More than a Pic a Day

Another update of pictures and I managed to snap more than one a day and only miss one day!!!

For Uncle Joe

She's getting pretty good at this!

She's so cute when she's destructive!

Ellie "helping" me with Caitlyn's laundry...

She was too tired to eat pretty much the whole day.  Growing is hard work!!!

Eating her feet while I went to fetch fresh PJ's since she thought it wise to poop on the clothes she was wearing.

Distractable

This one just made me laugh because she was getting fussy until she realized she could make the sounds go and then got fussy again when it quit!

Bounce!

Pulled Over... Again.

Yes, Jon was pulled over again but this time on base.  They were lost and looking for their classroom when he realized he was doing 28 in a 25.  Of course, at that exact moment there was an MP that was kind enough to pull him over and remind him of the correct speed limit.  He was LUCKY that the MP saw he was a police officer in his driver's license picture and said out of professional courtesy he would give him a verbal warning.  We've decided he's not allowed to drive anymore when there are other people that can do it for him!  He's bored with his classes and homesick.

Back here in Georgia...

Caitlyn is doing well.  Her little tooth pokes out a bit more each day and her left bottom one feels like it's going to break out any day now.  She has an oatmeal cereal in the afternoon and a brown rice cereal in the evening.  Her digestive system seems to handle it pretty well and I think we'll be ready for other foods in the next month or so.  She's not a big eater in the morning but she makes up for it in the evening.  She still gets a total of 40 ounces of formula but some of it is mixed into her cereals.  If I make a bottle of 8 ounces and she's having cereal, I take out 1.5-2 ounces for cereal and then she'll finish the bottle afterwards.  She inhales pretty much everything she eats but if I were to give her 8 ounces on top of the cereal, she would be very pukey.  There have been a few occasions where she hasn't even finished the 6 ounces after cereal... those are mostly in the morning/afternoons, though.

I'm hanging in there and just learning how to get everything done while still making sure she is taken care of.  We have a routine most days and as long as we stick to it, things are fine.  She generally only fusses when she is hungry or tired so the better I anticipate the two, the easier it is.  My goal is to get our house clean by the time Jon comes back from Texas.  I don't just mean weekly cleaning type things... I mean really cleaned and organized.  This week consists of catching up on weekly cleaning stuff I put off last week plus working on the Spring Cleaning for Normal People assignment.  (http://biblicalwomanhoodblog.blogspot.com/2009/01/spring-cleaning-for-normal-people.html)  I'm also working on myself as a part of living a more organized and healthy lifestyle.  This week's self goal involves drinking more water.  I'm starting small so that hopefully this all will be for the long term.

Catching Up

I slacked off on taking pictures and posting whith Jonathan being here, gone and then here again before he left for Texas.  But, I managed to snap a few shots, so here's what I have...

Hugs for Dada!

Ewwwww!!!!  =)

"Working" in her "office"

Naptime with Schnookums!

After a nice visit with Aunt Kristina and Uncle Joe (and Dakota!!!)

Getting ready to shop Sam's Club for Daddy's surprise party!

A visit with Daddy

Another day at the "office"

Surprise, Daddy!

5 More Weeks

It seems like months since the last time I blogged because so much has been going on in our lives!  Jonathan still hasn't gotten paid, been entered into pay or his promotion.  He finally got his orders for Macon and Texas.  I think he has one or two more sets of orders to worry about and then we should be settled into a pattern of getting paid on a regular basis.  He came home for two days a week ago and then again on Friday night.  He got himself pulled over for "suspected DUI" because he swerved out of the line trying to fish his cell phone out from the floor board of the car.  It wouldn't have been a big deal if we weren't all waiting for him at his parents' house to yell "SURPRISE!!!" for his surprise birthday party.  Everyone that was able to make it was patient and we made sure we fed them while they waited.  Jon was so touched that so many people were able to be there and waited so long for him to get there!  The next evening we went to Caprese to celebrate our anniversary (even though it was actually his birthday) and had a really enjoyable dinner.  This morning, we woke up at 6am and I dropped him off at the airport.  His flight just took off less than an hour ago and he should be there by 2pm.  He'll be back in about 5 weeks and we're hoping he'll have 3-4 days to spend at home before it's back to Macon again (but we'll believe it when it happens!).  It's so incredible to see Jonathan with Caitlyn.  He has far exceeded any expectations I had about what kind of father he would be.  He doesn't miss a beat when he's been gone, he seems to pick up right where he left off!  It's a bit of adjustment for me but they both do just fine.

