Introducing...Catlin!

For the first time ever I made it to full term.  I will just say that was not fun or pleasant.  I spent the last 5 almost 6 weeks having contractions on an almost daily basis that were 2-5 min apart which sent me to Labor and Delivery 7 times.  It was so agravating to not dialate, but have the contractions oh and be on bed rest.  At my 39 week apointment I got checked out and was almost at 4cm dialated.  They sent me home, even with poping out contractions every 2 min.  So I made the choice to sit on a yoga ball and do whatever it took to get that last little bit so that I could have her the next day.  It worked!

On Tuesday Nov. 8 I went in to L&D and was at 4cm!!  That meant they had to keep me, or so I thought.  The midwife on call wanted to send me home, but I pushed the issue using the arguement of how the previous dr's told me they would keep me if I hit that 4 cm mark.  So I got to stay, but had to once again sit on a yoga ball to see if that would help me dialate further, even though both Jay and I told them it wouldn't.  They didn't believe us and so 3 hours later they were finally convinced to admit me and break my water for me.  That did the trick.  15 min after they broke my water I was begging for the epidural.  Again, just like with Kaden, it took forever for them to show up and give it to me.  Unlike with Kaden this time they were not fast enought.  I got the epidural and the next thing I know I want to push.  Sure enough in less than 1 hr 30 min I'd gone from 4 cm to fully dialated.  The dr's had to be rushed in and in less that 10 min Catlin was born at 5:43pm.  She is a healthy 7lbs 10 oz, my biggest baby yet. 

It's been 2 weeks and for the most part we're all adjusting quite well to her being part of our family.  Miya is curious about her and the kids just love her to pieces.

Trials of being Pregnant

The last few weeks have been quite honestly brutal in the pregnancy department.  3 weeks ago I woke up one morning with the feeling of going on a manic cleaning/orginizing frenzy.  I was nesting and it was bad.  As this is going on I realize that I'm feeling contractions for the first time ever, I didn't feel contractions with the other two kids until after I had the dr break my water and was in full labor.  Because of these two things Jay felt we needed to get me over to labor and delivery immediately.  Good thing too.  We got to the hospitial and sure enough I was having contractions 2-3 min apart and was starting to dialate.  This was not a good situation since I just hit 30 weeks that day.  Because the air force hospitial I go to is not equiped to deal with a pre-mi that is under 34 weeks I got immediately transfered to a civilian hospitial. 

While we were waiting for the ambulance to come get me they started me on an iv of mangnesium solfate (nasty stuff) and the first of 2 steriod shots to help this little one's lungs get fully developed in the off chance that we couldn't stop the labor.  Jay had to take off and head back to the ship to get emergency leave since he was supposed to be on the ship the next morning for an underway.  I'm beyond greatful for a truly wonderful visiting teacher who took the kids to her house while ths was happening.  We got me over to the hospitial where for the next 3 days I was lucky to get any sleep at all.  Due to the magnesium I had to be heavily monitored to make sure that I didn't have fluids hit my lungs or any other complications that can happen with this particular med.  This stuff makes you feel like you have the flu, hot flashes, cold flashes and motion sickness all at the same time.  It is horrible and if you don't have to go through having it be very greatful.  This med was to help her brain become more protected if she was born early.  Jay's command was amazing at this time.  Instead of doing emergency leave they had him go TAD (temp. assigned duty) to a transition place where all he had to do was call in every morning and report in.

The 3rd day I met with the high risk ob and had a ultrasound.  We are deffinantly having a girl and we got great news at that ultrasound, she is no longer breech!!!!  Other than her trying to come early she was developing right where she should be for being 30 weeks.  I ended up on another med to help stop the contractions completely and once I stopped having those contractions I was allowed to go home with strict orders of bed rest.  I spent 5 days in the hospitial while the drs did everything they could to help her development with her lungs and head and stopping those contractions.  I missed the kids and dog like crazy, but it was truly a blessing to have Jay by my side during this time.  Once I got home bed rest is exactly what I've been doing.

We're now on week 3 of the bed rest.  Earlier this week I ended up once again at L&D for contractions.  These were exactly 2 min apart.  Sadly they can't do anything to stop them.  If it wasn't for the fact that I'm still at 3 cm dialated and have only effaced to 60% (I was 3cm and 50% effaced when I was released from the hospitial) they couldn't do anything except send me home to continue the bed rest.  The bed rest is not easy.  I miss being able to do things.  I can be on my feet long enough to come downstairs in the morning and go up stairs at night for bed, shower and bathroom trips.  It is not easy.  Both Jay and I are beyond greatful for my mom at this point.  She literally dropped everything to come out and help us for 2 weeks (she would stay longer, but has commitments that she can't get out of) with things.  The timing of her visit is truly a blessing. 

The IKE just got back from the underway that Jay went TAD during and so he is once again working during the day so my mom being here is a huge help with the kids.  And the kids are just loving having her here.  An amazing blessing has happened with Jay's command in all of this.  They are getting ready to once again head out for another long underway and they are making sure Jay is once again TAD'd during the time they are gone.  This underway is also at a time after my mom has left to go back home so I'd have been alone.  They are setting everything up so we don't have to worry about a thing.  He truly has one amazing command and it was the highest person (officer) in his chain of command that is personally making sure this all happens. 

