I'm a total pregnancy hippie...

I am. Never in my life have I been anywhere close to being a hippie, but I am totally a pregnancy hippie.

Reason 1 - I want a totally natural childbirth. If I can make it through the whole thing without even an IV, I'll be happy. I fully understand and accept that things rarely go as planned in labor and delivery, but a girl can dream, right?

One of my main concerns with an epidural is the fact that I have a history of lower back problems. Two herniated discs to be exact. These issues could be aggravated by an epidural and end with me barely being able to walk for an unknown amount of time.

Also, its very common for an epi to slow down labor. Who in their right mind would do something that would make that process longer!?!?!? Seriously, just get that Sea Monkey out of me please!

And to all the Debbie Downers who say "you don't get a trophy for having a natural birth" (please imagine that statement with a thoroughly obnoxious, nasal voice) eff you! For one, I'll get a faster recovery. I'll also get to rest assured knowing I did what I thought was right. And, just to be a brat, I plan on telling The Sailor if I succeed at pushing this baby out sans-intervention, I want a fucking trophy. Screw you Debbie Downers!

Number two hippie attribute - I will do everything in my power to solely breastfeed. To me, this is a no-brainer. First of all, its freaking free. Why spend money on something your body is made to manufacture? Secondly, it burns mega calories. Have I mentioned how fat I feel already? I'm gonna do anything in my power to lose weight post-pregnancy. It also encourages your uterus to shrink. Again making you thinner faster. Come hell or high water, I will do everything in my power to breastfeed.

Number three reason I'm a pregnancy hippie (and this is a big one) - I plan on cloth diapering. Now, get the images of rags held together with safety pins out of your head - cloth diapering has come a long way. They're actually super cute now, which is one of the reasons I plan to use them, lol. And, they're WAY cheaper than disposables. Yes, there's a bigger initial investment, but over the course of a baby's diaper wearing years the average family will save over $2,000! And, to cut back on that initial cost I want to try and sew some of my own diapers (which makes me an uber hippie). And finally, they're not only better for the environment, they're better for baby! Babies are actually less likely to get any sort of diaper rash with cloth than with disposables.

So, there you have it. I'm a total pregnancy hippie. Are there any other hippies out there, or do you all just think I'm a total nutter?

Until next time...

The Mama Drama Saga Continues...

Oh Lordy you guys. This is not how I wanted to start my week. Originally I was planning to post about my recent Craigslist hunting adventures and my plans to refinish some of my finds. But then the unthinkable happened...my Mom called.

So, this morning I called my mom with no answer - story of my last week. But, seeing as there was this little storm on the East coast this past weekend, I dunno if you heard about it or not...Hurricane Irene (lol, if you haven't heard of it you must live under a rock)...I decided to send her a text message that basically said "hope you're ok post-hurricane."

Well, about an hour after I sent my message, I was about to go through my Google Reader (Monday mornings are the best blog-wise) when my phone rang, and much to my dismay it was my Mother.

I think when I saw her little picture pop up on my cell I experienced my first heart palpatation. I might have thrown up a little in my mouth. I instantly wanted to throw my phone and go hide. But I did the adult thing, and I answered...

(For the purposes of this dialog I am A {for Amanda} and my Mom is M)

A- Hello? (Imagine a normal phone-answering intonation)
M- Amanda? It's your mother.
A- I know Mom, I still have caller ID
M- Well, I survived the storm just fine...

:: cue about 5 minutes of storm related chat ::

M- I just don't understand why you would just take off like this.
A- I don't really know how to answer that, but Mom, I really am happy.

:: cue about 5 minutes of you're-so-selfish lectures ::

M- so is he going to be deployed at all?
A- yeah, he's in school right now and he'll be flown out to the ship once he's done in the end of September
M- when will he be back?
A- the middle of February.
M- so you're gonna be by yourself for all the holidays this year?
A- well, I'll probably celebrate thanksgiving with a few of the other wives on base and I might go to North Carolina for Christmas. I dunno yet though. I am planning on coming home in October though.
M- well you know Sister K is living with me now.
A- yeah, I heard.
M- so you can't stay with me
A- I was planning on staying with Kim (best friend from high school) or Dad.
M- well, don't expect to come to my house, Sister K won't want to see you after what you did.
A- ummmm, ok...

