Swoon...

My husband knows the way to my heart.

I worked a normal day today, 9-5, and when I walked in the door I could smell food cooking. And as I made my way into the house, I could see amazing lines in our carpet from where it had been recently vacuumed. I love carpet lines. And a quick peek into the laundry room showed that the clothes I put into the wash are not only clean, dried, but are folded. And as I give the cook a hello kiss, he goes on to inform me that he has also cleaned our bathroom.

I was swooning just from the fact that food was cooking when I walked into the door. And then on top of that, the entire house that I/we had neglected to clean this weekend is completely done. I have officially married Superman. I love my husband for taking the stress off my shoulders. And now we can relax and enjoy our week without having to catch up on housework.

He is amazing. And I am going to reflect on this moment next time he annoys me. =)

Love,
LiLu

Pregnancy Survey

Enjoying a lazy weekend here with the hubs! Nothing terribly new here. Just trucking along...

How far along?: 15 weeks and 4 days

Total weight gain: At last apt, 3lbs. But I am certain that I have gained more weight than that. I am thinking probably at least around 5 lbs. Hopefully not more! I need to keep walking!

How big is Baby?: The size of an avocado. 4-5 inched long and 3-5oz.

Maternity clothes?: Yep! Maternity work pants. And they are fabulous! They are stretchy and amazing. I still fit into my jeans and regular tops, but I can also fit into maternity wear.

Stretch marks?: None yet!

Sleep?: Weird dreams...but good sleep still.

Movement?: Not yet. Hopefully next week or the week after.

Food cravings?: Um everything. Pickles, chinese food, anything that resembles comfort food, oreos, and apples. Why can't I crave healthy things?

What I'm looking forward to: Movement!

Milestone: Hmm...I guess moving into maternity wear would be a milestone.

How's Mom?: I am seriously getting annoyed with people who are counting down the days until their baby comes out. Maybe annoyed is not the right word....I'm not sure what the right word is. But I for one am seriously happy that baby will be staying in my belly for another 6 months. I am so not ready for sleepless nights and labor. Maybe one day I will be counting down too, but for right now I am more than happy to have a baby in my belly and keep it that way.

Can't have it both ways.

Hello, my name is Debbie Downer, and this is what I have to say about this week:

Being home all day long by myself is hard. Going back to work is probably just as hard. I can't not work, I can't change that work is different from what I'm used to. It's a catch 22, and I just need to buck up and put a smile on my face.
I miss home, I miss my family, I miss my job, and I miss my friends. I don't know if this is just pregnancy hormones or what, but crying over things I can't change isn't going to help. I can't work for my old company. The commute would just be too far. But I still miss it. I miss the culture, the attitudes of the people, having more responsibility, using a system that is easy to navigate and not freaking numbers for everything. Ugh. I know that the longer I work there, the more it will make sense, but I feel like I just want something that is the same as it was back home. Is a little normalcy too much to ask?

I am so thankful for a husband who takes care of me. I think that I would be in the car and driving home if he wasn't here. After a rough day at work, he hugged me, made me dinner, cleaned up after, and told me it would all be okay. I can't compare this to my last job. Even though it's in the same industry, I am not doing the same job. I need to think of it as a whole new opportunity. I am sure that I have been placed here for some reason, now I just need to have patience and an open mind to find out why.

I hope this gets better.
L

Easily Lost

Easily lost... This term could be tattooed on my forehead. Ask my husband or anyone who really knows me: I am horrible with directions. Not only do I occasionally ignore the directions in my hard, I will go off of the direction I think I should be going in. Or I will try to remember how we got there last time. And it usually does not work in my favor. Today was no exception. It was my first day of work, and I had to drive a few towns over to go to my orientation. I pinky promised J that I had the mapquested directions pre-programed into my phone and I was good to go. Low and behold I get lost. Thank goodness I gave myself LOTS of time to make this drive because I could have easily been late. And I ended up finding the building, only after I re-mapquested it about three times. Happy ending to a story that will repeat it's self over and over again. 

