Life is full of adventure ...

I know its been a while since I last wrote update, but the last two months have been a whirlwind of activity. Some of you know parts of it, so bear with me as I fill everyone in.

Many of you know that October was spent with me packing up our home in Georgia (or at least seperating what the movers were not taking) while George finished school. The last week was a flurry of activity as the movers took two days to pack and on top of that the realtor brought 4 families through on those days to view the house for rent. Then the movers were suppose to arrive that Friday morming between 8 and 8:30 a.m. to load the trucks. At 10:30 a.m. I got a call that they were running behind schedule for another move 3 hours away and that they'd be there early afternoon. Many phone calls and one cranky pregnant later, they showed up at 5:30 p.m. to start loading. They finally finished a little after 11 p.m. Ah, the rollercoaster ride of military life!

We spent the weekend cleaning the house (George treated me to a maid who did all the scrubbing!) and then turned the house over to the rental company. That Wednesday (Nov. 4) he graduated school and Thursday we started the trip to Miami at 4:30 a.m. (UGH!) Eleven hours later, we pulled into our new neighborhood and got the keys for our "new home". We opted to stay in a hotel that night, since nearly everything we owned was on the back of a truck somewhere.

The next morning while the puppy stayed in bed (lazy little bugger!), George went to the AFB to in-process and I headed to the house to meet the movers. From the start I was nervous as bags and boxes fell out of the truck, but I was assured that none were ours! Once everything was unloaded and (most) were delivered to the room we'd specified, we settled in for our first night at the new house. (Don't worry, I am working on a post to explain the move in detail!)

That only lasted for a few days, because Nov. 10 we started the 2-day, 22 hour drive to Houston. We got to spend some time with family and I had tons of fun at the baby shower. Thanks to all who attended. While there it was a whirlwind of activity to include a 3-D ultrasound, shopping and visiting all those Texas restaurants that I've been missing!

Unfortunately, the Tuesday before Thanksgiving I got a call that my paternal grandfather was in a serious car accident and was in critical care in New Orleans. George and I cut the Houston visit short to headed to the hospital the next day to spend some time with my grandmother and the rest of the family. Thanksgiving day we got back to Miami and settled in for a few days together. The following Tuesday (Dec. 1) he left for a conference in North Carolina and I settled in to get a few of the nearly 200 boxes unpacked. I got multiple daily updates from my Dad and aunt about my grandfather's recovery and for a while he looked to be improving, but on Thursday (Dec. 3) I got the call from my Dad that he passed away. George returned home the next day (Friday). On Saturday (Dec. 4) we attended part 1 of our birthing class, then loaded the truck and headed to La. to attend the funeral and spend some time with my family. Despite his packed schedule, most of which was spent traveling, George found the time to contact and coordinate with 2nd Bn, 4th Inf. Reg., his unit at Fort Polk, to see if they could get a team together for a military tribute. As few know, George and my grandfather served in the same unit, though nearly 50 years apart.

Tuesday (Dec. 8) we headed back to Miami, and George headed back to work the next morning. That following Saturday (Dec. 12) we finished the birthing class and then prepared for the Winter Ball in Key Largo that night. Sunday, after a month of constant travel, we decided to forgo unpacking and headed for the warm Miami beaches. It was a good decision, a day of much needed resting and relaxing.

Now the house is nearly unpacked, George is quickly settling in to his new command position and we even managed to coordinate a holiday lunch for the Soldiers and spouses this past Friday. The Christmas tree is up and (kind of) decorated since we could only find some of the ornaments, but Great-Grandma's (Leija) two angels were set aside from the day the movers came and they are now on display in the kitchen.

Baby Jamie is growing and active. I am now 32-weeks and go every other week to the doctor. My new baby doctor is great, though I am looking for another primary care physician. I just didn't like the one I was initially assigned. We are also researching pediatricians and hope to get one picked by mid-January.

January looks to be a busy one as we start the month off with our first spouses social and George's Assumption of Command. We'll finish with the baby's room and start preparing for his arrival as well.

I guess its time to rest now then its off to clean the kitchen. I get tired quite easily these days. Hope all is well with you and your families. May everyone have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I will post some pictures in the next day or so.

Until our next cup of tea ...

Why I am proud to be an American ...