Bed rest is not easy, but it is doing the job of helping her to not come so early which is what we all want.  I'm beyond uncomfortable all the time now days.  She is active and the contractions are a daily thing so I deal with a lot of pain, not to mention a lot of swelling in my feet.  This by far has been the hardest pregnancy I've faced, but to know that she will be healthy and might not be in the NICU will make it all worth it.  My dr told me today that once I hit 35 weeks I can start walking around more and doing a few small things, like helping with meals or going to church, but will still have to be on bed rest.  IF, and this is a big if, we make it to the end of Oct. then I'll get to go off the bed rest fully since at that time I'll be full term.  At this point we just want her to go as far as 35 weeks, since Kaden was 35 weeks and completely healthy, Annabelle was born at 34 weeks and had minor issues that resulted in 5 days of the NICU.  So for the time being I'm doing my best to just listen to the drs and letting Jay and my mom take care of everything else.  The longer this little one stays baking the less chances of being in the NICU we have.

Hurricane Irene

This weekend we got hit with Hurricane Irene as a CAT1 storm.  For this family this was a first.  We'd never been through a hurricane before let alone going through it alone without Jay.  Prior to the storm hitting the Navy pulled out every ship that docks here.  It was for the protection of the ships and the docks themselves.  This meant the kids and I were alone.  I didn't like this one bit, but as with many things the navy came first.  The ships pulled out several days before the storm ever hit and were far enough away that they didn't get any of the effects of this monster.

Late/early Friday/Saturday is when we got the first bands of the hurricane.  They woke both Kaden and I up at 2am.  By 3 both he and I and Miya were all camping out in the living room watching the news.  The wind didn't sound so bad on the main level as it did on the 2nd floor.  The storm was bad, but in all honesty I thought it was going to be a lot worse.  Yes, we stayed at the house to ride out the storm.  We didn't have a place to go until it was too late to leave.  Up until late Saturday night we had power and could function normally.  The kids played games and I kept an eye on the news of the storm. 

During the day it looked like this out our front window.  I wouldn't open the doors unless I had to let Miya out to do her business and she would only go out when the winds and rain were not so insane.

We only got minimal flooding in the back yard.  By morning you couldn't even tell we'd had the hurricane hit.  The only difference between yesterday and this morning was we had no power.  Let me tell you, being pregnant and having no ac was not what I needed.  Heck it's thanks to this hurricane that I discovered why it was the kids rooms and the master bedroom never stayed cool, even with the AC and fans going.  All 3 of the bedrooms (we have a 4th, but those windows are not an issue) windows have a good inch or more gap between the window and the window frame.  I was not happy to discover this smack in the middle of the hurricane.  It explains why the kids got colds more often than normal and why their rooms never seem cool though.  Maintence will be fixing this issue soon, I hope.

This morning we woke to no power, but nearly clear skies.  The only damage we had was to the power lines and our water drain that connected to the house.

Beyond these two issues we survived our first hurricane with no issues.  I'm glad it is over though.  It was not easy to go through this without Jay here with us.  I honestly hope we never go through something like this again.  I'll take nasty snow storms over this any day.

What a week

This week has had a lot of lows and one very large high for our family.  Jay was gone all week long on an underway to do something called a 3M assessment.  Basically they test all of the safety equipment and other equipment that helps keep the ship safe by having an official, in this case a Master Chief (E8), come on and test all of the sailors over these areas on their knowledge and expertese of the equipment.  With what Jay does as a work center supervisor in his division this is a huge test for him.  His job is to fix and maintain this particular stuff within his division.  So this week has been needless to say beyond stressful for him.  Well he very long and short of this whole week was he passed his checks on his equipment, but not without a lot of struggles along the way.

Jay discovered that after failing 2 of the 3 spot checks he had, minor issues, that he had several chiefs, his Divo and a few other higher ups that went up to bat to defend his knowledge of these areas and due to how much he personally impressed this Master Chief who oversaw his check with his professionalism and respect the Master Chief in turn went and turned those two fails into passes!  Huge deal for one, but not something Jay ever expected.  As all of this is happening he finds out just less than 24 hours before returning home that his leave (vacation time) is suddenly being taken back after being approved.  This means no vacation time at all, which both he and I needed this week.  His Chief told him they'd make sure he'd get it before the baby is born (I'll get into what has happened to that in a bit) and that all of the appointments I'd made for this week knowing he had the leave approved and these appointments can't be changed at all.

Well yesterday Jay got things worked out so he can be able to take care of being around for these appointments, some of which are medical for me.  As they are pulling in from being underway Jay then gets told that he needs to go up to the Captians office.  What happened next is something neither he or I expected.  Along with 8 other sailors Jay recieved a very prestigious award called a NAM (Navy-Marine Accomidation Medal).  A NAM is very, very hard to earn and so Jay and these other sailors had certianly deserved it.  Apparently Jay came to find out that he was being given the NAM for his respect and professionalism of the Master Chief as well as his knowledge of his equpiment during the assessment.  This NAM is something he has truly earned and I couldn't be more proud of him.

That NAM was the highlight of the week.  Due to the ship's underway schedule for the rest of the year this week was our best chance of him getting leave and that is gone.  He won't get to make up the leave at all now.  So no leave for us until this little one is born.  I'm not exactly happy about this for a long list of reasons right now.  We were going to use this time off to get the baby's room ready as well as finish getting the final things we needed to purchase before she is born (like a car seat) and now we have to figure out how to get these things done with his work schedule and underway schedule.  My stress level is through the roof and this news has only increased it.  I truly wish they hadn't taken his leave and given it to someone else, but they did and now we're paying a hard price for it.  Jay feels so guilty over this and it's not even his fault, I personally blame the division and the ship for it. 

