Life Lately

I feel like the days are running together lately, which is both a good and bad thing. Last Friday, Kyle's parents arrived for a visit, they are usually able to come once a year and we enjoy having them here. 

We went to Natchitoches and Lake Charles while they were here, we didn't really do much but it seemed like we did. It was nice having them here.

 This is what my nights have been looking like lately. I have 2 midterms that are due on Sunday and the last few nights I have been doing my best to get them done before we head off to Florida for the 4th of July. Let me tell you trying to knock out midterms that consist of all short answer essay questions is painful haha.

Speaking of school, I was able to register for all of my remaining classes and as of right now I will graduate with my Masters in Psychology in February! I am very excited about that, I will graduate a few months after Kyle but it will be so nice to have this degree under my belt.

Kyle has been on block leave for a week and a half already but he has been updating and getting his profile ready for the promotion board that is opening in a few weeks. The board will convene until August and then it takes time to scrub the list to ensure it is good. We should find out later this year but if all goes well he will finally get to wear this. He is so ready!

Emma and Fishy are doing well! Fishy is his standard silly and angry self haha while Emma is just happy when we leave her be and let her sleep. They have loved having both me and Kyle home during the day, they seem to get restless when one of us isn't around.

All is well on the pregnancy front, baby girl is still growing and we are getting more and more anxious for her arrival! :) 

I hope you all have a great day!

Stepping into Summer Swap

A few weeks ago I signed up for a fun swap with Meg and Macy! I am always excited when I see a swap that entails sending flip flops and nail polish, sign me up haha!

 

I got paired with Missy and she sent me the best flip flops and nail polish. It's always pretty awesome that she lives in Louisiana as well. She was so sweet and saw that we are expecting a little girl and sent the prettiest pink nail polish. I have already worn it and I love it. 

The flip flops she sent are pretty much amazing! Every pregnant lady can attest that wearing most shoes gets uncomfortable after a while and these flips have been the best!

I had a great time with this swap and I can't wait for it next year!

Maternity Photos

A few days ago we received the previews from our maternity shoot and yesterday I received the edited photos that we chose and I could not be more happy with how they turned out. It makes us even more excited to welcome our baby girl in 8 1/2 weeks. She is truly a miracle!

I hope you all had a great weekend!!!

Where Do We Go Next?!

A few weeks ago Kyle had to submit his preference list for school locations once he is selected for promotion to Major (which should hopefully happen at the end of the year, fingers crossed). It is typical that after selected you go to an advanced school at Leavenworth. But there are circumstances where officers are selected to attend a similar course in a different location. 

This is how our list looks:

1. Fort Leavenworth, Kansas (Resident ILE)

2. Naval Command and Staff Course: Newport, RI.

3. Ireland Command and Staff Course

4. Australian Command and Staff Course

5. Singapore Command and Staff Course

Leavenworth is our first choice but I have been doing my research on all of these areas to prepare myself just in case. The school is only for a year and I keep thinking how cool it would be to experience another country for that time. 

Like I said we should find out about promotion in December and not long after that we will find out where our new home will be starting in July 2017. 

The adventure never gets old!

Weekend in Review

Another weekend is gone but we had a great one! On Friday, I headed off to the spa for a manicure and pedicure courtesy of my lovely husband. I had asked him if he could paint my toenails for me and his hysterical response was "you do realize what a disaster that will turn out to be, I can't even color inside the lines. Go and treat yourself to pedicure." At least he is honest haha. 

The rest of the day was spent relaxing by the pool and soaking up the sun. Kyle started block leave so it will be awesome having him home for 18 days.

Saturday we headed up to Hodges Gardens for our maternity photos. Thankfully we missed the rain but gosh it was HUMID! I am certain you will see a hilarious progression in the photos of my hair going from curly to flat. It's such a gorgeous place in person. I was loving the spanish moss on the trees.

Our amazing photographer posted one of our photos late Saturday night and I can't get over how much I love it! I can't wait to see the rest.

Sunday was a relaxing day, we spoke to our Dad's and wished them a special day and Kyle spent the day playing video games and we of course ventured out to the pool before more rain came. 

A few weeks ago I asked my Dad and sister if they could make a small side table for Emmy's room because everything I found was either too big, too small, or ridiculously expensive. They sent me this photo and I am in love!!! How cute is this?! They worked so hard on it and we love it. If any of you are interested in something like this let me know!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

A Pregnancy Update

I haven't done a proper pregnancy update in a while so I figured why not!