1. JFK'S Secretary of State, Dean Rusk, was in France in the early 60's when DeGaule decided to pull out of NATO. DeGaule said he wanted all US military out of France as soon as possible.

Rusk responded "does that include those who are buried here?"

DeGuale did not respond.

2. When in England , at a fairly large conference, Colin Powell was asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury if our plans for Iraq were just an example of empire building by George Bush.

He answered by saying, 'Over the years, the United States has sent many of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our borders. The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return is enough to bury those that did not return.'

3. There was a conference in France where a number of international engineers were taking part, including French and American. During a break, one of the French engineers came back into the room saying 'Have you heard the latest dumb stunt Bush has done? He has sent an aircraft carrier to Indonesia to help the tsunami victims. What does he intended to do, bomb them?'

A Boeing engineer stood up and replied quietly: 'Our carriers have three hospitals on board that can treat several hundred people; they are nuclear p owered and can supply emergency electrical power to shore facilities; they have three cafeterias with the capacity to feed 3,000 people three meals a day, they can produce several thousand gallons of fresh water from sea water each day, and they carry half a dozen helicopters for use in transporting victims and injured to and from their flight deck. We have eleven such ships; how many does France have?'

4. A U.S. Navy Admiral was attending a naval conference that included Admirals from the U.S. , English, Canadian, Australian and French Navies. At a cocktail reception, he found himself standing with a large group of Officers that included personnel from most of those countries. Everyone was chatting away in English as they sipped their drinks but a French admiral suddenly complained that, whereas Europeans learn many languages, Americans learn only English. He then asked, 'Why is it that we always have to speak English in these conferences rather than speaking French?'

Without hesitating, the American Admiral replied, 'Maybe it's because the Brit's, Canadians, Aussie's and Americans arranged it so you wouldn't have to speak German.'

5. Robert Whiting , an elderly gentleman of 83, arrived in Paris by plane. At French Customs, he took a few minutes to locate his passport in his carry on.

"You have been to France before, monsieur?" the customs officer asked sarcastically...

Mr. Whiting admitted that he had been to France previously.

"Then you should know enough to have your passport ready."

The American said, 'The last time I was here, I didn't have to show it."

"Impossible. Americans always have to show your passports on arrival in France !"

The American senior gave the Frenchman a long hard look. Then he quietly explained, ''Well, when I came ashore at Omaha Beach on D-Day in 1944 to help liberate this country, I couldn't find a single Frenchmen to show a passport to."

So you were all right!

O.k. to my dear blogging friends who told me these last few months of pregnancy accompanied with a move and drive across the nation for a baby shower and time with out families would make me lose my sanity ... well, you were right. I also lost track of time from switching time zones, feel "icky" because I haven't been able to stay on my healthy eating regime (I NEED MORE FRUIT), and have a million (o.k. a few) half written posts.

I promise I will get back on track. There is so much I want to tell you ... especially about the baby shower (and how the heck we managed to get everything home from Houston to Miami!)

Well, we're off to get food and truck inspected and stop by my FIL's plot at the cemetary. Hope everyone has a good day and I promise, I'll return soon!

Until our next cup of tea ...

6 months down, 3 more to go until we can hold him in our arms ...

I finally got the chance to scan the latest ultrasound pictures and wanted to share them with you. It has been a flurry of activity here. The movers arrive on Wednesday and I am NOWHERE near ready, but somehow I always manage to make it. We leave next Wednesday and from there will be heading to see our family! We are so excited to see everyone. Making an agenda keeps me from going insane with so many to visit, and now that the preganancy brain is fully activated, my dayplanner has become the Holy Grail! Hopefully we can fit everyone in.

The ultrasound was Oct. 15 and Baby Jamie weighed in at 1 lb. 5 oz. (though I'm sure he's sailed passed that now!) He was nearly 11 inches long, so he's getting bigger (though I am maintaining!) All the test came back fine and despite my risk factors for gestational diabetes, I am nowhere near that diagnosis (thanks to my love of fresh fruit!) His heartbeat is about 150 beats per minute and sounds strong! About three weeks ago he reached the point where he can now taste what I am eating, so that means that he's getting a little variety and has a better chance of favoring foods I eat during this period, so I'm still munching on fruits and veggies, and hoping that we don't have food wars about eating his veggies later on! His kicks are much stronger now, some reach the point of stopping me in my tracks and we are excited that soon George will be able to feel him.