Right now I keep hoping and praying that he'll actually be home for the birth because if he isn't physically home I know there is not a snowballs chance in hell that they will fly him off the ship to be with me at that time, they are saying otherwise but I've learned not to believe a word that comes out of this command's mouths any more.  It is literally an emotional roller coaster for me right now on top of the stress I'm dealing with and quite honestly all I want is that guarantee that Jay will be home for her birth.  I need his strenght at that time, especially since he's once again missing out on so much.  And we still have a year before shore duty, which at this point is something both he and I look forward to.

Almost over

Jay has been gone on a underway for almost a month now.  It has not been fun for either one of us.  On his side he got put on nights for being qualified (all sailors are required to be qualified in certian areas and he is literally the only one who was fully qualified) and dependable (ie: he can do his work without needing to be babysat by his Chief).  This, while not something either he or I liked, would have been fine if the dingbats (I've got meaner names for those he works with, but trying to be nice) he works with would have A: let him sleep during the day (hense working on nights) and B: gotten to eat more than one meal a day.  But as we were both aware things in this command are not known for going smoothly.  He was constantly woken up because they needed his help with one thing or another, or in today's case he's still awake (it's 3pm and he's supposed to be awake in about 4 hours) doing work because the guys he works with are just that lazy.

As for the eating, yeah I would have a very hard time stomaching this ship's version of food: partially frozen veggies, semi warm food in general.  So he's lost a lot of weight while being gone.  On the homefront things have not gone smoothly.  We had a great visit from my mom and after she left the kids pulled out all the stops on what they are capable of doing to drive me personally crazy.  Annabelle has used marker all over Kaden's walls and perminant marker on the stair walls.  Kaden's developed a mouth, anyone who knew me as a kid knows where he got that from (sorry it's the white family genetics), and just overall not wanted to listen.  It's also been HOT.  While I may originally be from Ut, you add those summer temps with humidity and it's another story.  I've been miserable.  I've had swelling almost since day one of this pregnancy, but when you add the insane temps with humidity the swelling got beyond bad.  It became very painful to even walk, let alone just keep my feet up. 

Well this underway is almost over.  We had an original date for him to come home, which was a day after the ship pulls in since that particular day is his duty day, and then this morning things had a chance of changing.  Jay'd called to personally apologize for not sending me any e-mails in over 24 hours (a time frame to keep me from going nuts, after 24 hours I can start to worry).  He told me at that time that there was a rumor that they might come in earlier than planned, I responded with I'll wait to believe that one until it's official.  Things changed in a matter of hours.  The kids and I went out and got groceries and got back at which time I sent him an e-mail letting him know how I much fruit we just got (overloaded on the fruit is typical in this house).  An hour later when he should be asleep he writes me to tell me that he's still awake (and he's got to be up in 4 hours for his normal shift of work).  THen he sends me another one telling me that rumor is now officially the real thing.  THey are coming home earlier than planned!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Right after that e-mail I get one begging for food, yeah they are trying to kill him is what it seems like.  But the end is in sight.  Now we just have to get through INSERV and the 3M assessment (his big thing with his job) and things will start to seem sane again, or at least until the deployment hits (sometime next year).

Baby News

Today I had my ultrasound. I'm officially 20 weeks along and this was not a easy visit for me. Jay had to miss this ultrasound due to being underway. Both of us wanted him to be there, but like with many things in the Navy this just wasn't the case. The ultrasound went great. Everything looks really good with this little one. The current nickname for this one is Stubborn little Snot after the trouble this one caused during the ultrasound. As I was shown the baby's head the baby waved a little hand and then when the tech went to determine what we're having the baby crossed their legs at the ankle making it almost impossible to determine for a while. Finally got the results and we are having another GIRL!!!!!!!! We're thrilled with this news, but for both Jay and I we just wanted this baby to be healthy. We already have one girl and boy so it was more to know this one was healthy and okay than anything else.




At the moment there is just one concern we've got with her. At the moment she is breech. Now we realize and hope she'll move in time and get out of being breech, but this is still a new thing for us to deal with us. Her older siblings were both rib kickers and she is not. She's found new ways to torture me and they are not pleasant. But as of right now we're just thrilled that we're having another girl.

OPSEC: Operational Security

I've spent a number of posts already discussing this, but it seems that there are still those who don't quite understand just how beyond important it is for us to follow OPSEC.  These rules not only keep Jay and the ship safe, they keep us safe here at home.  The phrase in the Navy is: "Loose Lips, Sink Ships".  By violating these rules you can not only damage Jay's naval career, but he can very possibly land in military prison.  They take violations of these rules that seriously.  Earlier today I got a great and simple explanation of OPSEC from the ship's FRG (Family Readiness Group):

OPSEC, OPSEC ......


Why do we always hear about OPSEC?"



Operational Security is incredibly important. It is why we are not supposed

to give dates out over the phone or in e-mails. It is why we encourage

everyone to call the Careline for information.

We, as Navy spouses, parents, siblings, children, and other family members

need to carefully monitor and secure information we receive and understand

that having this information is a privilege, not a right. Most of us don't

think that telling a family member secure information is against the rules.

Most of us don't think that forwarding the information of advance notice on

port call dates and locations could be a hazard to our sailors. Most of us

don't realize that multiple OPSEC infractions incurred by sailors and/or

their families could cost all of us the privilege of consistent e-mails and

telephone calls…..



Well, it can!! The rules are clear - we DO NOT discuss ships movement,

dates, locations, or activities unless and until our Captain has told us it

is okay. We don't tell “Great Aunt Sally” because she doesn't know the

rules. We don't say it to each other over the phone, we don't tell people in

e-mails, we don't blog dates, times, or places, or post count downs on

FACEBOOK, or MySpace, and we take great care with the information we are

privileged to have.