Speaking of Caitlyn, she cut her first tooth on the 22nd (bottom right) and she just grows and grows more every day.  She is so fun to watch with everything she does.  It's amazing to see the learning process up close and personal.  She has a Little Einstein activity center that she just loves to play in.  It reminds me of her being at her "office" and it's like she's telling me she has "lots of business to do" as she plays.  She figured out the over-the-door bouncer yesterday, too.  Oh... and how to bang a toy on the tray to make the most possible noise.  While I'm not incredibly thrilled with the noise thing, I love how she's constantly growing and changing.  She's still not very interested in tummy time or crawling because she mostly gets frustrated but I still make her do it.  She can roll herself over onto her belly but she is most interested in walking.  She wants to be mobile more than anything and unfortunately, I'm not ready for it yet!!!  Guess I will have to be soon!

While Daddy is Away...

I thought this would be a great way for me to post Caitlyn's pictures for Jonathan while he is away and at the same time, you guys can see how she's changing!  Here is a picture for each day that Jonathan has been gone (I think I missed one day but oh well!)

A Moment

I just wanted to take a moment and say how thankful I am for everything and every one in my life.  Despite all of the drama surrounding Jonathan's deployment, I truly feel blessed to be living the life that I am.  I have a loving husband, a marriage that is getting stronger by the day and the most precious baby girl.  Caitlyn has such an infectious smile.  When she smiles and giggles, I melt and I can't help but have a heart filled with joy.  Even in my weakest moments and her fussiest moods, I still find happiness in my time with her.  She has taught me so much in her short little life so far that I never thought possible.  I never realized how much our children teach us and I honestly believe it is just as much, if not more than what we teach them.  I have been humbled in becoming a mother and I will never be the same woman I was before her (nor do I care to be that woman).  I am thankful for all of the support our family has been shown and for everyone who I know I can count on in the near future.

"A little girl is sugar and spice and everything nice - especially when she's taking a nap."

Pressure Cooker

I may have been a wee bit frustrated and angry in my last post.  It seems like no one knows anything to tell any of the soldiers and so we are all left in the dark about what's happening.  I always said there are three things in a man's life you don't fool with:  His wife, his truck and his paycheck.  Jon's car broke yesterday and we still have no idea if and when he's getting paid or even how much it will be when it happens.  Being away from your family and having everything fall to crap can make you feel like you're in a pressure cooker all by itself but not knowing if you're even getting paid when you're supposed to puts that much more stress on a man.  Being the protective woman that I am of my family, I will fight for my man with anyone that wrongs him.  I have had to use a lot of restraint and let him deal with things how he has needed to because no one will talk to a military wife!  Trust me, when we had all of those issues with the VA, I called and cussed those folks out.  All they did is put me on the "Do not speak with" list and I was put on hold until the call magically disconnected!  We are fortunate that Jon's dad knows someone in the Brigade who is higher up in rank and can generally offer up some answers of AT LEAST who to talk to that will know something about what Jon's issue is!  The problem is communication.  None of the guys Jon is working with know what's going on and if they do, they have issues communicating it!  We have been told that we SHOULD be getting the BAH Type I (the higher amount) but I will believe it when I see it!

We're also being told that Jonathan will be leaving January 25th-26th to go to Texas for ANOTHER class for 6 weeks.  Let's see... that's 3 wedding anniversaries taken away from us by the military in 5 years including next year.  Our back up has always been April 14 since that was the day we started officially dating but I don't think he has EVER been home for that one!!!  He's always been training, deployed or at drill.  We were able to spend our 2 year anniversary together but I was very ill waiting for my gall bladder surgery and then last year I was pregnant and we were preparing for his brother's wedding so I was also kind of sick and we were rushing around picking up clothes from fittings.  We actually had plans this year to go to the shooting range so he could teach me how to use his gun and then we were going to have dinner at Caprese.  He was able to score a bunch of free rounds from the police right before he left that they were going to scrap out, so we'll basically have to pay for the shooting lane (which is fairly cheap from what I understand).  I got one of those gift certificates from Restaurant.com for Caprese for a whole $1.20 and it's $25 off a $35 meal.  So, we had a cheap and fun evening planned.  I think it's fun anyway.  It's different from anything we've ever done before but it also serves a purpose and doesn't blow our limited budget (again, the pay issues).

