Blue

 Blame it on preggo hormones but today I’m a little sad. I’m really getting hit by the reality that this is the last trip I’ll be able to make  until Dew and I are out of the military in Nov of 2008. Why?

  I’ll have two babies and airlines only allow you to hold one infant on your lap at all times. So I’d have to buy a  second ticket, and what’s the point in trying to control two babies in a crowded airport if Derek isn’t with me? Right now, his flight is  SO hard up for people, it’s ridiculous.  They just deployed thirty more people and are completely blacked out on vacation for the next six months. (in essence, even after the baby is born, Derek won’t be able to take any time off to spend with him.) So no hubby help in taking care of two babies under the age of two  on a trip is a hellacious concept.  On the other hand, if Derek gets deployed, I’ll be staying a little while with the inlaws and then moving down to Texas for the remainder of the time. (which will also be a hellacious trip because I’ll have to drive with the two under the age of two. )  Derek’s kinda been hinting that he’d volunteer to deploy just for the sake of the extra money we’d be making. I’d kinda been hinting that if he volunteers to go, I’ll murder him before he could be sent.  I know it’s a very righteous thing to do, but if he’s gonna get sent, it’ll happen whether he volunteers for it or not. I’d rather be poor and happy with my alive hubby than miserable with a little extra cash and the uncertainty of his safety.

Anyway, the entire point of this long winded blog is, although I’ve gotten to see 99% of my pals, one day with each friend just never feels like enough. I know I’ll be back in less than two years, but geez, it was hard enough  to wait to see you guys for six months. Plus, a few pals from San Antonio won’t be able to visit at all. Suck.

 I know it’s silly because you’re all such good friends and family and I know we’re so much more fortunate these days than twenty years ago. We have email, blogs and webcams. I’m just selfish and enjoy seeing you all on a weekly basis.  I finally got to see my little sisters for the first time in almost 11 years. It was *phenomenal*. My stepmom Tina and my sisters Kendra and Jessica came to my Grandma Lee’s house. It was only for an hour and a half but they were all so cute playing around together.  I didn’t know you could miss someone so strongly when they were sitting right there in front of you. I smiled so much and laughed so hard my cheeks hurt.   Then I got home and did the hormonal preggy thing again. “Geez, I’m not going to get to see them again for another year and a half… after the last 11 years, I don’t want to wait that long.”

 My grandma tells stories about how her parents didn’t see my uncles until they were three years old and they didn’t have phone or email, just letters. There are so many women who have dealt with harder times than I have and I truly admire the strength they had to have. I guess I just need to toughen up and borrow a little of it. This feeling will pass and I’ll be stronger the next time I think about it all. I just needed to vent.  Thanks ya’ll. =)

Still in Texas (and loving it)

Here’s the pictures we’ve taken so far. There’s a couple at that link that are from my and Dew’s trip to North Carolina and the beach. (there’s some pictures of a house on there, those are for Dew)For those of you who live in Texas, it’s so great to be home again. I was driving around last night  and passed by someone in a car I knew. I love this town…. It’s so friendly.  For those of you who don’t live here, don’t worry, I’m missing the crap out of you all too. We had a great fourth of July. My brother tried to blow up Bobby and I when we set off fireworks. I don’t exaggerate when I say this: we actually felt the shockwave from the artillery shell he was goofing around with….

But it was all good clean fun that resulted in only minor fire damage to Bobby’s shirt. (Clare and Michy, he did NOT attempt to blow up our propane tank.)

 I love you all!

Personality Test Junkie

Okay so I started taking this test and got halfway through it when I realized it was 25 pages long. After having taken it, I decided  I wasn’t going to  have wasted all that time. So here’s my results:

The Everything Test

There are many different types of tests on the internet today. Personality tests, purity tests, stereotype tests, political tests. But now, there is one test to rule them all.