As I drove home from my adventures in orientation I thought about how easily lost I can get not only with driving but in life as well. I know all the right steps, the things I should be doing but how often am I taking action? I know my faith life is lacking, but what am I doing about it? I know I should be getting out and walking every day, but am I? I know how to manage my time and make sure that my house is running well, but am I taking the time to do those things? Much like I needed to continue to mapquest my directions, I have to continually remind myself of the life I want to live. There are things that are important to me and they need to be at the top of my To Do list, not the bottom. 

God first, Husband second, Family third, Friends fourth. Everything else will just have to wait it's turn. 

A girl's gotta have priorities and a good To Do list!

Love,

L

No more HouseWife-ing

I am pretty excited, I accepted a job at a local bank here. And I have to say that I am so glad to no longer be a house wife. And not because I think that being a house wife (or Domestic Engineer as Wife on the Roller Coaster calls it)  is bad, I just think that I am bad at it. I am horribly lazy. When I have all the time in the world to clean the house, walk the dogs, and make dinner I end up sitting around watching TV, reading books, and just generally being a lazy bum. I am not a good housewife. I am a much better housewife when I have less time. The less time I have, the more productive I am with my down time. And I love when J and I share the cooking and cleaning.

The job that I took is only part time so I should be able to still do a lot of the cooking, cleaning, and walking the dogs. Or more like half of the cooking and cleaning. Just busy enough to keep me out of trouble.

I am so glad to be working again! There were a lot of prayers from my family and friends that I would find the right job and that I would wait for God's plan in my life. And it looks like our prayers were answered! God is good!

Love,
L

Pregnancy Survey 14 Weeks

This whole pregnancy things just keeps chugging along! I am trying to enjoy every minute and not rush it. And to be honest, at this point the lil monster in my belly can wait a good long time before he (or she) makes an appearance. I am not ready for you baby-no-name! =) 

This will be short and sweet. 

How far along?:  14 weeks

Total weight gain: 3lbs. Gonna keep on walking so I can eat all the wings I want!

How big is Baby?: The size of a navel orange.

Maternity clothes?: Not yet. Pants are getting tighter though

Stretch marks?: Not yet! While I am sure that I will get them, none have showed up yet. 

Sleep?: I've had a few bad dreams, so restless nights, but for the most part I am still sleeping like a rock. I am waking up a happier person though. That is weird!

Best moment this week? Having dinner with my husband every night this week. I am really enjoying the time we spend together. He didn't work on Monday, so we spent the whole day together. We even went on a very long walk that was super nice. 

Movement?: Not yet. Hopefully in a few weeks?

Food cravings?: Apples everyday. Pickles are yummy. Food in general sounds good. And spicy food is amazing. I will think of something and then HAVE to have it. 

What I miss: Wine. And Lambic. I think I need to pick up another bottle of sparkling cider to hold me over =)

What I'm looking forward to: Feeling my wiggle worm move.

Milestone: Officially in the 2nd trimester!

How's Mom?: Eh.... I don't feel pregnant. And since I am less tired I need to be using my time more wisely. But on the bright side, I am much less nervous about having a baby now than I was when we first found out. 

Accomplishments

I can understand a little bit why people say the 2nd trimester is the best. I hardly feel pregnant. I am not as tired as I have been and because I haven't been as tired I finally got caught up on all the things that needed to get done around here. I swear my washing machine was running for 8 hours straight. And everything has been folded and put away. My floors are vacuumed and mopped. My house is clean and I managed to make dinner yesterday! Ahhhh....The accomplishments of a housewife. My life is a little boring. But I am happy to be here.

I had a little breakdown the other day with the hubs. I am having a hard time adjusting to life here. Not that I don't like it here, but I just am feeling useless. And on my walk with J we got to talking about my job search and how it's going and how I am liking being here and I started crying. Missing home, missing my family and friends, missing being a productive member of society =) weighs on me. And my hubs, being the sweet idiot that he is offered to let me move back home. I would have a job, I would have family and friends, but I would be missing something pretty important. Him. And I would rather be sad here than lonely without him. Home is where my heart is and my heart is with my husband. I am a Navy wife. A this is is part of my life as a Navy wife.

God has a plan. I know he does. I'm just not sure what it is yet.