:: cue her going off on how selfish, stupid, horrible in general I am ::

Honestly, I don't know what set her off. I'm not going to repeat the things she said to me because honestly they were just hurtful. I didn't react, I just held my tongue and waited for it to end. By the time she was done (she ended the conversation with "enjoy your life of leisure") I was pretty choked up and it was hard to get out "ok, talk to you later" without crying.

She never brought up the fact that I'm pregnant, and I sure as hell wasn't gonna. Part of me wants to hope that she feels better getting all that off her chest and next time we speak it'll be better, but I'm not that naive. I mean, she basically told me she didn't want to see me if/when I come home.

I texted my best friend from Pittsburgh, Sam, after I got off the phone and just said my mom called. He responded "Uh oh... Did she have anything interesting to say?" I told him what I just told you, and in true Sam fashion he was able to cheer me up when he said "HA! Did you remind her that you have the most functional family in your entire clan right now? hahaha"

It sucks. I cried. A lot. I've never wanted a cigarette as badly as I've wanted it since hanging up (damn you growing fetus!). But life will go on. For now I'm gonna go eat some ice cream (yes at 9 am) and watch Regis and Kelly.

Until next time...

Simply putting a picture in a frame isn't "framing" it!

But The Sailor seems to think so, haha.

Seriously, he has some pretty damn cool looking posters/certificates/Navy stuff and they're just haphazardly thrown in (ugly) frames! Right now the horribly framed cool things are just sitting in the "dining area" of our tiny ass apartment (we're just using it as storage since our apartment is literally the size of a studio, just with a few added walls) but once we get into base housing I'd like to create a "gallery wall" type effect in our staircase. If you have no idea what I'm talking about do a Google image search of "gallery wall staircase" and you'll see what I mean - I don't want it QUITE as busy as the images that come up.

We already have the super cool certificate thingy and cartoon drawing of one of the jets The Sailor used to work on (I just have to re-frame them) (they're pictured below). He also has some Navy plaque things that I haven't taken pictures of. Then I'd like to display a few of our wedding photos and pictures of our four-legged babies. And finally, there's a picture of The Sailor from his last deployment where he's giving the thumbs-up to a jet that is going to leave that I absolutely love; I'd like to get it blown up and frame that as well.

I know I'll need to gather up a few more things to truly make the gallery wall that I'm envisioning, but I think I'm off to a good start! What do you think?

Until next time...

Please take a moment to laugh at what a guy The Sailor is as you notice how horribly these things are framed...seriously, its hilarious...

More Mama Drama

So, I told my Dad I was pregnant and he was more concerned about me making a trip home than the baby currently growing in my uterus. Then I called my mom, and she ignored me, again...So, I decided to tell my sister - I mean, at least she is talking to me (Sister R not crazy Sister K). So I told her. And she told my Mom and crazy Sister K.  And my mom is still ignoring me!!!!!

Seriously woman!?!? You find out your youngest daughter is pregnant with your first grandchild and you still won't talk to her? And don't even try to give me crap about how I should have been the one to tell her...I fucking tried. I called every day for 5 days and she ignored me.

Mleh. I'm just so peeved. And now Sister R is saying she's "worried" about me. Won't tell me why though. I get that its probably weird to have your baby sister get married and pregnant before you, but I'm not a baby. I've lived on my own for almost 4 years now. I haven't "lived" anywhere near my family for over 6 years! To say that I'm independent would be an understatement. Everyone outside of my family constantly comment on how I don't act like I'm 23. And its like she doesn't believe me that we wanted this!

Yup, this was a completely planned pregnancy. I guess for some that's hard to believe, but its true...so, believe it!

I'm just so sick of them. The way they're acting is just reaffirming why I didn't want them involved with my wedding. These women are nothing but drama 24/7!!!