Traditionally, online tests would ask certain questions about your musical tastes or clothing for a stereotype, your experiences for a purity test, or deep questions for a personality test.We’re turning that upside down – all the questions affect all the results, and we’ve got some innovative results too! Enjoy

Personality You are more emotional than logical, more concerned about others than concerned about self, more religious than atheist, more loner than dependent, more workaholic than lazy, more traditional than rebel, more engineering mind than artistic mind, more idealist than cynical, more leader than follower, and more extroverted than introverted. As for specific personality traits, you are religious (93%), intellectual (70%), romantic (57%), adventurous (56%).

Stereotypes Emo Kid 78% Punk Rock 73% Young Professional 70%

Life Experience Sex 13% Substances 5% Travel 18%

Politics Your political views would best be described as Conservative, whom you agree with around 61% of the time.

Socioeconomic Your attitude toward life best associates you with Middle Class. You make more than 82% of those who have taken this test, and 8% less than the U.S. average.

If your life was a movie, it would be rated PG. By the way, your hottness rank is 69%, hotter than 79% of other test takers.

TAKE THE TEST
brought to you by thatsurveysite

I only got rated PG because I’ve used the “B” word as a curse word. (Bobby says I belong in a Disney movie.)Darn my potty mouth.

Love to all!

           IT’S A BOY!!!!!!

So now comes the hard part, choosing the name. Unfortunately, that’s  where Derek and I have the hardest time with pregnancies. (aside from the actual delivery, that’s *slightly* tougher.)

 Unfortunately, Derek didn’t get to find out at the same time as I did. I was in Radiology and he was in dental at the same time with a mandatory appointment. (the military is a schtickler  for healthy teeth.) Anyhow, by the time he got done, he spent half an hour looking for radiology but the sign actually said “Digital Imaging” and he got confused. So instead he went to the store and bought me video games! Hooray! The funny part about his gift was he bought two cards, one said “It’s a boy!” and the other said “It’s a girl!”. I opened both and they were equally cute. Derek had really been hoping for another girl (because he’s so totally head over heels for Caity) and a boy means he’ll have to toughen up.  Either way, we’re both thrilled that all the fingers and toes are there and he’s really active so they said that’s a great sign of his health.

I love you all!

21 Week Update:

How your baby’s growing: Your baby now weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is approximately 10 1/2 inches long. His eyebrows and eyelids are fully developed. And you can certainly feel him move. He’s oblivious to your schedule, though, so don’t be surprised if he starts working out just when you’re settling down for the night.

Back From the Beach

   Vacation to the beach is over. We’re still in North Carolina with Derek’s friend Matt  and will be till probably  Wednesday or Thursday. I’m not sure how much longer I can go without my baby girl to squeeze. Derek keeps taking the phone from me and hiding it so I won’t call her as much as I do, but I just *love* to hear her little voice on the phone when she’s laughing or talking to her toys.  When did I become such a Mom? I guess not being Caity’s mommy right now is causing me to act out on others. For example: Earlier today I cleaned Matt’s kitchen because Mr. Bachelor man  had left shrimp heads in the garbage can for almost a week and they SMELLED. He lives in his parent’s super huge and super rich house but they’re currently staying in Florida in a beach home. It just killed me to have this huge and beautiful kitchen smelling like rotting seafood and covered in ants because  the food encrusted dishes had been sitting around for a week.
 
     Anyhow, the vacation to the beach was awesome and the sunburn I got is still a little tender. YES, I used sunscreen and YES I applied it twice. It’s not so bad. However, poor Derek was not one to take my advice and is still tomato colored. He’s so tender I’m not even allowed to kiss him without asking permission for fear I might accidentally bump into his red nose or firey shoulders.  The poor guy flinches whenever anyone moves within a five mile radius around him. We didn’t see any sharks or jellyfish but we did have a scare that one might be in the area. There was this HUGE dark mass moving along the beach side and nobody could see what it was. It turned out to just be a gigantic school of fish but they still made us get out of the water until it passed.  We got to walk up and down the beach front strip at night and that was…. interesting. People  don’t really care so much for clothing in the beach area so they typically find the smallest amount of material to constitute as a swimsuit (and pay the largest amount of money for it) and walk around all day  checking themselves to make sure they’re still tucked into their tiny spandex  covers.  I’ve never seen white people so tan before.  I know that probably came out sounding wrong but it’s the truth, they were so dark skinned it was unreal. I wonder what their skin will look like in 15 years?
 