When our neighbor asks "Where is your sailor now?" standard "I have

absolutely no idea, but wherever he/she is he/she is working very hard", “

Out in The Great Blue Sea", or "Out there doing his/her thing”. When Great

Aunt Sally's nurse says; "When are they getting home" we say "Later" or

"Sometime before Labor Day" or "Well, it could all change in a minute so we

don't really bank on anything". And, when your hairdresser says "when are

they leaving?" we say things like "Shortly" or "I don't like to talk about

it, it makes me cry" or "I was talking to mermaids the other day and they

said they were ready anytime now." It isn't silly. It isn't nonsense. It is

VITAL to ship's security. It is VITAL for the SAFETY of our sailors. Even

though your hairdresser, grocer, Great Aunt Sally, parents, best friend or

whomever might be perfectly safe and want to know only out of love, we do

not know and cannot guarantee that they won't choose to share the

information with someone who shouldn't know or who may then share it

inappropriately. We just don't know. So, we don't take the risk.

We keeps the ship's information close to our hearts and with closed mouths.

We refer family to the Careline. We encourage them to join the Ombudsman

Group, the FRG, and talk to their sailor. That's right, we really do have

the hard job, and we do it well. So, that is what OPSEC means to us, the

family and friends of the Warriors of the Mighty IKE. So learn it. Keep

this passage. Then when someone requested dates from you, you can tell them

about OPSEC. Thank you Mighty IKE Family and Friends For all Your Hard work

with OPSEC



So, go to the following link. Print it out. Learn it. Keep this e-mail. Then

when someone asks you for dates you can tell them about OpSec, forward the

e-mail, or send them to the link. If they love your sailor and want to work

with you for his or her safe return, they will stop asking for specfic’s and

learn to accept the generalities that are a part of our daily lives. The

link explains it in very easy to understand terms. I intend to print several

copies and mail them off to family and friends along with a personal note

asking them to please be understanding of the fact that until the

information is released by the CAPTAIN, I won't be able to discuss

specifics.



http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/doe/opsec_primer.htm



Please, please, please help me to keep everyone on the ship and here at home safe by not asking any questions that we can't answer.  I wont be addressing these issues again, however if there are continued violations by family or friends asking us questions that we can't/won't answer there will be a loss of contact with us for a time.  We take these rules VERY seriously.

Stress overload

The past few days have been beyond what I can normally deal with stress wise.  Jay left Sunday night for a small underway.  Basically the ship was moving from one base to the one by us (normal home port) and needed a few days to test out everything to make sure all was working correctly (or more like working enough that they could transfer back over to their normal home port from the construction base).  We've known this was coming for months, but that didn't make things any easier on any of us.  Annabelle is at an age where she is fully aware of daddy being gone and why.  She's a daddy's girl and that makes things very hard on her when he does go out.  For the few days Jay was gone she and Kaden pulled out every stop to see who could test my limited patience the fastest.

Then, like normal for any underway (not deployment), I couldn't sleep.  Not that I don't try, I need all the sleep I can get, I just can't.  The combination of the kids acting out and my lack of sleep made for a very bad situation for my stress level.  To make life worse, Tuesday night my brand new laptop got a very nasty trojan virus on it.  I spent 4 hours that night manually removing the vile sucker and got my computer back to 80% of what it was.  I just couldn't find any of my files, photos, music or saved internet favorites.  Luckily yesterday morning I was able to get all but the internet files found once more and restored to their fullest abilities.  While dealing with all of this Jay sends me bad news: no family reunion for us.  The ships schedule changed once more and there is no way he'll be home in time.  Heck right now there is a VERY, VERY high chance he'll miss the birth of this baby due to how things currently look. 

There just isn't anything we can do about any of this.  It's out of our hands and comes with being a navy family.  Jay doesn't want me to even go to the reunion without him due to past incidents of him being deployed and family events turning out horribly for me, but I have to be here to pick him up so I can't go anyways.  We've come to accept such things as life with the navy, doesn't mean I like it, but it does come with the job.  I'm just glad to have Jay home once more and will cherrish all the time I do have with him before he is gone again.  Oh, and as of this morning I fixed the last computer issue I had.  All it took was a good nights sleep and a quick search for tips on how to find the files again.  Also, family: PLEASE DO NOT ASK US THE DATES OF JAY'S UNDERWAYS.  I can't/won't tell you a thing.  OPSEC is too important, and the only ones that need to know is Jay and I.  All we can tell you is the reunion is not something we will be coming to as of now.

First set of stiches

About a week back we had yet another ER trip happen, and it wasn't me this time (usually it is, especially when I'm pregnant).  Kaden had been playing outside with a few of the neighborhood kids at a play ground that sits right in front of our house.  We can sit in our yard and watch the kids play and they love it.  Kaden happens to have this 3 wheeler from when we lived in San Diego.  He decided to ride it over to the play ground and as typical of the boys in our area the decided to use it down the slide.  The kids were all having fun when one little child (one of the 3 little buggers we refer to as a bully child, the kid is a bully) ran and grabed a bungee cord from his house.  Now, most of this I didn't find out until AFTER the incident happened from our next door neighbor's son Jamar (great kid).  Apparently the group of boys, Kaden was just playing on the playground by himself, decided to use the bungee cord and attach it to the 3 wheeler and then one of the polls near the slide to create a "roller coaster".  Yeah, not a great idea as it the bungee cord backfired and sliced into Kaden's right arm near his elbow.