Look at that precious little face!


Record of his heartbeat ...


The tech thought I'd like a picture of him kicking ... no picture needed, I feel like a trampoline!


He's very proud of his "ahem" toy!

Until our next cup of tea ...

Enjoying a Flury of Halloween Activites ...

O.k. so I know that I haven't been blogging mcuh lately. Actually I have about 4-5 half-written posts waiting to be finished, but there is so much going on around here. However, I currently have the hubby occupied with a XBox game and the pup has fallen back to sleep, so I thought I'd take a moment to sit down and shower you some of the "fun" stuff we'd been doing amid all of the "work" of moving.

Not many know that as a child my Family did not celebrate amny holidays. Even Christmas was something that my brother and I old celebrated when we visited my mom and her Family. There were a variety of reasons from too many kids to not part of my father and step-mother's religious beliefs. Even Chritmas had limited a activities, strictly food and gift-exchange.

I had decided that when I grew up and had children I wanted to celebrate the "spirit of the season", whether it was a 4th of July picnic or huge Christmas blow-out! Well, I had the fortunate luck of arrying a husband who LOVES Halloween, the one holiday that eluded me as a child. Even as an adult, I didn't really know what to do, but he has slowly introduced me to the "spirit of the season" (at least those two that he was home for!)

So many of my longtime readers may remember, photos of my first pumpkin carving experience and the final products October 2005. I really enjoyed it, but in 2006 and 2007, hubby was deployed, and in 2008 his father was in the final stages of cancer and we nearly lived at the hospital. (We did hand out candy later while watching "The Search for the Next Elvira" that night when we came home, so we did have some fun!)

This year we decided to do it again, and invited another couple from George's class to join us. It was so much fun. While their dog, Harley and Sgt. Major ran each other ragged we gathered around the kitchen table and let the cleaning, cutting, and chhopping run free. Pretty soon we had all completed "masterpieces." Actually Sarah and I chose more "classic" designs, while George and Rob chose more "artistic" designs. The pictures aren't that great, but here they are ...

(Sarah's is on the left and mine is on the right)


(Rob's is on the left and George's is on the right)

As much fun s it was, that wasn't the only thing we did this weekend. On Friday night we decided to check out the local Haunted House. Other than working at Six Flags in Houston and participating in their haunted house, I'd never actually been to one so I was really excited. So after meeting another couple for dinner, the four of us headed off to face our fears at Plantation Blood.



It was great! We went though a smaller house (there were people actually living in the actual plantation house), then you walked through the graveyard, next you went into a smaller outbuilding with an actually boiler room and lastly through the woods. It took about 45 minutes to complete and Sarah and I screamed the whole time ... through there was a lot of laughing as well. We pushed the boys along in front of us, but we still got the "boo" scared out of us! Thak goodness we had our Soldiers there to protect us! At one point a zombie chased Sarah in circles with a chainsaw and when I lost my flip flop in the woods another chairsaw wielding creature honed in on us when I stopped to get it. At one point, I think Sarah (who was walking behind me) tried to crawl into my belly with the baby! It was great ... and oddly enough it didn't seem to disrupt the baby at all. We kicked and squirmed as usual after a meal while we stood in line, but had fallen asleep by the time we started. I think Sarah adn I knew we were in trouble, when we tried to use the port-a-potties in the dark while waiting and the person coming out scared the "boo" out of us!

We are looking to see what other adventures there are locally for next weekend. So far we've heard of a corn maze and haunted woods, so I'll keep you posted ...

Until our next cup of tea ...

What I've learned abour Grandparents ...

My grandmother sent this to me and I thought it was too cute not to share ...

1. She was in the bathroom, putting on her makeup, under the watchful eyes of her young granddaughter, as she'd done many times before. After she applied her lipstick and started to leave, the little one said, "But Gramma, you forgot to kiss the toilet paper good-bye!" I will probably never put lipstick on again without thinking about kissing the toilet paper good-bye...

2. My young grandson called the other day to wish me Happy Birthday. He asked me how old I was, and I told him, 62. My grandson was quiet for a moment, and then he asked, "Did you start at 1?"