        We roomed with Matt and his girlfriend and had a balcony that was cadi-corner to the beach so we could see it pretty well. Matt and his girlfriend kept breaking up and getting back together several times a day so Derek and I spent most of our time holding hands and strolling on the beach while they argued in our hotel room. Hard times for them, good times for us! I looked pretty funny with my pregnant belly hanging out of my two piece swimsuit but fortunately not any worse than some of the overweight 50 year old women who also felt the need to don a two piece. I didn’t feel like many people were staring at me when I was standing next to them. (besides, Derek told me I looked cute in it!)

      Now that we’re back, I’m looking forward to  heading back and getting my baby. I need a hug so badly from her. She doesn’t even sound upset when we talk to her on the phone, she sounds more annoyed.  “Geez Mom, I’m playing, this is the second time you’ve called me today. I told Grandma to unplug the phone…..”
 I know she’s only one but she’s got attitude.
  We’ll be in Texas this upcoming Saturday and I’ll find out the new baby’s sex the day before that.  Here’s the update I missed while we were out on the beach:

20 Weeks

Your baby is at the halfway point, congratulations! Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. She’s also around 10 inches from head to heel.  A greasy white
substance called vernix caseosa coats her entire body to protect her
skin during its long submersion in amniotic fluid. (This slick coating
also eases the journey down the birth canal.)

Your baby is
swallowing more, which is good practice for her digestive system. She’s
also producing meconium, a black, sticky substance that’s the result of
cell loss, digestive secretion, and swallowed amniotic fluid. This
meconium will accumulate in her bowels, and you’ll see it in her first
messy diaper.

Tomorrow
    Today I drove Caitlyn and the pets to Indiana to spend the week at Grandma’s house while Dew and I go on our little “honeymoon.”. It hurts SO BADLY to leave my girl behind me.

She was doing fine until she saw me getting my purse and walking away without her. That’s when the tears came and my heart broke. I felt horrible even though I’m SO excited about the vacation.

     So I don’t suppose I’ve mentioned that I’m a brunette now?

 I have been for a few weeks now, but walking every day in the summer sun has quickly brought out my red/blonde roots. I figured brown would be fun to try, plus I looked like mom for the first few days.

Here’s my five month belly shot:

I’m hoping to offer you a much tanner one for the six month photo. (after the beach trip and all!) In a week and three days, we’ll know the sex. Can’t tell I’m excited, can you?
 Anyhow, I’m not sure how often I’ll be able to check my email or update the xanga while I’m gone for the next week. We’re leaving tomorrow, so pray for a safe drive.
Love to you all!

Set in Motion

      Well, Derek had only been able to get a week of vacation time off and it was the week before I left for Texas. His military flight had blacked out all dates from July to December  for leave… *le sigh* He and I had planned on taking a trip to North Carolina and visit his old buddy, plus visit Myrtle Beach while we were there. (I’ve never been to a beach.) We had started planning this back in January and hoped to take  it as our honeymoon since we never got to take one two years ago.  Anyhow, I started this daycare job and we’d just figured he could take a week of vacation to the beach and I’d just take my vacation to Texas. It would suck to have to take two seperate ones because we’d  literally not  get to see each other for three weeks.  Well, last night Derek decided he wanted me to come. In this period of his corporate decision, my few clients called to say I wasn’t needed for that week. So now I just have one day with one client to clear up and I’m free to go. =) I just sent out an email asking for  available providers to call me with their rates so I can pass it on to the client.
 
 The point to all this is, HOORAY! I actually get to take a romantic vacation with my husband! Caitlyn and the animals are going to Grandma Williams’ house to spend time with everyone for a few days, which is perfect since she and I will be gone for two weeks and won’t get to see them then. So I’m very excited to get to see a beach and get a chance to be a bum with my hubs.  I even bought a swimsuit that fits my preggo body.  (Yes, I know I’ll be funny looking in it, but I don’t care. Who the hell will ever see me again to make fun of me for it?)