Ok, I think that's enough venting for now. I feel like this is a backwards "road to recovery." Isn't it usually anger, then sadness, then acceptance? I think I went anger, sadness, now back to anger. I guess I'll get to acceptance eventually...

On a happier note I've been compulsively looking at nursery decor. Right now my favorite (for a girl - fingers crossed) is jungle bedding with a neutral zebra rug, the coolest giraffe wall decal ever and super pale neutral walls. The bedding set pictured below is from overstock (you can see a larger version on my pinterest board - http://pinterest.com/navy_wife/nursery-ideas/ - as well as other nursery inspiration) and comes with a classic bumper. Well, in case you didn't hear, bumpers kill babies. No, seriously, they have been found to lead to suffocation. But instead of just tossing it, I would turn it into throw pillows or other decor! What do you think of my inspiration so far?

Until next time...

Worst Nightmare

Tonight I heard about the second missed miscarriage since I found out I was pregnant. In case you don't already know, a missed miscarriage is when you miscarry without any symptoms. In fact, you continue to experience pregnancy symptoms until the fetus is surgically removed from your body.

As you all know, I haven't had an ultrasound yet. For all we know I could have miscarried and we won't find out until September 13th when I go in for my first ultrasound. This is absolutely terrifying to me.

Needless to say, I might be having a few nightmares tonight (and every other night until I actually get to see the little Sea Monkey's heartbeat).

Until next time...

Week 7 Update

Not much is really changing on the whole being pregnant thing, but if I can I'd really like to make sure to update every week during my pregnancy. I just think it'll be awesome to have these to look back on, know what I mean?

So, how I feel physically:

Tired. Yeah, I'm flipping exhausted. I blow dried my hair yesterday, which is a significant undertaking since I have freakishly thick hair, and I almost passed the eff out halfway through.

Fat. I do. I feel fat. I do not feel like myself. All I can think is that I have to gain weight, and I can sign up for Weight Watchers the day after this baby makes her grand entrance into the world. Oh, and my boobs are flipping HUGE. I officially have no bras that fit me.

Broken out. My skin is disgusting. Nothing has helped. Not even makeup makes me feel pretty. Whatever happened to that "pregnancy glow" everyone talks about? Cuz this just sucks!

Repulsed...by un-cooked meat. Seriously, if I see it before its fully prepared I seriously can't eat it. I'm considering becoming a vegetarian because raw meat kinda makes me wanna die.

I just wanted to note I'm no longer freakishly thirsty. I'm still drinking more than usual but it isn't nearly as overwhelming.

Here's how I feel mentally:

Emotional. No - really? Have you read my last few posts? Haha, but it came to a new low today when I almost started crying during that cheesy movie Ghosts of Girlfriends Past. That's a serious problem!

Lucky. That I don't feel like shit all the time. I've had a few bouts of nausea, but nothing hardcore (as long as I avoid the meat section of the grocery store ::gag::).

Until next time...

PS - can someone please admit I look like a cow? Everyone keeps saying, "you don't look any different" and I damn well know that's a lie. I think women get morning sickness so they don't blow up like a balloon - I can't help the fact that I can be fine one minute and starving the next!

Nothing is better...

...than mid-day naps!

Check out how cute my four-legged babies are!

Until next time...

Dear Mom,

I know my choices hurt you, and I can't apologize enough for that.

But I still exist, and I'm still your daughter!

I didn't plan to hurt you with my decisions, it didn't even cross my mind. But what you're doing right now - ignoring me completely - is an intentional jab at me.

You know I'm on the other side of the country, and yet you don't even care to hear if I'm ok or not, and it hurts me more than you have ever hurt me before.

I'm not perfect, and I've never claimed to be, but you're acting as if you don't want to move past this, and you don't want to have any sort of relationship with me. And if that's how its going to be, eventually I'll have to stop calling because that rejection is just too much to handle.

I hope you'll eventually realize that I do still need my mom in my life. I love you.