Kaden came crying over to Jay and I and we both knew it was going to require stiches.  So off to the ER Jay and Kaden went.  I went over to the playground to get the bike before it happened again and that is when Jamar gave me the whole story of what was going on, again this kid is just a great kid.  I put the bike away and watched as that same group of boys was atempting the same thing once again, only this time with a red wagon.  I took Annabelle inside and got her to bed while waiting on word from Jay.  Oh, and we're usually the ONLY parents outside keeping an eye on their kids (if my neigbors on my row of houses kids are out then there are more parents, but the rest of the kids don't get such supervision ever).  A few hours after this happened Jay and Kaden came home.

The poor kid had to have 3 stiches and be in a sling for 10 days to let his arm heal correctly. 

The next day we had our ward's anual picnic and nothing stopped Kaden from having fun, even lacking the use of his right arm.  He was all over that playground just having a ton of fun.

He climbed on everything.

And I do mean everything.  That kid even went and climbed the rock wall, all one handed.  Nothing has stopped him.  He just figured out ways to get around not having the use of his arm. 

On Tuesday he got the stiches out and his arm is looking great.  He just has to have a bandaid on it for a few more days to make sure it's all healed.  It took him 6 years to get his first set of stiches and he's handled it like a trooper.

Good bye summer

Well all our summer plans are gone now.  Thank you ship, your timing is crap.  Jay's ship is out of the maintence now and just as fast they are doing a ton of underways, all this summer and into the fall.  I can't say the exact number of times they are going out or when, but boy will this make for a very long summer for me.  When Jay told me the news a few days ago I snapped.  We've known these underways were coming up for months, but what I wasn't prepared for was him missing some important events with my pregnancy.  He'll be missing the big ultrasound and very strong possibility of the birth.  That was just some news I wasn't prepared for and it hit me hard.  What little time Jay is home this summer will be spent looking/buying a new car, preparing the baby's room, shopping for the needed baby items and spending as much time with the kids as possible.

I'm lucky that my mom's coming out for a visit in a few weeks or I don't know what I'd do.  It's not that we're not used to these underways, we are.  I am just not having the best time being pregnant right now and was really hoping to have Jay around more than he will be.  Sadly, the navy will own him once again.  Our saving grace is that the one and only deployment we'll have with this ship isn't until next year.  The kids and I will still try to do fun things, but it wont be the same without Jay.  I've actually lost count of how many summers we've not had him home for now.  Heck, he's only been home for 1 of Annabelle's birthdays and will be once again possibly missing that again this year.  So while I may understand and accept that these underways happen, I am also counting down to the day when we are officially on shore duty and can have Jay home more than he has been in the last 5 years.

Warm weather and more

I'm finally in the 2nd Trimester which means I'm feeling more normal than I have in a while.  I just tend to get super sick at the start of my pregnancies which leaves so much on Jay's shoulders.  So now that I'm feeling better our house is looking ten times better again and I'm once again cooking (I've been that sick with morning sickness).  Jay's work has been beyond insane.  So many issues are going on with the department and the mass chaos/disorginization of his work center is really causing him quite a bit of stress.  I seriously wonder at times how this ship/division has managed to even function after all that Jay has gone through in the last few months.

Earlier this week I had to go in for the first of my gestational diabetes tests.  It is a bit of a pain to know that I'll have to do this again at least one more time, but at the same time it's also for the absolute best for me and the baby.  There are just so many family members with type 1 diabetes for my dr to not take this serious.  I'll find out my results next week at my next dr appointment.  Because I'm feeling good we've spent a lot of time out side lately, plus it helped a ton with my nausia.

We bought the kids bikes for part of their easter.  (Yeah, I'm that far behind)  Annabelle has yet to figure out the mechanics of peddling her bike, but she'll learn.  She loves her bike and boy does she get mad if any of the other kids even atempt to go near it.

Kaden is already a pro with his.  He loves being able to ride with Aiden, Mathew, Zachary and the other boys on our section of housing.  They just have so much fun riding up and down the sidewalk and to the playground all the the time.

The best of our easter shots.  They were at least willing to get them done.

I asked Annabelle and Kaden to give each other a hug.  She put Kaden into a choke hold instead.

My mom sent the kids some goodies for Easter and in the package was this giant catepillar for Annabelle.  She loves it and there are days where she just has to ride it down the stairs.

Annabelle and Gabby blowing bubbles

We got new neighbors a few weeks ago!  This has seriously been the best thing to happen.  Our previous neighbors had issues, by issues I mean they called the cops on themselves for domestic issues on a constant baisis (not to mention their very late night parties and shouting matches).  Our new neighbors are wonderful.  Marquita and I have already become great friends and her 3 kids are just wonderful (her husband is Army).  Jerome is 8, Kaden already calls him a friend, Brianna is 4 and just as sweet and then Gabby is just adorable.  She is 17 months old and just too cute for words.  Annabelle just loves Gabby and getting to play with her whenever she gets a chance.  I've gotten the chance to watch her, and her two older siblings, a few times and just truly enjoy getting to know them.  It is truly nice to have such great neighbors again.

Earlier today while we waited for Kaden's bus to come Annabelle enjoyed blowing bubbles.  She just loves her bubbles and getting to be outside playing with them.  We have had some great thunderstorms come through lately which has kept our temperatures nice and mild, but it also means the humidity is high.  We are enjoying the warm weather and getting to spend time outside.