Love,
Lindsey

Pregnancy Survey 13 Weeks

Wow... No post's all week. I am a loser! And it's not for lack of time unfortunately. It's honestly because I have nothing new to talk about. I could talk about looking for a job, missing my friends and family, actually liking being up here in WA (minus the friends and family part) but none of it is really new. Only thing new is baby is still growing. I had a new apt on Friday and really liked the doctor. I think that I will try to request him again. I know that he may not (or will probably not) deliver the lil monster I'm growing, but it might be nice to see a familiar and nice face every week. He was super patient with me, answered all of my questions, and actually laughed a little. I like people with a sense of humor and he has one. All good in my book!

Nothing terribly new with the babes. Doctor said I was doing perfectly and so was baby. I'm not worried if he's not worried. Baby slept thru the apt. When we were looking at him, it looked like he was cuddled up on the placenta like a pillow. It was pretty cute.

That's all that's new here! On to the survey:

Survey Time:

How far along?: A little farther than I originally thought. About 13 weeks and 5 days.

 How big is baby?: The size of a lemon. 3 inches and 1.5oz

Weight gain?: 3lbs. I am a little worried about gaining too much weight during my pregnancy and so I am happy with 3 right now. Not that this is really affecting my eating. I still eat what I want, I am just trying to make walking a priority. 

Stretch marks?: None yet

Maternity clothes?: Still regular clothes. I use a belly band with my smaller sized pants. But the low cut jeans are still fitting like a dream!

Sleep?: Perfect. I sleep like a rock. Minus the nightly pee. 

Best moment this week?: Seeing baby again. I wish J could have been there. We didn't know that he would see the baby at any appointments before my 20 weeks one and so I told him he didn't need to be there. Well, I was wrong. I think. 

Food cravings?: Wing. Only boneless though. My aversion to meet on the bone has gotten worse. And apples. Bakes apples, apple juice, dried apples, apples and peanut butter. Oh and I finally had a pickle. AMAZING. Who knew pickles tasted better while pregnant. 

Gender?: Still thinking boy, but I'm happy as a clam either way. 

Movement?: Not yet. 3 weeks probably?

Belly button?: I could see my belly button ring thru my shirt so I know my belly is sticking out a little more. But the belly button it's self is still normal. 

What I miss?: Being able to eat whatever I want and not worrying about things like lunch mean, nitrates and fish.

Labor signs?: No. Praying they stay away for a long time! 

What I'm looking forward to?: The baby moving. And 2nd trimester!

Milestone?: 2nd trimester is only a few short days away!

Pregnancy Survey 12 Weeks

I am a little over 12 weeks now and still feeling great! Not much new this week. I see my doctor at the end of the week and so fingers crossed that everything is just truckin' along!

Survey Time:

How far along?: 12 weeks

 How big is baby?: 3 inches long! About the size of a peach. 

Weight gain?: As of Wednesday, 2lbs. Hopefully no more than 3 lbs.

Stretch marks?: None yet!

Maternity clothes?: Belly band. Though I would prefer sweats! 

Sleep?: Like a rock!

Best moment this week?: Visiting with my friends from Portland, and In-Law's came to visit! This was also the hardest. I cried when they left!

Food cravings?: Wings. Boneless only. And HOT.

Gender?: Guamanian test says boy =) We won't find out for 8 more weeks.

Movement?: Not yet. Hopefully 4 more weeks.

Belly button?: Still perfectly in!

What I miss?: Drinking wine. 

Labor signs?: Please not for a long long time!

What I'm looking forward to?: Showing. I just look a little chubby.

Milestone?: Last week of the 1st trimester!

eh....

Apparently finding a job on my lovely little island is TOUGH! I feel like I keep looking and looking and I qualify for nothing! I wish that I could go back to my bank. I wish that they would move just a little further North so I could work there again. You hear that Uncle Ray? Take over a few more banks in WA please! Nearly every job I look at is wanting experience that I just don't have. So my options may be limited to barista and banker....Which I love both. Come on Starbucks! Start hiring here! =)

So for now I will just keep swimming...just keep swimming...

I know that God will provide. He is good!!!

Love,
L