   So starting Wednesday, we’ll be on vacation to the beach! We’ll be back in time a week later for the sonogram and you’ll all be updated on the trip and the baby’s sex at that point. (So far, the votes are 4-boy and 4-girl. Some of you aren’t placing your votes!) 
   Love to you all!

Walking!

   So today, I had a one year old and a three year old in my care. I’ve gotta say they were hyper, (but so SWEET!) and in order for Caitlyn to keep up, she had to start walking! I don’t think she’s realized she can do it yet, but I’m encouraging her to continue. She was standing about two feet from the highchair on one side and  the wall on the other side and chose to take about three steps towards the wall. It wasn’t enough to get her there before she went “Oh crap…”  and fell on her butt.  She stands now without having to hold onto anything and has pretty decent balance. The little one year old girl we had today only learned to walk last week and she’s already going like a pro, so by next week, Caity oughta be running! I’ll have video of it hopefully by sometime next week. (did you really expect to not get a million pictures and videos?)

 The kids I had today were really cute and funny, but again with the snotty noses and sneezing on things. Who decided it was a good idea to let the germaphobe handle kids..? Oh, yeah. That was me…. I just don’t understand why evey other kid has snot running into their mouths on a 24 hours basis and my sweet girl  has had maybe two yucky nose days in her whole life.  Either way, the kids were smart and relatively cooperative.   (hooray!)

In case I haven’t already stated this, I’ve been able to feel the baby kick for a few weeks now and notice it the most in the evening when I settle down with a book.  I dunno if he’s kicking to move himself around in my womb  or if he’s dancing but it’s not just a little movement, it’s a darn tap dancing show.

19 Weeks

 Your baby weighs about 8 1/2 ounces, and he measures 6 inches, head to bottom — about the length of a small zucchini. His arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of his body now. His kidneys continue to make urine, and the hair on his scalp is sprouting. This is a crucial time for sensory development: Your baby’s brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. If your baby is a girl, she has an astonishing 6 million eggs in her ovaries. They’ll dwindle to fewer than two million by the time she’s born.

Love to you all!

PS, Two weeks from tomorrow, I’ll be in San Angelo!

All That She Wants is Another Baby

Yesterday was the baby dr. appointment and Dew finally got to hear the new baby’s heartbeat. We got a suprise when the midwife (Joann) told us we could find out in only two weeks what the baby’s sex is.

So here’s the pool, submit your guesses.

BOY                                                  GIRL

Amanda (I dunno, I thought Caity was a boy too.)               Derek (he was right about Caity’s sex.)

Wendeho                                                  My Mom (she was wrong about Caity’s sex)

Mich (only because she wants to call him Thor)                  Mom-in-law 

Tio Bobby                                                    Brandino & Eric  

    So pick your sides and bet money if you want. It doesn’t matter if you win or lose, I get to keep the money. What? I’m doing all the work here! (just kidding.) Anyhow, at the Dr’s appointment we found out I’ve gained four pounds since last month. They told me that was healthy and normal but I’m still really freaked out about gaining another 70lbs like I did with Caity. I’d expected I’d be putting on the natural 20-30 lbs that comes with having a baby, I’ve just gotta keep up with my daily walking. (and kick these Mc Donald’s cravings.) You know on Sunday I went to Mc Donalds and ordered FIVE cheeseburgers and ate them ALL by myself…(I won’t mention the supersized fries…) I don’t even like McDonalds that much.

    Yeah, so if I could move to a desolate unpopulated island, I could probably avoid the junk food. There’d be a Starbucks of course… (The damn things are everywhere.)

   So back to the original subject, I’ll find out the sex of the baby the day before  I come to San Angelo and I’ll be nutso, so I’ll post it on here. (Be wary, it’ll probably have a thousand exclamation marks after every word. Ex: !!!!!!!!!!!) Be prepared fellow baby watchers for in two weeks and three days you will be bombarded by excitement and exclamation marks!!!!!!! <- just preparing you.