High Risk Pregnancy

I've had quite a busy few days.  I had to do an orientation appointment yesterday and then today I got to meet with who I thought would be my dr for the rest of my pregnancy.  This turned out to not be the case really quick.  Because I have had 2 premature births already and 3 miscarriages I'm being sent high risk.  Top that with a large family history of diabetes and the fact I could never lose the weight from Annabelle I've got even more risk factors.  I'm considered obese for this pregnancy due to my BMI being at 30%.  I was not too surprised by the news I needed to be seen by high risk, I've expected it since Kaden's brith.  I will get my first, of what could be many, round of gestational diabetes testing here in the next two weeks.  I'll also see a nutritionist on top of the high risk dr.  Things will be different this time around and there will be adjustments.  I was just glad to see that my little one was healthy and moving like crazy. 

No Navy Dr's for me!

Today has been quite the adventure in getting things set up.  Once Jay got back from work we headed over to Portsmouth Naval Hospitial where we thought I'd be set up with an OBGYN and get things going.  Yeah that didn't go as planned.  They gave me a card and told me to make an appointment.  Normally, with the navy, you can go in and get a verrified pregnancy test done and get all set up with a Dr without an appointment.  That isn't the case with Portsmouth.  So once we got back in the car I called the appointment line.  Things got very interesting from here.  I was told I needed to call up to Langley for my appointment and that I am assigned there and not Portsmouth.

We were told to come right in, they'd get me set up in the system and my test ran right then.  Well it just happens that Langley is an Air Force Base.  Yup, I'm assigned to an Air Force Base Hospitial for all of my medical care.  The reason is quite simple, Lagnley is closer to my house than the Naval Hospitial is.  We arrived at the base and got directions to the hospitial.  Things were real smooth at that point.  We got my tests taken and left the hospitial.  About an hour later, once we got home, I got a phone call: my test came back possitive, I'm absolutely pregnant.  Things just became super amazing at this point.  The nurse I spoke to got a lot of information from me and I am officially 10 weeks along today.  They do things so differently at Langley than any Navy Hospitial I've been at.  They were going to perscribe pre-natials to me, but the moment I explained how sick they make me they gave the the full go ahead to continue taking the vitimins I've been taking for about the last 8 months, I just have to take an iron supplement with them.

I go in next week to do all of the blood work so that on April 25 and 26 they have my results ready to go.  On the 25 I'll spend 2 hours doing orientation on what to expect as a paitient with them throughout my pregnancy, this will be a first for me and I actually look forward to it.  On the 26th I'll meet my dr and get my first ultrasound.  Because I'll have done the lab work a week early they'll have those results ready for me by my appointment.  I'm honestly really excited to be seen by an Air Force dr and not the navy ones.  They way I've been treated by the staff at Langley is already a much better experience than any I've had with the navy dr's.  So no Navy hospitial for me, I get to deliver at an Air Force one.  This will be quite the adventure, that much is clear.

Our news

After going through 2 miscarriages in the last 6 months (1 on Oct. 2nd and then another on Feb. 2nd) we've been cautious about sharing our news with anyone, but that is slowly going down so I feel safe in sharing this news. We are expecting another baby! We found out on April 2nd (notice a pattern here) right before General Conference started. I'd been sick for a few weeks and tired all the time so Jay encouraged me to do a test all the while joking it wouldn't pop a possitive (I've NEVER had one pop possitive before 6 months pregnant). This one did, to our suprise. We estimate that I'm between 8-12 weeks along (going in tomorrow to see the dr) and will be due around the end of October beginning of November. We're thrilled with our news and to finally be at a point of sharing it with our friends and family.

Spring is here

After weeks of bipolar weather (seriously one day it would be 60 and the next day it would be 30) Spring is finally starting to show.  Annabelle loves going outside and playing with Miya in the back yard.  She's outside almost every day right now. 

We recently had to cut her hair due to her atempting to do it herself.  She looks just like my sister.

All of the trees in front of our house are getting these white flowers on them.  While it may look nice, it has caused quite the havoc with my allergies.  And the coolest part of spring being here was the amazing thunderstorm we got the other night.  I love thunderstorms, always have, and this one was by far one of the best I've seen in years.  The lightning lit up the sky and the rain was needed.  It helped to bring down the pollen count some, not a lot but still helped.  I love Spring time.

Walking away

Years ago I joined an amazing support group and at the time it was something I deffinantly needed.  However as time has gone on I felt like things were becoming less supportive and more drama related.  I stayed on though.  I felt there was a reason for me to stay where I was, it was something I knew deep inside that I was supposed to do.  Each time I wanted to personally walk away I'd have an experience to show me that I was meant to stay and so I would.  That was until recently.  Things changed months ago, drama became an almost constant, negativity was overwhelming, and it was dragging me down.  Jay and I talked so much over the last few months about what I should do, I kept feeling like the time wasn't right to walk away.  That all changed in the last few days.

During my time with the support group I've been attacked for my beliefs, my thoughts, my opinions, my standards, basically for everything that is part of who I am.  Now, it wasn't everyone in this support group that would do this, but it did happen and reciently it was becoming more so.  Then this past week things happened, things I didn't even have a part in or a reason to affect me personally, that changed everything for me.  This time I felt it was time to walk away.  I struggled for a few days with the choice to walk away, but yesterday my decision was solidified in a way that I couldn't have imagined.  I got personally attacked by those who I never would have thought would attack me.  In that instant I knew it was time to walk away.  I knew I'd done what the Lord wanted me to do, I'd done it to the fullest of my abilities and succeeded. I understood in an instant that my time was up.  It was time to walk away.

In making that choice and doing just that, walking away, stress I've had just melted away.  The anger and frustration I've been feeling was gone, happiness returned and my focus became clear once more.  I talked with Jay about this decision, already knowing I'd have his full support, and he couldn't be more proud.  I even talked with my mom about things that lead up to the decision and she agreed, it was time to walk away.  While there is a part of me that is sad to be doing this, I know it's the right decision for me and for my family.  The timing was just right.

