Military Spouse Friday Fill-in

Fridays are Military spouse Friday fill-in days over at Wife of a Sailors Blog. It is a fun way to get to know other military spouses and learn about each other each week.

Here is this weeks Friday Fill-in:

1. I always feel like I’m     84      years old, but in reality, I’m far younger than that.

I am to the point in my pregnancy where I am getting very uncomfortable and it is difficult to move. Sometimes it takes me 5 minutes just to get off the couch!


2. I wish my family understood better when I tell them I am allergic to dogs.  
I am severely allergic to dogs and my in-laws just DON'T get it! When we go to their house they refuse to put the dogs outside or in the basement. My husband will put them in the basement and then EVERYONE goes down to be with them because they are lonely...leaving me upstairs...ALONE! I was there a few weeks ago and they let their 100+lb jump up and shove his paws into my pregnant belly. The dogs can't b left outside or in the basement, but it's ok for me to have to go sit on the front porch in the snow so that I can catch my breath and stop wheezing. It's not like they are small dogs either. They have a 100+lb golden with TONS of fur and a 50ish lb pit/lab mix. SO damn frustrating!

3. If you saw me when I feel like getting pretty , you’d think I was a total girly-girl, but if you saw me any other day , you’d think I was a tomboy through-and-through. 
I do love to get dressed up. I love a cute pair of heels, a pretty dress and make-up! I love to feel pretty and sexy, I just don't take the time to do it very often. I am a billion years pregnant and if I put make-up on I just sweat it off in about 3.2 minutes. And seriously...lets not even talk about trying to fit my giant swollen ankles into a cute pair of heels!

4. I feel like I’m in a totally different universe when I'm with military families vs civilian families.  
I have a lot of military friends and I have a lot of civilian friends. I absolutely adore all of them for their own reasons. The military world is just so different than the civilian world. A milspouse friend of mine posted this on Facebook yesterday and it kind of explains the difference:

Civilian wives will get angry and snotty if your child is misbehaving, military wives will come outside yell at your kid and then let you know they did it

Civilian wives will tell a neighbor child to go home when dinner is ready, military wives expect that all children in their home will be eating with them

Civilian wives get angry if their husband is late and doesn’t call, military wives are ...grateful if they get a call this week
...
Civilian wives expect their casserole dish to be returned, military wives aren’t exactly sure who owns what

Civilian wives think men look good in uniforms, military wives think one man looks good in a uniform

Civilian wives get excited when the doorbell rings, military wives don’t

Civilian wives ask their friends if they can help, military wives don’t give their friends the option

Civilian wives get annoyed when plans change, military wives are surprised when they don’t

Civilian wives ask if their child can come play, military wives call and say “Hey is my kid over there?”

Civilian wives get angry when they trip over their husbands shoes, military wives would do anything to have to pick up their husbands boots

Civilian Wives hate their husbands’ stinky shirts, military wives snuggle up to them at night.

 I don't agree with all the statements, but some of them are so true. And, for the record, I truly love all my friends the same. I don't value military friends over civilian friends or vice versa. I value my friends for who they are and the different relationships that we have!!

5. In honor of this being MFF #60… 60 months ago  (exactly 5 years ago, so September 30, 2006) I lived in a duplex in San Diego, CA with a roommate and my life was totally different because of SO many reasons.
It was my freshman year of college and I was living with a milspouse. I was not married, but I was engaged to my husband. My fiance and the roommates husband were deployed to Japan. I was a full time student, working 40hrs a week and partying like it was my job. I was living off of $20 a week for food and struggling to make the bills, but I was too proud to ask for help. It was a time in my life where I learned so much about myself and what I was capable of and I learned so much about life and the world. I would never trade that time of my life for anything! Plus, I truly feel like that deployment helped my relationship with my husband (fiance at the time) grow! 

Gender Predictions

SO...I have a super secret (not really) blog with baby stuff on it. I have been doing gender predictions to find out what Baby Squirrel is going to be. My lovely husband and I have decided not to find out the sex of our baby so I have been having fun with the old wives tales trying to guess what the baby will be. I posted another one today, so I thought I would share it here.

Yesterday I was 28 weeks pregnant!

That means I have officially entered my 3rd trimester!

This is getting real now! Just 12 short weeks from now I will be meeting my sweet little baby!

This week I am going to tackle the old wives tale about cravings.

A friend of mine from culinary school told me about this old wives tale yesterday, so I decided to share it here. According to this tale if the mother to be is craving sweet snacks she is going to have a girl. If the mother to be is craving salty snacks she is going to have a boy.