 Baby belly pictures will happen soon. I left my camera in Indiana and my other mother is mailing it to my forgetful self.  Patience!

Love to all.

A Woman’s Work is Never Done
(Warning- rant for women only. Men will only read this and get more ideas.)

So my husband calls me this afternoon and says, “What are you doing?”
Me: “I was just laying down for a couple minutes of a nap.”
Hubs: “What’d you do today?”
Me: “Nothing much.”
Hubs: “You didn’t do anything and you’re taking a nap? Lazy….”
DANGER WILL ROBINSON! DANGER!
We’ve been married for two years and this man oughta know by now that when I say nothing it actually means the opposite of nothing.(plus you *NEVER* give a sleepy pregnant lady a hard time.) So let’s review what Amanda actually *did* do.

     I got up this morning an hour before he did, I cleaned the baby, got her dressed and made a huge pancake breakfast for the three of us. I fed the kid and then did our dishes while getting a nice plate setting out for Derek with syrup and pancakes ready to go like a continental breakfast at a hotel.  The only thing I *didn’t* do was put it on a silver platter for him. He ate and sat down at the computer.
 I did his dishes, changed the baby and went outside to pluck all the weeds out of the garden. I had 30 new flowers to plant  so I spent an hour and a half planting those but I only got half of them done. It was over 90 degrees and humid as a sauna. I come back in, I’m pregnant and tired  but I still have to make lunch before the man heads off to work.  I put it in a to-go container for him and feed the baby, changed her again and laid her down for a nap. He’d gone to work and knew how much I’d done that far during the day. Isn’t that enough to not have warranted a “lazy” insult? The base cut off the water in our neighborhood for an hour so I couldn’t wash the dishes but I loaded them into the dishwasher and noticed all the window sills in our house were dirty. So I got my Windex and went to work on all the sills cleaning the kitty pawprints off them.  I ironed his uniform for tomorrow and had *just* sat down to catch a 20 minute nap when he called.  (What? I’m pregnant and was still tired from the sun earlier. I deserved a nap!)

 During said conversation, he asks me what’s for dinner. I tell him what I’m craving and he says,
“Ew. I don’t like the way you make that. You’re cooking is always bland or smothered in gravy.”
I come back with, “Okay, you can start cooking for yourself then.”
He grabs a stick of TNT and says, “Fine. You can start earning your own money then.” (why is my soul mate a punk?)
“I beg your pardon?”
“Yeah. You’re not just going to sit around doing nothing all day and then not cook on top of it all.”
I sigh. How long is ’till death do us part?’  Don’t worry Williams women. I *know* you  didn’t raise him like this.

  Let me just make a note that when I make him dinner while he’s working, I package it up for him,load the baby in the car and drive it to wherever he’s posted for that night so he won’t starve to death. (as he often swears will happen if I don’t hurry.)

 I’ve offered to sit in the kitchen with his strict supervision to make dinner to his specifications with all the spices he wants in it.  Not because I like having his foot on my back, simply because I can avoid his complaining if he’ll simply teach me how he likes it. Somehow, when it comes time to get off the computer game and help me learn his tastes, my food is delightful and needs no improvements.
 Now, I realize I’m no gourmet chef and there has been more than one occasion where a new recipe did *not* turn out as nice as the recipe book said it would. (ref: apple and onion stuffin’ muffins. Rachel Ray’s only turned out good because she laced them with crack.)

  So the conversation ended shortly after the last comment. I’ve now made dinner with enough for him to have.  But answer me this: I’m due an apology before I load everything into the car and drive across town  to take him a “bland” dinner, aren’t I?  I know I won’t get one because wives sign their rights to apologies away when they get married. Sorry ladies, it’s written in the contract that way. You are only guaranteed the simple victory of knowing you really *are* the bigger person. And smile, knowing that he won’t taste a darn bit of difference if you spit in his serving. =)
Love to all!
PS, By the time you’ve all read this, we’ll have already kissed and made up. Just enjoy the humor in life. =)