Thoughts on Friendships

Lately I've had to once again deal with the realization that I really don't have anyone, besides Jay, that I can call a true friend.  Someone that I can rely upon in the good times and bad, who is always pushing me to be a better person.  That is not an easy thing to come to terms with, and for me every few years I have to do just that.  Each time I feel like maybe, just maybe this one time, I've got a true friend I come to find out just the opposite is true.  The past week I've been reading an incredible book called "The 7: Seven Wonders That Will Change Your Life" by Glenn Beck and Dr. Keith Ablow.  This book is fantastic, but it also brought the realization that I still don't have anyone I can call a true friend. 

On top of reading this absolutely amazing book I've noticed that many of the people I do associate with on a support site for navy wives are increasingly negative.  That bothers me a lot.  I made a choice to be possitive as much as possible months ago and quite honestly all of the whinning and negativity I've seen of late has really gotten to me.  I like being a possitive person, finding the good in life.  It makes me feel better as a person.  When I seek support from those individuals who are supporting those who have hard times and are negative, I'll get maybe 1-3 responses total.  That is a harsh thing to go through on a regular basis.  I don't like feeling like because I choose to find happiness and be happy that I somehow don't need support in my life, but sadly that seems to be the case.  Earlier today I decided to write my thoughts on friendship down, to see if that would help me feel any better about this lack of friends, and it did, to an extent.  Jay and I had a conversation about this very topic a few days ago and he told me that I've done all I can to gain friends, I've gone out of my comfort zone and tried really hard in the last few years, and that there is nothing he could reccommend to help make the situation (lack of friends) better.  So I thought I'd share the thoughts I've got on friendships:

Thoughts on Friendship


If choosing to be happy means that people stop associating with me that is fine, I’d rather be alone and happy than have friends and be miserable.

If choosing to keep negativity out of my life as much as possible means no friends, then that’s okay too. I’d rather be living a positive life than be around those who will drag me down.

If choosing to be honest in all my dealings, no matter the consequences, means no friendships, then that is okay to. Being honest is by far more important that living a lie to just have friends.

If choosing to stand up for what is right means no friends, then I’d rather be alone and know who I am than around people who will waiver in an instant.

If choosing to live by my values and standards means no friends, I’ll take it. I would much rather be alone and living by my values than to lower them to fit in with others.

True friends are hard to come by, but when they come into your life they see you for you and will be there by your side no matter the distance or time. As much as I have a need/desire for friends I’d much rather stay true to who I am than lower myself to have friends. That path is not something that is easy to take, but I’ll take it to stay honest with myself. I may never fit in with anyone or any group, but I’ll be true to who I am, my faith, values and that counts for something. Just maybe, by sticking with my values and principles I’ll find those true friendships, the ones that will last a life time.

Colonial Williamsburg

My parents are out for a weekend visit so we took a trip out to Colonial Williamsburg, VA to see some of the history of the colonial times of this country.  What a day it has been.  Most of the stuff is closed up since it is winter, but we did a few tours and got to walk around a lot.  My mom and I both are huge fans of history and over the last almost 2 years I've been reading about the founding of the country and our founding fathers.  I still learned so much while out there today.  We took so many photos and the kids did great.

This is the Govenor's Palace.  Williamsburg had been the original capitial of Virginia during the colonial time.

One map of how the states were during the colonial times, baised on what the King of England "owned".

Inside the Govenor's house were all of these guns, swords ect.  The Earl (govenor) had over 534 of them.

The crest on the back of the govenor's palace.

Grandpa and the kids

The stockades

The boys in the stockades

Grandma and Grandpa with the kids

The first capiail building of Virginia.  Right side was the represenitives of the people, left was for the aristocrats.

We are are deffinantly going to be coming back here more times this year.  It was just so much fun, and we learned so much.

The best part of deployments.....the Homecoming

This video was made by a good friend, and fellow Navy wife, of all of the amazing homecoming photos all of us on ASA (navy wife support site) were able to share. It brings back so many wonderful memories of last year's homecoming.

Kaden's latest improvements

Today we had another IEP meeting for Kaden at his school. These meetings consist of his teacher, special ed teacher, speech therapist, school social worker, school psychologist and us. This is our 4th one since we moved here and we still have one more before the end of the school year in about another 30 days. This one was a follow up on how he's doing so far. And the timing couldn't have been any better.


A few weeks back they did the PALS testing for the 2nd quarter (we'd moved right as the 1st quarter testing took place, so this was our first real testing with Kaden) and we got to hear Kaden's test scores for part of the meeting. All of his scores were where they would expect him to be at for the 3rd quarter testing We were in complete shock to hear just how high he scored. The one downside, which came as no suprise, is his speech is still an issue. He is still struggling a bit with the higher level speech, but at the same time he is improving.

He doesn't do so great in large group settings, tends to withdraw and be super quiet, but one on one or in small groups he just excells. Due to the MASSIVE (I came home with 4 different reports of testing) amounts of testing that he's gone through we have a direct plan of action for him. He's going to continue to get speech therapy in school and all of his testing will be one on one (like it has been up to this point) because he does much better at testing with zero distractions. These are all wonderful things to hear because it just means more progression with him. I'm just in complete shock over the scores he's gotten with the standardized tests he took. It's just like my Grandpa (Kaden's great grandpa) says, "You can tell he's a smart kid, just look at those gears in his head turn."

