Hello. See you later.

For the past month now I start a new post, and then delete it. I have so much to write about but can't seem to actually write about it, hopefully this one will make it! 

It's been an extremely overwhelming, weird, busy wave of "hello, I love you, see you later" around here lately and I'm still trying to figure it all out. I mean we've been doing this for awhile now, but this is the first time the underways are so long, and the time home is so short. 

In the time Husband was home we had to pack littleSOMUCHtime (see what I did there?) We spent most of the time we did  have in Arizona, visiting family and friends. We spent the duty days taking lunch to Husband (on the 4th we ate on the boat), and the days between hanging out as a family in the evenings. We are definitely learning how to make every minute count!

Charlie's eye is all healed up, we took the  "cone of shame" off last week! He looks funny because he really needs a hair cut, but he is acting like himself again. 

Earlier this week my mom and brother came to San Diego, they are staying until the end of the month to get out of the desert heat and watch Claira because I start my internship next week! It's been great to have someone around to talk to, get me out of the house, and it's always nice to have the extra help. This past week we have already done so much, Tuesday we went to the beach, Wednesday we went to the mall, Thursday we went for free Slurpees at 7Eleven and then to the Farmer's Market, Friday we went and played at Mission Bay Park, Yesterday we went to the swap meet, and this morning we went to church, lunch and to Lowes to pick up some plant food and fungicide for our garden plot! 

Our neighborhood in housing has a community garden in one of the parks, I stumbled upon it during a walk earlier this year and asked the office how to get a plot. In early May, Ronnie and I went and bought a bunch of seeds and starter plants and planted lots of yummy things! We have tomatoes, bell peppers, jalapeños, cayenne peppers, corn, string beans, garlic, green onions, cucumbers, squash, zucchini, pumpkin, watermelon, cantaloupe, and strawberries. It's been exciting watching everything grow and so far everything that we've tried has been delicious. Except last week the pumpkin plant started growing this fungus, and the leaves started to die, I hope I can save it! 

Speaking of saving the pumpkins, I should probably walk over and take care of that before it gets too late in the afternoon! 

I think I finally have one to post!

-Kristin

Water.

There is something about standing at the point on the beach where the water meets the sand and letting it wash over your feet that just amazes me. It always has. Looking out it seems like you can see forever, but at the same time it feels as if you could just reach out and touch the spot on the horizon where the sky collides with the water. 

Water.

Yesterday we went back to San Diego for the day/night to clean the house, since we have yet another vet appointment on Saturday and I have no idea if I will be back before Ronnie. We took a break from cleaning and went down to the beach for dinner and the sunset. We walked along, and Claira went splashing. She is a little beach bum, it makes me happy that she shares the same love of the ocean that I do. 

I like to stand in the water and look out to the horizon, hoping to see a sail, or something. It makes me feel closer to Ronnie to think that the water rushing over my feet is the same water rushing around the boat.

Today after (getting sunburned) tackling the over grown weeds in the garden plot (another post for another day!) we went and grabbed some lunch at Cotija's in Point Loma, and headed back to the beach. We played and splashed, ate some seaweed (no sand today!) collected shells, took in the smells and the cool air. 

There is something about a sleepy blonde head resting on a shoulder, missed grains of sand on tan skin, watching the sun slowly sink into the water. 

Water.

Life is going 150,000 mph, but moments like these slow time. We're back in Arizona now, counting down the days of this underway, and hoping Charlie doesn't need to see the vet anymore after Saturday. 

I miss our home, but we'll be back! 

-Kristin

Ladybug

I have some quiet time this afternoon  while at my parents' house, my sisters are both at work, my brother is at a birthday party, and my parents are running errands and grabbing dinner before they pick up my brother. Charlie doesn't fit in his crate with "cone of shame" on, so Claira and I left Ronnie's mom and dad's house to come back and be with him. He had a check up today and the graft is taking, and his eye is on it's way to healing, we will see what happens at his next appointment Tuesday! So he is curled up at my feet with his one eyed snuggle monster I bought him as a get well grift (I thought it was a good idea!) and Claira is taking a much needed late afternoon nap. 

I just love her! This next week she will be 18 months old, and I can't believe it! She's such a smart, sweet, silly ball of sunshine. She is our little Ladybug. She continues to surprise me every day and I absolutely am loving every minute of being her mommy! 

She's been walking since she was 10 months old and is talking like crazy now! (We can't always understand what she says, but it doesn't stop her!) Her new word this week is "clock" and she loves anything that looks like a clock, and anything that goes "round and round" like a clock (windmill, fan, pinwheel, thermostat, scale, outdoor thermometer) It's so exciting to see her make connections and learn new things. 