3. After putting her grandchildren to bed, a grandmother changed into old slacks and a droopy blouse and proceeded to wash her hair. As she heard the children getting more and more rambunctious, her patience grew thin. Finally, she threw a towel around her head and stormed into their room, putting them back to bed with stern warnings. As she left the room, she heard the three-year-old say with a trembling voice, "Who was THAT?"

4. A grandmother was telling her little granddaughter what her own childhood was like: "We used to skate outside on a pond I had a swing made from a tire; it hung from a tree in our front yard. We rode our pony. We picked wild raspberries in the woods." The little girl was wide-eyed, taking this all in. At last she said, "I sure wish I'd gotten to know you sooner!"

5. My grandson was visiting one day when he asked, "Grandma, do you know how you and God are alike?" I mentally polished my halo and I said, "No, how are we alike?'' "You're both old," he replied.

6. A little girl was diligently pounding away on her grandfather's word processor. She told him she was writing a story. "What's it about?" he asked. "I don't know," she replied. "I can't read."

7. I didn't know if my granddaughter had learned her colors yet, so I decided to test her. I would point out something and ask what color it was. She would tell me and was always correct. It was fun for me, so I continued. At last, she headed for the door, saying, "Grandma, I think you should try to figure out some of these, yourself!"

8... When my grandson Billy and I entered our vacation cabin, we kept the lights off until we were inside to keep from attracting pesky insects. Still, a few fireflies followed us in. Noticing them before I did, Billy whispered, "It's no use Grandpa. Now the mosquitoes are coming after us with flashlights."

9. When my grandson asked me how old I was, I teasingly replied, "I'm not sure." "Look in your underwear, Grandpa," he advised, "mine says I'm 4 to 6."

10. A second grader came home from school and said to her grandmother, "Grandma, guess what? We learned how to make babies today." The grandmother, more than a little surprised, tried to keep her cool. "That's interesting," she said, "how do you make babies?" "It's simple," replied the girl. "You just change 'y' to 'i' and add 'es'."

11. Children's Logic: "Give me a sentence about a public servant," said a teacher. The small boy wrote: "The fireman came down the ladder pregnant." The teacher took the lad aside to correct him. "Don't you know what pregnant means?" she asked. "Sure," said the young boy confidently. 'It means carrying a child."

12. A grandfather was delivering his grandchildren to their home one day when a fire truck zoomed past. Sitting in the front seat of the fire truck was a Dalmatian dog. The children started discussing the dog's duties. "They use him to keep crowds back," said one child. "No," said another. "He's just for good luck." A third child brought the argument to a close."They use the dogs," she said firmly, "to find the fire hydrants."

13. A 6-year-old was asked where his grandma lived. "Oh," he said, "she lives at the airport, and when we want her, we just go get her. Then, when we're done having her visit, we take her back to the airport."

Silly puppy, you make us laugh!

So I know that its been a while since Sgt. Major's fans have gotten an update on him, so here are just some of his antics from yesterday ...



At the announcement of "bath-time" Sgt. Major plopped down "dead" ... his form of a non-violent protest I guess.



Sgt. Major got a new toy ... a battery operated ball that rolls around like crazy ...



It took him a while to get used to cornering the toy so he could chew on it.



As a parent I was told sometimes you have to get down to "their" level when dealing with kids ... so George is practicing on Sgt. Major ...



but it soon becomes naptime ... I'd like to practice that one!

Trying to get ahead, before I get behind!

So much to do and so little time. Everytime I realize that we will be moving again soon (we are down to 5 weeks) I start to panic. November is going to be C-R-A-Z-Y busy! I'm actually stressed right now, which I'm sure if not good for the baby, so I thought blogging would help ... a little.

We have set up the appointment with transportation to pack and ship our houshold goods (HHG). However, without an address to send it too, our HHG will go into storage and we will have to coordinate to get them delivered at a later date. Since we are not going to an active duty installation and there is no on-post housing we HAVE to live off-post and the storage facility is over 30 minutes away, on the other side of Miami. I assume it will be a black hole once our HHG go into storage because it is as a Coast Guard facility and they don't really deal with that sort of thing on a daily basis.