Life's changes

A few months back I noticed something about my self and those I am around that required me to make a change.  I noticed a lot of negativity, anger and just missery in my life and how it was affecting me as well as the family.  So I made the choice that has certianly changed me in ways I couldn't have imagined.  I chose to find possitives in every part of life.  Sure I get bad days and days where I just want to pull my hair out, but I can still find something that was good about those days and choose to focus on that.  At first the choice was a challenge but then it got easier and better with time.  Just reciently I've seen the dramatic changes that have happened since making that choice.  The blessings that have come into our lives are amazing, the kids are much happier, my marriage is better than ever before, and I'm a happier person. 

Just in the last few weeks blessings have come to Jay with his job, he's a work center supervisor in his division and he got a NAM.  Jay had been wanting to be a work center supervisor for a while and it just never happened.  He got on the IKE and bam it happens.  This is a position of leadership which will be great for his career.  The NAM, was something we had given up on.  Back when he was on the Nimitz he'd been promised so many things in the last year we were attached to the ship that ended up all being broken.  So when this last and final promise of a NAM was made we hoped he'd get it, but also knew it could just be another broken promise.  Well this last week he was given the NAM (Navy Accomidation Medal).  This is a big deal, it isn't easy to get one of these medals, and it looks great for his career.  He had a ceremony for it and all (pictures to come once he gets them).

So many changes have been happening since that choice to be happy and find the good in every aspect of life.  Too often any more there is a huge focus on the negative and quite honestly I got sick of it.  I'm making the choice to be happy.  I deffinantly have my challenges in life, heck I'm teaching in Primary now, but there is so much good out there.  I've got too many blessings and too much good going on to not see how the choice to find the good in life has impacted me.  I know I've lost friends over this choice, and you know what I'm okay with that. I am making the choice to be happy and be okay with who I am. 

Celebrating 7 years

This past Monday we celebrated our 7th anniversarry.  I can't believe we've been married for 7 years.  It has been an amazing journey full of ups and downs and I wouldn't trade any of it for the world.  We didn't do too much, our sitter canceled due to their kids being sick so no date night, but it was still a nice day.

Jay brought home 3 dozen roses for me this year.  I love how they look and smell.

The other big news in our house came today.  Jay came home from work announcing he'd just been made a work center supervisor!  This is a big deal.  He's only been on the ship for 2 weeks and really wanted to do this, but wasn't sure if it would happen.  It did and it is a huge responsibility for him.  He's only over a small part of his division, but it still is a position of leadership and can help him go far in his career.

New Year, New goals

Wow, I can't believe the year 2010 has ended and 2011 has begun.  The last year just went by so fast for us.  It was one wild ride for us, that's for sure.  Survived a 8 month deployment, more time with Jay being out to sea after the ship got back, re-enlisting, getting new orders, having them taken away, and then getting them once more, getting out of debt, moving from San Diego to Norfolk, Jay going off to school and then coming home.  It has truly been an amazing year.  A year that I discovered my voice and ability to stand up for what's right, not matter what the consequences would be.  A year that has given me so many amazing experiences and challenges.

And now here at the start of a new year I can't wait to see what happens.  This year I've made goals that for me, and our family are what is best.  I'll still be standing up for what I believe is right, still defending the consitution of this wonderful country, still speaking the truth (even when it may not be easy), and doing all that I can to teach my kids.  I can't wait for Sunday to begin teaching my new class in primary and to see what comes from it.  This year, Annabelle will be in primary instead of nursery and that will make things different.  It will be quite the adventure this year, I can feel it.

Christmas Snow

Chirstmas night it started to snow and just kept snowing all night long.  We woke up to it still coming down strong.  It was a good snow storm by Jay and my standards, but to those in Norfolk, it was considered a bilzzard.  So for fun the kids and Jay went out and played in it and they all had a blast.  It was also the first time ever that we've had church canceled due to snow.

This is right out our front door.  The wind made visibility really low, but everything was just beautiful.

Miya just loved the snow.  She was going crazy out in it and it was quite deep.  We got about 1ft of snow for the kids to play in.

Jay and the kids were throwing snowballs at each other while Miya went nuts.  It was something the kids haven't gotten to experience much since we lived in San Diego for the last 3 years, but boy was the winter wonderland sight something that just felt right. 

Christmas

We had a great Christmas this year.  Christmas eve kicked off the fun with a trip up to Waynesboro to the anual Teerlink Family Christmas party.  This was a first for the kids and I, and only the second time for Jay to be with Grandma and Grandpa T. and everyone else at Christmas time.  Sadly this is also the last year they are doing the big party.  The whole family comes to Grandma and Grandpa's for Christmas eve dinner and then they do a Nativity play before opening some simple gifts.  It was a great time, and we all had a lot of fun.

The kids and Jay all had parts in the play, Jay was one of the 3 wise men and the kids were lambs.

Annabelle had her part down great! 

The Grandkids and Great Grandkids all in costume from the play.

We came home Christmas eve and the kids got their jammies before watching "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas" (cartoon version).  They were just so excited for Christmas.

Looks like Santa came to our house.  My kids are the 3rd generation on my side to have the "Santa" wrapping paper (white paper). 

Chirstmas Day was wonderful.  My head cold, that I thought was gone, hit me again and while I wasn't feeling the best it was still a wonderful day.  Santa brought the kids the lightsabers and boy do they just love those.

Even Miya got spoiled for Christmas

Poor dog was worn out by noon.  She just had too much excitement for the day.

The best part of Christmas was it snowed that night.  We had a white Christmas, which for us is exactly how Christmas should be.