I love that she is so flexible already, when she experiences new people and new places she dives right in, and you would never know it was new to her. It's a good quality to have as a military kid! I've been thinking about that a lot as we are preparing to move again in a few months,  wondering how she will adjust to the things in our house being in a new place, and I have a feeling she will be okay.  

She also realizes now that Daddy is gone a lot, but she loves when he comes home. The other day after Ronnie left on this underway he is on right now she picked up something of his and asked "Momma?" 

"Yes Claira?" 

"What's this?" 

"That is Daddy's computer mouse, he left it here." 

"Momma?" 

"Yes Claira?" 

"Where Daddy go?" 

"He had to go to work for a long time, we will see him soon okay?" 

"Okay."  

And she hasn't really asked for him since! She likes to talk about him when she looks at the pictures I put up on the wall by her play kitchen. We read the "daddy book" he recorded for her, and she calls him on the "key phone" (my car key is the only thing that can call the boat apparently, don't tell anyone!) She used to have really bad nights when he would leave, but she is adjusting to it and knows that I am here for her. 

These past few days we have spent a lot of time in the pool, and she is such a brave little fish. I'm going to teach her what I can and maybe she'll be "swimming" by the end of the summer! 

Speaking of swimming, I need to go check on her, maybe we can get a swim in before dinner tonight! :]

-Kristin

Busy?

I didn't think I would have SO MUCH to do! I'd planned on writing more, but I haven't been home. 

Over Mother's Day we spent one last weekend as a family in Arizona with our families before Ronnie went underway (again) he's been underway a lot since January. Thankfully, the 3 month "deployment" was cancelled and he was home to make it to not only my graduation, but my senior portfolio review! (My portfolio is one of the main reasons I put my blog on hold last year, but that is for another post!) We all came home to send him off, then Claira, Charlie and I went home for my cousin's high school graduation, and Memorial Day weekend. Sometime over the weekend Charlie was poked in the eye and my poor little dog was not himself. 

Tuesday after Memorial Day I got a call from Ronnie: "Where are you?" 

"I'm at my parents' house still, where are you?" 

"I'm home for 18 hours, how fast can you get home?" 

"I can leave as soon as I get the car packed up!" 

2.5 hours later Claira and I were back in his arms! That was probably the best few hours we have spent together in a long time, but it was also one of the hardest times to say goodbye. He convinced me to pack up and go back to Arizona the next day. And we did. 

On Friday Charlie was STILL not himself so I called the vet clinic my cousin and her husband take their dog to, and they had a last minute appointment on Saturday. Charlie had an ulcer in his cornea, they gave him pain meds and drops and wanted to see him back on Wednesday, he was acting like he felt so much better so I thought it was healing, apparently it wasn't because he had to have emergency surgery on Wednesday! They had to take a tissue graft from his another part of his eye and attach it to the cornea to patch it up. He's not feeling too well now, but he's happy to be back with us after an over night stay at the animal hospital. He goes back in the morning for a recheck, the vet said that there is still a chance that he will lose sight in that eye completely, but we won't know more until he has healed from the surgery. 

I'd planned on being back at home and sleeping in my own (half-empty) bed by now, but we have to stay for vet visits for this little guy! It's okay though, Claira and I are with family, and my grandparents are visiting so we get to spend a few more days with them. 

-Kristin

Another New Beginning

It's been awhile 379 days to be exact!
As you can see I've made a few changes.
Its been a busy year, and I've had some pretty big things to focus on and I had to make some choices to manage my time a little better but here I am, with more time to spend on things like blogging!

But at the moment I don't have a lot of time, because it's 1:30 in the morning and I'm about to turn into a pumpkin, or fall asleep on the keyboard. So here is a snapshot of one of the most recent big things that has happened this year!

Don't worry, I'll be back soon!

-Kristin

Pretty Pink Day!

I got Claira dressed today, and was super excited because it is warm enough for her to wear some of my favorite outfits of hers. This little onesie is probably my favorite of the size she is in right now, and I am going to be really sad when she outgrows it soon! 

We were playing in the living room, and I decided she was too cute to NOT do a little photo shoot. 

SO I ran upstairs and pulled out a fuzzy blanket and draped it over the couch, the quilt she is on is one my grandma sewed for her! 

Here are a few of my favorites! 

We had so much fun rolling around on the floor.

I was looking back at earlier photos and I can't believe how much she has grown!

She will be crawling in no time, and I am not sure I'm ready for that yet...

-Kristin

It's monday night...and I have no homework!