Love Always,
Amanda

Yeah...that's not a real letter to my mom, I just had to get that off my chest. I told my Dad I'm pregnant this morning and he's shocked, but happy for me, and is just dying for me to make a trip back home (which I hope to start planning once we're more settled here, probably after The Sailor deploys).

Whether my mom ever comes around or not, I just have to remember that there are people out there that love me. I'm lucky to have a Father who is being supportive despite my choices, and  my pseudo-mom, Mama Simms, has offered to fly out when the baby is born. And honestly, I have never met more caring and supportive people than The Sailor's family - they're honestly the best.

I just need to continue to focus on the positive, not the negative, even though that's easier said than done. And even though I'd love to say fuck it and just stop reaching out to my mother, that will never happen. I've said it once and I'll say it again - we may not have the best relationship, but she's still my mom, and I can't just let that go.

And I just wanted to thank everyone who reads my blog and leaves me such supportive comments. You guys are seriously the best - hopefully as time goes on my blog will become less depressing!

Until next time...

I'm afraid...

...that I'll never mend my relationship with my family.

And that in turn my baby will never have a proper relationship with their Grandparents and Aunts.

My father is speaking to me, but I can tell by the tone of his voice that he hasn't forgiven me, but that's better than my mother who won't even talk to me.

Some of my best memories growing up were with my grandparents. Easter at my Nana's house where we would have an Easter egg hunt around the pond in back. Riding bikes up and down the canal with my Pa during summer vacation. Going to Disney World with my Gram and Papa.

And I just feel like I've stolen all those experiences from my baby by making the choices I've made in the past few months. How can you feel like a bad mom before you've even had your baby?

I don't want to take that away from my children but I really don't know how to fix it. I can't go back in time and change how I did things. But I feel like they will never forgive me.

I wrote a letter to my mom tonight, now I just have to get the balls to mail it. Once I suck it up and send it I'll call my Dad to tell him. I feel like that might be the most awkward conversation ever.

God damnit I hate how emotional I've been lately. I'm probably so thirsty because I cry so much (which is quite out of character for me) - I'm losing too much fluids in my tears.

Until next time...

PS - this picture was me when I was about 5 years old. It has always been my Mom's favorite picture of me; it was back when I was her pride and joy, her little star...her baby. It was the picture she chose to put in my senior yearbook when she said she was so proud of everything I had accomplished. I wish she could remember those things, not just everything I've done wrong...

Yeah...I need to learn Spanish

Je ne parle pas espagnol. Hell, I took 5 years of French and I only know un peu (a little - probably spelled wrong) of that! In case you weren't wicked cool like me in high school and in turn didn't take French, that first sentence says "I don't speak Spanish."
I don't know on what planet I thought learning French would be more useful than learning Spanish, but I am paying for it now! See, NAS Lemoore is out in the middle of nowhere - as my friend who lives in Orange County would put it, I'm in "bumblefuck nowhere." There's a lot of farmland. The local mall has more vacant stores than open ones. And there is a considerable Spanish speaking population.
They are so prominent, in fact, that I've seen more billboards in Spanish than I've seen in English! Off base, I'm pretty sure we're the minority.
Gabby Girl was running out of food and the previous owners of Lola were kind enough to send her off with some food...but it was Purina Puppy Chow. Can you say yuck? Their is NOTHING of nutritional value in that crap. Call me a dog food snob (I won't be offended) but that food needed to be switched ASAP! So I looked up the nearest supplier of Diamond Naturals...that store is called "Sanchez Seed."
It's only like a mile away, and it was easy enough to find. It's a total farm store! They even sell cowboy boots and hats (note to self - start looking for cute cowboy boots to invest in)!
They had a great selection of quality dog foods, so I'm lucky they're so close, but not one person there spoke English. Or at least no one there was willing to admit they did!
It was easy enough to find the food, I brought to the counter, they rang me up and said something very fast in Spanish, so I just handed them my credit card and signed the slip.
It was an interesting experience. I don't think I've ever been in a store in the US where the employees didn't speak English. It was rather eye opening, actually. I really am so far from home; I'm in a different world! And I think if I'm going to feel comfortable for the next 3 years here I should learn Spanish.
I'm gonna see if there are any local colleges that have community classes and if I can't find one I might invest in Rosetta Stone. If I don't wanna bite the bullet and invest in Rosetta Stone (that shit's expensive yo), do you have any language learning advice?
Until next time...