Courtesy of Google Images

My food cravings have been fairly regular throughout this whole pregnancy. Early on when I was nauseous ALL the time, all I could eat was cinnamon raisin bagels with peanut butter. From about week 12 on I have craved orange juice and mashed potatoes. The last 3 weeks ALL I have wanted is a yellow cake cupcake with chocolate frosting!! (In fact, I am still dreaming of that damn cupcake!)

Courtesy of Google Images

All of those foods are sweets...well, except the mashed potatoes. But, for the most part I have craved sweets, which means that I am having...A GIRL!!

That brings our totals now to:

Boy: 9 - 75%

Girl: 3 - 25%

Worry and Panic

Panic has started to set in.

I am 26 weeks and 5 days pregnant and I have started to panic.

I have been panicing about everything!

Early in this pregnancy we decided to forgo the testing for downs syndrom and other chromosomal abnormalities. It was not covered by our insurance and for other various personal reasons we decided not to go down that road.

While I am still certain that we made the right choice, I have started to panic thinking that something is going to wrong with my baby. I feel like if something is wrong, it is all my fault and somehow by not having that test I have hurt my baby. (*If you want to judge me for not having the test, be my guest, but please keep it to yourself!)

I worry, all day long, that I am not going to be a good mom. What if my kid doesn't like me? What if I am just a crappy mom? Am I going to ruin my child's life?

I want to have a relationship with my child like I have with my mom. My dad and I don't really have a great relationship. I was always trying to please him and I was never good enough. I don't ever want my child to feel that way...EVER! I worry my child will feel that way about me though.

I have 13 weeks to go, but we have so much to do around our house. I worry that it won't get done. I worry that we will have to bring the baby home to a crappy house that is a nightmare for a baby because of all the unfinished projects laying around.

Basically, in a nut shell...I am a nut! I am panicking about the little things and worry about things I have no control over.

I need to get my overly emotional self together and relax. All this stress can't be good for the baby! (One more thing to add my list of things to worry about!)

A Big Day!

Today is a big day in our house...

Today I am 24 weeks pregnant.

24 weeks...should I have to deliver after this point, the odds of survival are pretty good. I feel like after today I can really take a big deep breath and relax a little. I know that won't happen, but I can do it if I want. :)

Today I am 13 weeks from being full term.

Today I am 16 weeks from my due date.

This is getting real folks. In just 16 weeks I will be holding my sweet baby squirrel! That is so painfully exciting! I really want to scream from the roof tops that I get to meet my baby in just 16 weeks.

I love watching my husband get excited about meeting our baby. Some days he gets so excited, he is almost giddy! He can't wait to meet our baby squirrel either.

But, what really makes today a big HUGE day in our house...

I am taking out my tongue ring.

I got my tongue pierced while I was college and my husband was deployed overseas. I had to do it while he was gone because he doesn't like piercings. He is ok with tattoo, but he thinks that piercings are mutilating your body.

He didn't hate the piercing or anything, he just isn't a fan. When I did it, years ago, I promised that I would take it out when I got pregnant with our first child. That's when it is truly time to grow up.

When I got pregnant this time I didn't take it out right away because I know that things can change very quickly. I'd had it happen before, so I told my husband that I would take it out when I was 12 weeks pregnant and the risk of miscarriage went way down.

When the 12 week mark came and went, I said I would take it out eventually.

A few weeks ago he asked me when it was going to come out. I told him it would be out before that baby made it's entrance into the world. But apparently that wasn't a good enough answer for him. He wanted a date. So after so serious feet dragging I decided I would take it out at 24 weeks. Viability.

Sunday night my lovely husband reminded me that Tuesday was the "BIG" day. I'm not going to lie...I got a little panicky. I don't know why, but I did.

Taking my tongue ring out means that this is real...I am really going to be a MOM!!

So there ya have it folks...it is a big day in our house. All because I am taking my tongue ring out...and of course because I am 24 weeks pregnant and I get to meet my baby sooner rather than later!

Remembering a Hero. Our Hero. And the Foundation of Our Family.

On Saturday August 6 my family held a memorial service for my grandpa.

He passed away on November 5, 2007 at the age of 87. My grandmother followed him just a few short months later on April 17, 2008 just 2 months shy of her 90th birthday. They had been married for 65 years, raised 4 children, had 10 grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren.

My grandpa fought in World War II. He was a Major in the US Army. He served throughout Europe while his wife was at home with their youngest child. He was shot in the war and spent a full year in a hospital recovering. For his service to our country he received two purple hearts.

With his death and funeral falling so close to Veteran's day there were not enough people to give him his full military honors that he deserved. For that reason, we had a memorial service to remember the two people who meant so much to us.

They are both truly missed in our family and everyone was eager to be there to honor them.