Since last August it seems like I have just been going, going, going! 
Last semester ended, and I was only on my Christmas break for a few hours before Miss Claira decided it was time to finally meet us!
After that it was complete busyness, new baby, Christmas, New Years, family time.
Then the Spring semester started.
And now it's over!
I have, yet again, congratulated another group of friends on graduating, without me.
It's hard sometimes to go to a traditional college because it is getting harder and harder to relate to my classmates. I am a couple years older than most of them, I am married, I have a baby.
But this is the school I feel I was meant to be at, and I am SOOOO lucky we were stationed here so I could graduate here!
When I think of graduation, I only picture the graduation ceremony for this school, because it is pretty much amazing! Picture a big white Greek amphitheater with this view(this was actually taken on campus, you can see the ocean from most buildings on campus too!), now add all the pretty decorations and the caps and gowns and happy family members and graduation stuff.
I can't wait!
A little over 3 months at home with Claira (which I am looking forward to enjoying), then I start my 3rd Senior year of college! Yes, I said 3rd Senior year! Unfortunately my dream graduation, from my dream school, requires some extra classes that are school specific, and my last two semesters will be completing those, and my Senior portfolio!

So, onto my SUMMER!
Saturday, Ronnie had a rare day off, he's not cleared to go back to his boat yet, but he still works long, inconsistent and at the moment pretty inconvenient hours, so we took advantage of that day off and went to Old Town to the Cinco de Mayo fiesta that was going on this weekend.
It was packed!

There were so many people, we walked and looked at a few booths, but it was hard to get around in the crowds of people with the stroller. We didn't want to walk ALL the way back to the car to get the sling to carry her in, so we went to an old fashioned root beer and beef jerky store. They had buy one get on free root beer floats, and some yummy beef jerky. So we sat and relaxed and people watched for a little while.
Claira smiled and talked to the people sitting next to us with a little boy, who was maybe 4 or 5, who kept telling me she was "the most ah-dowa-ble baby ev-ah!" and his sister who was probably 2, just kept trying to get out of her chair to try and feed Claira the hot dog she was eating (sharing is caring right???)
Then some of our friends called and invited us to go to dinner, and my other friend who we exchange rides home for babysitting, just happened to be available last minute.
So we went to dinner, babyless, and it was nice to spend time alone, with our friends.

On Sunday, remember those inconsistent work hours?
It was a Claira and Mommy day for most of the day! We went for a walk with Charlie, laid in the hammock on our back porch, listened to the Baby Einstein station on Pandora, rolled around on the living room floor, told secrets with Charlie, and ate our toes. It was a great day! :]

Today, we did some grocery shopping. Tomorrow will be some more giggles and walks and toe eating before the FRG meeting in the evening. I'm excited to start getting to know some of the other wives from the boat again, I stopped going after Ronnie had to come home early from deployment. A few of them didn't like that my husband was home when theirs weren't, even though he was home because he was injured and needed surgery. I can understand where they were coming from...but then I can't...it's nothing I would have un-friended someone on Facebook over!
Anyway, I decided to keep my distance until the boat came back, and now most of the wives have seemed welcoming, and of course everyone is in better moods with their husbands' home! ;]

Well, it's off to sleep for me! Tomorrow is a big day, Claira is trying bananas in her rice cereal in the morning!

-Kristin

Changes :]

I'm making some changes to the design of my blog.
It's not quite finished...I'm in the process of designing a header for the title and I am SO excited!
It's coming soon!
But now I have to get back to studying while Claira is napping...

She's not napping in this photo but I just LOVE it!

2 months later...

So much for "I am going to post once a week!" 
Life has been busy, as you can probably guess. :] 
I am getting really excited though, soon I will have more time for things...like my blog! 
I only have 2 more days and I am free for the summer...so if anyone in San Diego needs a beach/mall/park/eating buddy I am your girl! Actually you will get 2 buddies...Claira and I are a package deal!  

Speaking of Claira...

