandy and Max are reunited with the fam...minus Clay

Kaylee, Rachel, Abe, and I all made the adventure out to Whidbey Island from Rachel and Abe's house yesterday to pick up Sandy and Max. It was a neat adventure...we rode the Port Townsend ferry from the island they live on to Whidbey Island. Then we drove and they saw our (hopefully if we ever close) new house. We had a bite to eat and then went and picked up the doggies. Sandy and Max were soo excited to see me (as I was them!). After getting them and becoming broke paying for the boarding bill, we set out for the long adventure home. Even though Sandy and Max are in a crate in the garage, at least they're here with Kaylee and I.

On the way home, we drove through Deception Pass and rode the Edmonds/Kingston Ferry back onto the island that Rach and Abe live on. Deception Pass is absolutely beautiful and the Kingston Ferry is the nicest I have been on (I have now been on 4 ferries....Clinton/Mukilteo, Seattle/Bainbridge Island, Port Townsend/Keystone, and the Edmonds/Kingston). The ferry rides are quite unique and something to experience. The views of the water and mountains are amazing.

It's bout time...

Finally, the stinkin' guy did the appraisal. Unfortunately, he uploaded it extremely late in the day...so we have to wait until Monday or Tuesday to see what it says (it has to go to the underwriters first). We do know that he appraised it for exactly what we had agreed on with some "work orders." The seller may not be too happy about the work orders and we may have to go back to the negotiating table (which will be a pain). I hope the darn lady just fixes the stuff and we can all move on! I just want to close on the house already. If for some reason she won't fix the stuff that the VA says needs to be fixed, then we either pay for it to be done or she can walk away. At this point, however, we can't walk away because the appraiser evaluated the house at the agreed upon price. Who knows what is going to happen...hopefully, it will all work out just fine! I just want a "home" by the time Clay gets back from SERE.

Ahh the joys of house buying!

I swear that I am going to go insane in this house buying process. Shows like House Hunters and My First Place make the process look so easy and fun. Boy oh boy are they ever misleading! We were suppossed to close April 22nd, we had hoped to close the 14th, and we're still in limbo as to when (if ever!) we will close. The appraiser has failed to do the appraisal and has come up with every excuse that there is. We're paying out the rear for Sandy and Max to be kennelled and it's just getting sooo expensive! Not to mention the fact that the lady who is watching them doesn't even want them there (Sandy is misbehaving quite a bit). She said we could keep them there until we close, but that they ARE NOT allowed back. Fun times I tell you...Fun times!