So we went to Miami over the Labor Day holiday to look at housing areas and the different types of houses that were available. We narrowed down the housing community and the realtor began sending us a list of homes available. She also told us that we should look into buying in that neighborhood since it was one with high interest and would continue to gain interest since it was one of the few gated communities near the base and outside the congestion of Miami. Since a new hosiptal was recently built at the need of the community, it also make it a prime location for medical professionals. After research we realized that there would be a growing interest since the City of Miami has decided to start raising its city property taxes.

So now we are in the home-stretch. We have 5 weeks to find a house, the packers and movers are scheduled, then its a fury to unpack and get "necessities" and furniture in place before we head out on a whilwhind trip to Houston for baby shower and Family bonding. Then it's back to Army life while George gets settled in as commander, I get to figure out where verything will go in the house and what we need before the baby arrives. Whew! I'm tired just thinking about it!

Well, I'mm off to spend time with the pup. I do have some funny picture of Sgt. major that I will try to post in the next day or so.

Until our next cup of tea ...

Feeling conflicted ...

O.k. so I'm pretty sure I can vent on here because NO ONE from my family actually reads my blog. (And to think that used to bug me!)

O.k. I'm feeling pretty conflicted about some things right now and to really explain it would take a novel, but I will try to keep it short.

Many of you know that I grew up with 11 siblings and for the most part I always felt "alone is a roomful of strangers" kind of thing, not really connecting with any of them. Despite what many of you who know me in real life must see, I was a very shy child and stayed to myself (still am shy but overcompensate with learned social behavior from ettiquette classes.)

Even when it was just me and my biological brother (a year older) with my mom's family I always felt like (and still do) an afterthought. Like a side note. Maybe that's why I diverted my energy and attention into school and education. It was a method to justify the loneliness.

I remember this one time in my teens, we were at my mom's for Christmas dinner and my uncle asked my brother how school was. After his answer he turned and asked me, but before I could answer, my uncle turned to my aunt and started a conversation with her. I don't know why that sticks out in my mind so much.

Anyway, George and I were very excited about getting pregnant and I called everyone to share the news. But since then it has been a very quiet. No calls, other than a few from my mom when she's not busy, and no answers on the monthly baby updates. But this week, my brother and his wife announced she was pregnant and I feel like our family will once again take a back burner for him.

I am very excited for them, I know that they will be great parents, I was just hoping that since we didn't get the big fanfare wedding and stuff like they did that this would be my chance to finally be in the limelight. {Sigh} It's not that I don't mind sharing but just like a child giving its parents a crayon drawing I was expecting some excitement, but instead it's like my brother just proved he was a 7-year-old Michaelangelo or something and my little drawing looks like crap!

I know that it's just something I will have to work through, and it's not like George's Family and our friends and Army Family haven't been extremely supportive. I know a large part of it is because we are a military Family and that takes us a long way from our Family and while I wouldn't say "out of sight, out of mind" it does feel that way at times.

Well, I'm off to cheer myself up by finishing some stitching projects for Baby Boy and as well as for another milspouse who is expecting 6-weeks before me (Ahh, we are partners in crime but you'll never catch us because we can look so innocent!). Back to baby on the brain! I do have some cute stuff to post later on, as well as an update on our crazy fun Miami trip!

Until our next cup of tea ...

A promise to be better ...

O.k. This is my promise to be a better blogger friend! With the move, finishing my masters and then getting pregnant, I admit that I have not had as much time as I'd like to read other blogs or blog myself, but I promise to be better.

Now that I am in "mommy" mode I think I have come up with a system to accomplish this. Each time I post on one of my blogs (this one or The Teacup Collector's Cottage (Craft, Collection and Home Blog) I will put a colored star on my calendar (a different color for each blog.) My goal is also to visit the blogs on my sidebar weekly. Each week I visit each blog I'll put a different colored start on my calendar. (If I missed you, please let me know. As I get comments I will check to make sure you are on the list.)

I think this way I will be able to see at a glance how I'm doing. Isn't it a bit sad though that I have to revert to the system parents use to get their kids to do chores? I promise it's not a chore, my days seems to run together now that we prepare for ANOTHER move and the baby. I've already done two posts in two day on this blog, so the system must be working!

I hope everyone has a great week!

Until our next cup of tea ...