Her name is Lola...

...and she's a showgirl...

And she is our new Chihuahua puppy!

Expect a butt-ton of pictures of the furry members of the fam coming in the next few days!

Until next time...

Week 6 of Pregnancy!

So I'm a few days later than I would have liked to be with this post but whatevs, I'm pregnant...I do what I want! Haha

So - here's how I've felt physically this week:

Still thirsty! I can't.stop.drinking. I am a bottomless pit for water/gatorade/juice/whatever I can get my hands on!

Busty - yeah, no joke...I look like I got implants. And I actually look like I got implants from a crappy surgeon because my right tata is considerably larger than the left. It's obnoxious. I desperately need new bras.

Exhausted - I could sleep all afternoon. Thank goodness I'm not working, because I'd be pretty useless.

And, how I feel mentally:

Lonely - I don't think this is solely a pregnancy symptom (I did just leave my whole life behind and move across the country) but I think the hormones are making it worse, if that makes sense.

Emotional - ecstatic one minute, pissed the next. I am riding an emotional roller coaster. It's been a blast - NOT!

Impatient - I just want to see my little Sea Monkey! And I still have to wait about a month - grrrrrr.

So, we've got almost 7 weeks if pregnancy under our belt and still no signs of morning sickness {thankfully}! I keep thinking I'm going to jinx myself by talking about the fact that I don't feel sick, but so far, so good!

Until next time...

PS - I'm pretty sure my bloating went down between weeks 5 and 6, so I actually got a little smaller, haha; no bump for me yet:

It's lonely sometimes...

This whole life.
All my friends and family (regardless of how much my family tends to suck) are in a completely different timezone. On top of that, The Sailor has to wake up super early to go to the gym, then class, so by the time he gets home he's exhausted. I feel like I barely get to see him, and this is a good time, because he's actually here!  In less than 2 months he'll be gone...until February.
I knew this was how it would be, I guess I just thought I would deal with it better. I'm sure it would be considerably easier to deal with if I wasn't pregnant and in turn super emotional, but that doesn't make it suck any less.
I'm watching Sex and the City and all I can think is, "will I ever be in one place long enough to have a group of close friends like that again?" At least I have my Gabby Girl - not the best conversationalist, but she's great company, and she understands me better than any human I've ever met.
Enough of this blogging-pitty-party, I'm gonna go finish watching Sex and the City, feel bad for myself for a while, and go to bed.
Until next time...
No blog post is complete without a picture, here's one of my favorites of Gabby Girl...

Boo - laundry!

Note to self...don't go weeks without doing laundry. Yeah, I totally haven't done laundry since we left North Carolina (notice the lovely photos below of my mountains of dirty laundry - and the lovely Gabby who I think is trying to get in as many posts as possible).

It isn't washing the clothes that I don't like doing, I mean, you just throw them in the damn washing machine! I hate folding laundry! I'd love to try and rope The Sailor into folding the laundry but that wouldn't really be fare since I've been playing "stay at home wife" while he does the whole Navy/money making thing.

So guess what I'll be doing all day?

Until next time...

I have a confession...

I have a thing for trashy acrylic nail designs.

There...I said it! :: phew :: But, I've never been able to have them since I worked in a professional environment...until now!

Being unemployed (while still being financially stable) definitely has its perks. And one of those perks is my new nails... They're nothing crazy but I'm a little obsessed, so I can't promise they'll stay even this tame!

Until next time...

Check out my sexy zebra-tipped nails:

Decorating around a yellow couch...

The Sailor and I found some really nice (and inexpensive) couches on Craigslist and we picked them up last weekend. The couch actually drops back like a weird sleeper sofa/futon (see the picture below). The only downside is - they're yellow.