Yesterday, we hit the 30 week mark! Holy cow, how are we only roughly 10 weeks away from meeting our little girl already?!

I am still feeling pretty good even though I get tired rather quickly. I am still walking/jogging a few days a week and that has been amazing. However, it is ridiculously hot and humid here so I have to limit it to 15-20 minutes. My sleep has been great too, I'm getting anywhere from 8-10 hours every night with one potty break during the night.

Emmy has been moving around like crazy, I feel like she is rehearsing for a Cirque de Soleil show in there. It is pretty cool and a little creepy watching my stomach move.

Kyle and I took the labor and delivery class at the hospital on Wednesday and I'm really glad we did. Obviously, I know the basics of what happens during labor but it was nice to know all the things the hospital does and doesn't do including their admittance procedure (which apparently a patient isn't admitted here until you are 6cm dilated). Next week we have the newborn care class and I know that is the one Kyle is looking forward to the most.

We are anxious to see how much she has changed, we haven't had an ultrasound since 18 weeks so we are doing an elective one next week at 31 weeks.

We are having our maternity photos taken tomorrow and I really really hope the weather cooperates! The forecast is calling for rain but I'm hoping that it's lying just like it does every other day haha.

For the most part everything is going really well! I couldn't have asked for a better pregnancy. We are so grateful!

I hope you all have a great weekend!

It Hasn't Been Easy, But It's Been Worth It

In 6 days we will be celebrating our 8th wedding anniversary, it really is hard to believe that it has already been that long. 

Throughout our relationship we have had many ups and down, some downs that I really thought were going to tear us apart. Too often we see the outer representation of a relationship and it seems perfect but it's rare that we see the flaws. No relationship is perfect, I think we all know that, I want to see the imperfections, the tiny cracks that have helped build a foundation worth fighting for.

Our relationship did not start out in the most conventional way, yes we met almost 20 years ago in middle school but our story didn't start until much later. He was living in NC as a newly commissioned 2LT and I was working my full-time job at a mortgage company in Las Vegas. AOL Instant Messenger and Myspace brought us together and 3 months after reconnecting we were married. Yes you did read that right. He wanted me to move to NC to live with him and I said no unless he had plans to marry me, well he called my bluff haha.

To be honest our first year was extremely difficult, we were figuring out who we were as individuals as well as a couple. I was living in a new place with someone I didn't know all that well. There were growing pains and a lot of tear inducing fights, but we made it through. We are both stubborn, independent, and opinionated, which in all honesty has made our relationship that much better.

The next several years were filled with highs and lows. Infertility/pregnancy loss, multiple separations because of the military, and the loss of my Mom. To be honest all of those low points made us better people and they made us a better couple because we realized that no matter the situation there was no one else that we would want to go through it with. Everything we have gone through has made us appreciate each other more and love each other more.

I don't want anyone to think that we aren't happy because we are, I wanted to show that relationships and marriage take work, lots of hard work, but in the end it is worth it. We have lived through more in our 8 years together than most do in a lifetime and we are better because of it all. 

I couldn't have imagined spending the last 8 years with anyone else, our love has grown so much and my life is not complete without him. He has made me a better person and I hope that I have done the same for him. 

Another Weekend Gone

Kyle has been lucky enough lately to have long weekends for the last 3 weekends. My goal has been to finish Emmy's room and with the exception of a few small things, it's finished! I absolutely love it. I organized a few more things while Kyle went off to help some friends of ours move.

Saturday morning we were up at 6am for the Beauregard Parish Community Shuffle 5k. It was a gorgeous morning, albeit a little humid. The course was an out and back through downtown Deridder and heavily shaded which at times made it extremely humid. I ended up running with a really nice older retired SF soldier. He joked that he couldn't let a pregnant lady make it to the finish line before him. 

I couldn't have been more happy to cross the finish line haha it was a great race though. This may or may not be my last race before the baby comes but I haven't quite decided yet.

I was really proud of Kyle as he ended up placing 3rd overall for men. He rocked this race!

We made it home before a storm hit and as usual Emma was attached to me. She is not a fan of rain and thunder so this is where she stayed. She just wanted to be close to mama and baby sister.

Sunday was a more laid back day. We did the usual Sunday things, laundry, cleaned, and prepared for the week to come. This week starts the writing assignments for school so it was nice to have a day to prep for that.

I hope you all had a great weekend!