The service was a full military honors service for my grandpa, but it was also a time to remember my grandma, who was the foundation of our family.

When my grandpa was choosing their burial plot years ago, he specifically chose a spot under a large tree. He always said that he chose that one so that when people came to visit them they would be comfortable in the shade. When we arrived at the cemetery that Saturday it was raining. When the service was about to start the family gathered under the tree to get out of the rain, just as he would have wanted. And then, as if he were watching over us, the rain stopped. It stopped just until everyone was in their car after the service, then it poured. But, we all knew he was there with us.

We buried them 4 years ago, but there is something so devastatingly final about the shots being fired and taps being play. It was like a wound that had been healing for almost 4 years had been freshly opened again. I have missed my grandpa every single day, but this day I felt like the hole in my heart was being ripped open.
 

 
My amazing husband was a part of the ceremony and he read the meaning of folding the flag as they folded it. He loved my grandpa and my grandpa loved him like he was his own grandson. He was so proud of him for being a Marine. I know he was honored to have him be part of it all.

After the military portion of the service was finished, we had a family service. The ivy wreath was empty and each person came up and told a story about my grand parents. As each person finished their story they put a flower in the wreath. It was such a wonderful way to remember them. Even a few of the great grand kids that are old enough to remember them stood in front of us and spoke. People spoke of how they know they are with us every day, funny stories or something they will never forget.

The memory wreath looked really nice when we were done. Before we left the cemetery My mom and aunt filled a small vase with flowers, one for each person who couldn't be there. They now have 16 great grand children and the 17th is on the way, so they left a flower for each person so that they knew we were all thinking about them. 

My grandpa was one of the best people in my life. I saw him all the time. He always had an excuse to see me and to spend time together. When I was in high school my grandma went in to a nursing home. I went and visited with her 3 days a week and I would drive out to his house 2-3 times a week just to chat with him. I would call to tell him I was on my way and he would put a beer and a soda in the freezer. When I got there we would sit and chat over drinks. I loved spending time with him. When I moved away he bought a cell phone so he could call me and I wouldn't get charged for it. We had a weekly phone date.

I am certain that he is the reason I am pregnant. He always said we would be good parents. My due date is December 21, which I feel is his doing. He loved Christmas and in my crazy mind I feel like he is showing me that he loves our baby to be and that hes got our back.

I miss him.

I miss them both.

Military Spouse Friday Fill-in

 Every Friday Wifey of a Sailor does a Military Spouse fill-in. It is a fun way to get to know other military spouses. Head on over to her blog and check it out!  

Do you eat raw cookie dough?  
Why yes, yes I do! That's the whole reason to make cookies isn't it? I don't eat a whole batch, but a few bites here and there. :) My aunt used to tell us that we would get worms if we ate cookie dough...

When you get online for the first time of the day… what site do you immediately head to? 
I usually check Twitter and Facebook first. Gotta keep up with the social networking lol

What was your favorite pet as a child and why? 
As a kid I had fish and bunny rabbits. I loved my bunnies! I could pet them and hold them. I would let them out in the back yard and they would just hang out near where we were hanging out. They never left. My family has a plethora of pet allergies so we could only have rabbits because they lived outside.
I had chickens too, but they were mean. They liked me and would follow me around, but you couldn't really pet them of play with them, so the rabbits were cooler. Though I was quite a sight to see with 7 chickens following me in a line!


If you had a snail that could magically grant wishes, what would you name it?  
I would name it dead. I hate snails! I think they are gross and slimy. I think I would leave it nameless and once it had granted my wishes I would give it a shower of salt or a swim in a beer pool!

How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Pop?
I have tried to count...I really have, but I get bored after about 100 licks and lose count. I do have to say that Tootsie Pops are one of my favorite candies! :) 

 

I Just Thought You Were Overweight...

All my life I have been the fat kid.

As an adult, I finally came to terms with my body and that I was never going to skinny. And, finally, in the last few years...I was ok with that.

When I got pregnant I knew that I wouldn't have the cute little bump in the early weeks, and I was ok with that too. Even if no one else could see it, I knew that I was pregnant and that was all that mattered.

Yesterday, I was sitting in my mom's store with her business partner and her business partners son when a customer walked in. The two ladies were chatting and it came up that I was pregnant. The customer, an older lady, looked at me and said, "oh, I didn't realize you were pregnant, I just thought you were over weight."

At that point I could have just crawled in a hole and died.

When she asked me how far along I was, I told her I was almost 18 weeks. She looked at me and smiled as if to say, "I knew it! You really are fat!"

Needless to say, she left me feeling pretty low.  And, while I am still happy to know that my little squirrel is growing inside of me, I can't help but wonder...when am I going to feel pregnant and not just fat?