Or so I thought! After doing some googling I realized decorating around these couches has the potential for being really fun! And trust me, they're actually a pretty yellow (my camera phone is making it look dingy).

Since I was finding tons of pictures online that I loved, I decided to finally try out a website I had heard so much about in the wedding circuit - Pinterest! And I'm officially obsessed. This is the most addicting website ever, especially for someone who is gearing up to decorate a whole house and is pregnant!

In case you don't know what Pinterest is, its basically a site that allows you to make virtual collages and keeps a reference back to the original source of the image. It's awesome!!!!! And you can check out the direction I'd like to go in with our living room here: http://pinterest.com/navy_wife/how-to-decorate-around-a-yellow-couch/ ! The board has a lot of color combo references (I'm planning on yellow, aqua, and grey) and some pictures of the general feel I'll be going for.

So we already have the couch/loveseat (which I plan on getting professionally cleaned eventually to try and brighten them up a bit) and we have a tv stand that is plain wood that I plan on refinishing myself. Then I hope to find a few end tables and/or coffee table on the cheap at a yardsale or on Craigslist that I can refinish to coordinate with the tv stand and I have a few other DIY projects I have planned to really make the space feel homey without breaking the bank (that I'll share with you as I actually work on them). Add some blankets and throw pillows and - BAM - we will have the perfect living room!

I really can't wait to get started! I don't wanna get any more furniture until we're actually in base housing, but I will be keeping my eyes peeled for blankets/pillows/textiles in general that go along with my vision in the meantime.

Until next time...

Tuesday Night Shenanigans

So, I already mentioned I had a crazy night last night, so I figured I'd tell you about it!

By crazy I mean I didn't just sit at home, haha. Before we left the East Coast I was trying to find a way to insure that I would meet people once I got to Lemoore. When I searched for a chapter of the Navy Wives Clubs of America in Lemoore to no avail, I started looking elsewhere online. And I ended up stumbling upon meetup.com. Low and behold, someone had literally just created a group on the site for the spouses of Sailors stationed at NAS Lemoore. And last night I went to my first meetup!

Well, by meetup I mean it ended up being me going to the creator of the group's house (we'll call her Navy Wife Kim, or just NW Kim cuz I'm lazy) to watch a movie.  And although we put a movie on, we just spent the whole time talking. And let me tell you, it was amazing to get to talk to someone who actually knew what it was like to be married to a Sailor. NW Kim's husband has been in the Navy for almost a decade and she's been with him the whole time. She is a pro Navy Wife! And she's one of the nicest people I've ever met.  And her Hubby is currently on the ship that My Sailor is going to be deployed to at the end of September! And so we chit chatted from about 8 pm to about midnight.

Yup, I'm a wild child! But, more importantly, I'm super excited to have met another wife on base and I'm definitely looking forward to hanging out with her again!

So, I guess most people wouldn't really consider my activities last night all that exciting, but I had a great time!

Until next time...

Wait...what?

So, this morning I woke up completely discombobulated. I was pretty sure it was 1130 in the morning. I never sleep that late! (For the record, looking back on it I probably woke up at 730 considering its 830 now).

So I jump out of bed thinking Gabby is probably about to piss herself!!! And she didn't seem that antsy but I was too discombobulated to realize that was seriously odd. So I rush to make myself decent and put on her leash and step outside and...BAM!!!! I'm hit by a wall of air born allergens. Apparently Wednesday is the day they do all the landscaping at our apartment complex.

I'm talking continuous sneezing, my eyes felt like they puffed up, and I'm trying to keep my nose from snotting all over myself as I try to navigate the area so Gabby can do her business without getting run over by one of the 3 million lawn mowers and weed wackers that are all over the place.

So, she does her business and we come inside and I'm all weirded out by how tired I am so I decide to walk down to the corner to grab a coffee since we don't have a coffee maker.