The Journey To A Better Me

Earlier this week I decided to sign Kyle and I up for another 5k this weekend, he is a gem and just nods and smiles when I make suggestions like this. Not only does it greatly benefit him but it also helps keep me active through this pregnancy. I have done my best to walk/jog several times a week because I know that is only going to benefit me in the long run. 

As I was signing us up for the race I realized that this is race #60 for us, 60!! That is an insane number considering we only started participating in them 3 years ago. I can honestly say that it has been one of the most fulfilling journeys I have been on. 

When I started running I was 40 pounds overweight and dealing with a stressful fertility journey that included rounds and round of fertility medication that wreaked havoc on my body. I wasn't happy and I knew that something had to change. I started out slow, only running maybe a mile at a time and realized that it was far more than exercise, it had become a therapy. I could run out all of my anger, sadness, and frustration in a healthy way. It helped me cope with some of the most devastating experiences in my life. I became the person that I knew I was supposed to be.

As my journey progressed I found myself getting stronger both physically and emotionally. When Kyle and I started doing races together it was not about being fast it was about experiencing something new and being proud of our accomplishments. It was about pushing ourselves to do something we never thought we could do, and being each others biggest cheerleaders. Crossing that finish line and realizing that you just did something that not many people want to do is pretty amazing.

First Race: April 2013

Most Recent Race: May 2016

I had a few people try to bring me down on my journey, some told me that my excessive running was to blame for my fertility problems, and some that tried to make running competitive. I hold no ill will towards the people who said these things, it is all part of my journey. Both of these situations fueled me to continue to do things how I wanted and to not listen to those negative people around me. 

I am beyond grateful for all this journey has taught me and I look forward to all that it will teach me in the future. For me running is not about a number on the scale it is about how you feel mentally and physically, feeling strong and capable to take on anything is the message that Kyle and I want to pass on to our daughter. 

Head On Over!!!

Hey everyone! I am so excited to be blogging over at Countdowns and Cupcakes today as part of Rachel's My Deployment Truth series!

Head on over and check it out! Plus browse Rachel's blog, she is pretty amazing and a fellow dachshund Mom, which of course makes me happy. :) 

Have a great day!

Weekends Are My Favorite

Well, the month of June is in full swing and that is just crazy to me! 

Since Kyle's schedule is relatively lax right now we have been focusing a lot of attention on Emersyn's room. It has been great having him home on the weekends so we can get stuff done. 

Before the work began, I enjoyed an AMAZING prenatal massage on Friday. My dad, sister, niece, and nephew got me a gift certificate for Mother's Day and it was pure heaven. I have had a lot of massages but I have to say that was the best, pregnant or not haha. 

The highlight of the weekend was working on the nursery, since we live in post housing we aren't going to do too much to her room. The colors we chose are mint, gray, and white, I'm not a huge fan of pink so I just couldn't bring myself to do her room that way. 

We put a futon in her room (it was previously the guest room) so we will still have a place for guests. There are still a few more things that need to be hung up and little things will be put on the shelf.

I ordered these curtains for her room and I can't wait to get them! They are blackout curtains which is exactly what we wanted. 

As a reward for all his hard work, I ordered the UFC fight for Kyle on Saturday night. Haha, I'm not sure who enjoyed it more, me or him. We had a great time just laughing and joking until about 1am. We don't get many late nights like that together (I know we will once baby girl is here lol), so it was nice to just soak it in. 

We have a lot to look forward to in the coming weeks. Our maternity photos, our 3D/4D ultrasound, Kyle's parents visit, and spending 4th of July in Florida with my family. 

Speaking of my family, I wanted to send out a HUGE Happy Birthday to my Dad! :) He is the best!

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Thoughts on Thursday

I can't believe it's already June 2nd, this year is flying by. I feel like I say that every year but it's definitely true. 

I have been enjoying this week off from school, it's always nice when there is a break between classes. However, I was bounced back to reality when my books showed up yesterday haha. Personality and Counseling Theories and Physiological Psychology should be fun right?! :/

Everyday I wake up to these two staring at me, I wonder if they are judging me for sleeping late or if they are just happy to see me lol.

I did my glucose test on Tuesday and honestly wonder why people make such a big deal about it. The drink was actually pretty good and the time went by quickly. I passed which is even better.

Military healthcare may not be perfect but I am grateful that they 100% paid for a breast pump. Thanks, Tricare!

We are 19 days away from our 8th wedding anniversary and I am absolutely clueless as to what to get Kyle, I have a feeling at some point we will both agree to not get gifts. I really can't believe it has been almost 8 years since our names were in lights. ;)

Happy Thursday, Everyone!