Well, cross your fingers with me that Jon gets his promotion and orders this week.  And cross your toes that he gets paid on the 15th!!!

What FRG?

I have tried searching every term I can fathom to try and find the 48th Brigade's Family Readiness Group and to no avail.  They sent out two newsletters while Jonathan was deployed last time and had  few phone conferences for those who could not attend their meetings but they seem to have disappeared!!!  I would really like to get in touch with someone in the FRG at least for Jonathan's unit because we're being hosed on everything.  Still no promotion (he was elligible in October and paperwork was "submitted"), so far, no pay has been entered into the system for him being in Macon... this could be due to the fact that he still does not have orders to be there... and because he will be on 4-5 different sets of orders, we won't be getting BAH type I.  We'll be getting BAH type II which is about HALF of type I for his rank (which should be an E5).  Jonathan isn't the only soldier getting screwed out of BAH, either.  The main problem in getting this fixed is that it's mostly a bunch of lowly enlisted men that are going through this.  None of the higher ups or officers are having issues because they either have not been activated yet or are on ADSW orders.  They won't put Jon on ADSW orders because of "money issues".  Well guess what?!  We have money issues now TOO thanks to you penny pinching jerks!  You cannot take people away from their families for 18 months and deny them pay!!!  I am so tired of the same issues over and over and OVER again!!!  I am giving them one week before I flat out explode.  I was hoping to find someone in the FRG to tell and discuss this with but I guess they don't exist?  Maybe I should start my own FRG...

/end vent

The New Year

Looking back on 2008, it was one hell of a year. I had one of my biggest heartbreaks ever and I also got the best gift from God, our daughter Caitlyn. The whole year, though, there was a dark cloud looming over us for 2009. We kept saying "Next year, when you're deployed..." but now I'm afraid it's this year. Monday begins our 18 month long journey of deployment and I hope the time goes by very quickly. Looking forward to 2009, I have a few resolutions. Now, I've never been one to make a list of them and I've done the typical "lose weight" or "work out" ones but this year is different for me and here's how:

1) Always clean the peanut butter knife. This is more figuratively speaking but every morning I have peanut butter waffles for breakfast. So, if the sink is empty and the first thing I put in there is the peanut butter knife, then I would like for it to be cleaned by the end of the day. That means I have to un-earth it from the sinkful of dishes which in turn means I would be going to bed each day with the dishes done. This is something I want to spill over into other areas of housework, though. I'd really love to be able to knock something major off my cleaning list each day but in the meantime, I'll just keep working on that peanut butter knife.

2) Stick to a budget and grocery shop with CASH. Anyone who has been around me lately has probably noticed my obsession with shopping cheap and using coupons. I have my sister-in-law to thank for finding the Grocery Game website and starting this obsession but I've taken it to a whole new level. As much as I try to remind myself that it's not a good deal for me if I blow my budget, I'm just not as careful when I know I have money in bank accounts I can spend as I am if there is a limited amount of cash. I tried this out one week in December and I rocked it. I even had $7 left over for Jon to get himself some lottery tickets with for his stocking (I thought he might like to pick them). So, if I can get everything straightened out to work off of cash, that would make me oh-so-happy.

3) In tying in with number 2 on my list, I don't want to pay a SINGLE bill even ONE DAY late. I am grown adult and I should be responsible enough to make this happen, even if I have 35 different payments to make in one month (and that's happened!).

4) ORGANIZATION!!! Which is key to numbers 2 and 3. I am going to invest in some more storage containers. They have been my best investment thus far with household items and with Caitlyn growing out of 6-9 month sized clothing now, I'm in great need of more! Some may say I have an obsession with them if they saw my garage but I don't care. I know where everything is and I know I've gotten rid of anything and everything I can (minus the items in the "Garage Sale/Donation" containers).

5) Weight Loss. Yep, the typical weight loss goal but not quite-so-typical. I want to be back to my pre-pregnancy weight and then go from there. I usually set a goal of "Lose 40 pounds this year!" and it's no wonder that I fail. That's a lot of pressure to think about mapping out your weight loss for a whole year! Let's start with the remaining 15 pounds and then we'll get it figured out. It's not like I have a personal trainer or nutritionist here!

Well, I guess Happy New Year!