So I go to the gas station on the corner and decide to get an iced coffee. Its one of those machines you do yourself and I forgot to put ice in the cup first...oops. I tried to be all sly while I poured half of it out, but the cashier was definitely giving me the stink eye. I finally get my coffee fixed and go to pay for it and I happen to glance up at the clock (I was trying to avoid the evil stares of the cashier) and I noticed it said it was just past 8. Instead of being logical and thinking I had been mistaken when I woke up and hastily checked the time on my phone I automatically assumed their clock was wrong.

It wasn't till I got home, turned on the TV, and saw that the Today Show was still on that I accepted it really was only 8 in the morning. I don't think I can blame this confusion/stupidity/craziness on being pregnant - I think that's just me being me.

It might be at least partially caused by the fact that I was up SUPER late last night...yeah, I totally stayed up till like 1 am - I'm totally a bad ass. But I'll tell you all about my shenanigans later, right now I'm gonna go enjoy Regis and Kelly cuz I'm super pumped I didn't miss it!

Until next time...

I know I should work out...

...but I don't wanna!
And I don't even have a good excuse, like being pregnant is making me feel sick. I feel fine! Bloated - yes. Nausea - nope!
I don't wanna work out because I hate our shower, lol. First of all, the water smells funny. And no, it isn't pregnancy spidey-senses kicking in because The Sailor smells it too. It is NOT refreshing. And on top of that its really soft water. Which is supposed to be better than hard water, but it makes me feel slimey. Slimey does not equal clean in my book.
But the worst part of this shower is I'm pretty sure it was designed for midgets. Not kidding. The shower head doesn't even reach my eye level (check out the picture below).  I basically have to do a back bend to wash my hair. That kinda hurts my growing uterus.
Needless to say, I hope the showers in base housing are better! But, I'm gonna make myself go workout now.
Until next time...

What pregnancy feels like to me - week 5

Hmmm, I don't really have much to write about. Considering how crazy my life has been recently, things are seriously boring now. So, to ensure I'll have something to post about every once and a while I'm gonna start occasionally posting about how pregnancy feels to me!

First up, how I feel physically....

Thirsty/hungry - seriously, I'm a bottomless pit. I'm not favoring sweet over salty (or vice versa) I just want to eat. And Smart Water is like heaven in a bottle. Pregnancy is kinda turning me into a water snob. Whatevs, I'm pregnant...I've gotta treat my body like the baby growing temple it is!

Dizzy - I didn't even know this was a pregnancy symptom. What I do know is its obnoxious. Randomly I'll feel like I stood up too quickly and get uber dizzy momentarily.

Bloated - might be partly because I can't stop eating, but I feel like a Macys Day Balloon. It's like PMS bloated times 8863764170. Yeah...that much.

Broken Out - my skin has never been this bad. EVER. If anyone has any tips, please, dear Buddha, share them!

Now, how I feel mentally...

Lucky - there are so many women you hear about who struggle with conceiving and we got it done first month trying. The Sailor and I are just so lucky we didn't have to experience that. Now fingers crossed we have a smooth pregnancy from here on out.

Scared - not of becoming a Mom, I can't wait for that. I'm actually scared of Morning Sickness. I hate feeling sick, and the thought of feeling like I'm gonna vomit all day for weeks on end kinda makes me wanna die. Here's to hoping my morning sickness is minimal...

Anxious - I have a history of general anxiety and all I want is to see the little Sea Monkey. I wanna know she/he (fingers crossed for she) is really in there with its little, early development heart beating away. But nooooooo, I have to wait until September 13. Grrrr...

I took pictures of my bloated self so I can really track my growing body. I realize I won't have an actual bump for a while, but maybe if I take weekly pictures I can convince myself I actually look pregnant, not just bloated!

Until next time...

PS - please excuse the totally lame and uncreative post title, I just can't get my creative juices flowing right now - I blame the Apple seed sized Sea Monkey I'm currently growing.

I finally have an actual kitchen!

Which means I can actually eat food that's relatively good for me again!

I've been craving smoothies like no ones business lately, so last night we picked up a single serving blender from Walmart (its Hamilton Beach brand and it was only $12) and some smoothie ingredients and for breakfast this morning I decided to try it out!

I had frozen mixed berries, a banana (but I only used half of it), fat free vanilla Greek yogurt, and juice.  The juice I got is Sambazon Acai juice with blueberries and pomegranate. It's all fruit, no additives, so overall this smoothie is as healthy as it gets really!

I was pleasantly surprised with how well my cheap-o blender worked. I made sure to layer the frozen fruit with the other ingredients so it wouldn't jam up, and waited till the end to add the juice. Then when I got started blending I stopped regularly to stir it up. But in the end the blender worked really well - there are no chunks of fruit and the smoothie is DELICIOUS! Definitely plan on having this be a regular breakfast (or snack) from now on.

Until next time... chub

I called my Mom this morning...

...because I thought I was ready to talk about everything with her (if you're just tuning in, go read the post titled Consequences and this post will make more sense). She ignored the call. Yeah, it totally cut to voicemail in the middle of the third ring. I may not have been the best daughter in the past few weeks/months, but that still stings.

Especially since I was hoping the conversation would go better than expected and I would tell her I'm pregnant. I guess the Gods didn't think we were ready for that. I don't particularly like the woman, or how she's treated me for most of my life, but she's still my mom!  I'm gonna go pout for a while now.

Until next time...

Is it like Army Wives?

This morning I got a text from my sister, R (the one who said congrats and nothing more), asking for advice about her dog. Since she was concerned because he ate some chocolate I obviously responded to help in any way I could (I'm not a vet or anything, but I've taken dog first aid classes and researched dog health a lot since getting Gabby 3 years ago). Once we determined her dog would be fine (he's a large dog and only ate a milk chocolate truffle) she said, "so do you live on an army base now? Is it like 'Army Wives'?"
And I was actually surprised by my instant sense of annoyance. He isn't in the Army, he's in the Navy, so no, we don't live on an army base. And then she goes, "ooooo, so do you live on the beach?" And to that I just kind of chuckled. No beach for us because My Sailor isn't a sailor at all - he works on jets. So we're stationed at Naval Air Station (aka NAS) Lemoore which is out in the middle of nowhere! i
The conversation was amusing to me, and that's why I'm sharing it with you. But now I have to get ready to move into our apartment so I gotta go. But since posts without pictures are lame I'm adding a picture of my beloved Gabby. This was this morning at the dog park on base. She has a golf ball in her mouth since they're all over the park since the driving range is right next to the park. Luckily she doesn't try to eat them, just plays with them! Until next time...

We have an address!

So, since we got here last Saturday, we've been staying in the Navy Lodge (aka hotel on base).  That's cool and all but a) we don't have a full kitchen and b) its starting to get kinda expensive! But today we signed a lease!
We want to live on base but unfortunately theres a waiting list. Since I'm pregnant, we get a higher priority but it could still take up to 4 months.
Luckily since most of the people in the area are in the military a lot of the apartment complexes offer month to month leases, so that's what we're doing. And lucky for us, a 1 bedroom apartment nearby is available tomorrow!
So after weeks of having all our shit packed in my car and The Sailor's truck we finally get to settle in somewhere tomorrow. Even if it is only temporary (since we're hoping to get into base housing sooner rather than later).
You all will probably get a kick out of how pathetic that place looks initially though, since all we have for furniture is a TV and a mattress, hahaha!
Until next time...

I've got another surprise...

I'm pregnant!

I know, its nuts. Planned the wedding in 3 days. Got pregnant the night of the wedding. That's just how The Sailor and I roll.

I was able to go to the Navy Hospital today to get the pregnancy confirmed, although I never doubted it. But, since this is my first pregnancy so the Navy requires I take a "prenatal class." It just so happens they have one scheduled for tomorrow! So tomorrow at 9 am I have a prenatal class, Thursday I have a preliminary appointment with a nurse, and then I can schedule my first real appointment with the OB.

This is all happening so fast, but The Sailor and I couldn't be happier. Now we just have to figure out where we're actually gonna live...but that's a different story for a different day.

Any moms or moms-to-be have any advice for a first time mom?

Until next time...