This beautiful ball of fluffy baby chub is now double the weight she was when she was born! 
She is so happy, and surprises us everyday! She recently discovered that she can grab her toes on her own, and now she plays with them any chance she gets. It's kind of nice because she holds her own feet up during diaper changes ;] 

I am so ready for the semester to be over, one last final Friday! And how do you think I have been preparing for it? Finishing my sculpture and studying for the written exam? 
Of course not! 
I baked banana bread tonight, and started editing my cousin-in-law (not sure if that is a real relative term...but it makes sense to me! I also have sissy-cousins...) and her friend's senior photos. Because I am a master procrastinator, I have been a college student for 5 years now! 
No, I will get it done tomorrow. 
Tonight I am also procrastinating going to sleep, the husband is working the mid watch this week, it is so weird going to sleep alone at night with Claira here now! Before I could stay up late and sleep in but now she literally is my alarm clock in the mornings I don't get up early for school, and she doesn't have a snooze button. :] 

And speaking of Ronnie, his surgery went well, they had to take half of his meniscus from his right knee. The surgery went well, but recovery has been loooong, too long! He is still in physical therapy three days a week and has not yet been cleared to go back to his boat, because he has trouble with ladders and being on his hands and knees...and if you can't do ladders...you can't get into a submarine! It has been a little frustrating, and really stressful, BUT he is getting better and will be back doing his real job soon! 

Well I better go to sleep! My alarm clock will be rolling around in her crib and yelling before I know it...at least she sleeps all night now! 
I WILL be posting again...
...sooner or later :]

-Kristin

Now let's play catch up! :]

A LOT has happened in the past few months...I'm pretty sure August was the last time I posted! I really really REALLY didn't want that to happen, I feel like such a slacker because I haven't really even logged into Blogger to read or anything since then! Right now, I am skipping my web design class, funny story, we were talking about blogs and stuff and a little light bulb of "oh yeah I have a blog!" popped on in my head. SOOO here I go. My life since August!

August- I started my 2nd year as a college senior...yep that is 5 years so far! And the sad part is I will be a senior for another year, I graduate May 2013! If you remember I was also about 6 months pregnant when I started last semester, and I took on a pretty heavy course load so THIS semester I could take less! Ronnie came home from an underway and we spent as much of the 2 weeks between then and deployment as we could together.

September- Ronnie started his first deployment. He didn't want me to stay and watch the boat pull out from the pier so I left, but stuck around and found a spot where you could watch until they disappeared. I needed to see it in order to believe he was really leaving.  I cried. Then I went home and took a nap, woke up and went to class. School helped a lot! It was nice to be super busy!

I also did fall things like making a wreath when I was supposed to be doing homework...

October- I was still super busy with school, and things falling apart, like the garage door.
All the other wives toilets overflowed, could I get lucky and just have to buy a plunger? Nope, the garage door had to fall down! I'm so happy we live in housing, they sent someone out right away to fix it!

  I also found time to go to the FRG costume party...as a pumpkin farmer! I painted my belly myself!

Around mid October I got an email, and it wasn't just any email it was an email from Ronnie...my excitement faded a little when I read "Don't freak out, but I hurt my knee pretty bad, I can't walk on it. I have to wait until the next port to get an MRI." FUN. Then the day before Halloween I get a phone call..."I might be flying home this week, there are no MRI machines here." I was happy to have him come home but I knew it was the beginning of something a little harder than having him gone, as much as he said he hated being deployed, he didn't like being home without his boat a little more.  SO about 9 weeks into our first deployment he came home! And we waited for a doctors appointment to see if he needed MRI...

November- We waited some more. Then he finally got his MRI. More waiting...Then another appointment to get another appointment (which was actually right after Christmas!) to tell him "you need surgery" FUN. In the mean time I continued to go to class and get things done like get Charlie's hair cut!

 

Before

After...He HATED me!

And I cut my hair too!

We spent Thanksgiving with BOTH of our families since I was too pregnant to travel! It was quite an experience having 27 people at dinner!


December-I started my last week + finals week of school! Decorated our Christmas tree (it only took an entire WEEK!)

Then on December 14th I emailed my last final project to my professor, 2 hours later my water broke! We went to the hospital at 8AM on December 15th...and after 13 hours at 7lbs 10oz miss Claira was born!  We are SO happy she is finally here! Some good came out of Ronnie's injury, because he would not have been home for her birth.

one week old!

she and the Charlie are pretty good friends!

4 weeks old!

6 weeks old!

January- Came and went before I knew it! I started school when Claira was almost 4 weeks old.  I worked it out so my classes are only in the mornings, and the afternoons are free to spend snuggling with my snuggly baby! Ronnie had his surgery consult and after almost 6 months will have his surgery next week.

Yesterday- Was my birthday. 23 years old! Ronnie left work early and showed up at the door with flowers, a bottle of wine, and a birthday cake. It was a great surprise since I wasn't expecting to see him until almost midnight!

Today- My baby is 7 weeks old and she is getting SO big! We had some issues with her weight in the beginning but she is definitely making up for it now. Well that is what has been going on the past few months! I'd like to get on here more often, I'm going to set a goal of at least once a week for now! :]

-Kristin

I'm back!

I went home for a whole week!
It was a good week! I had a good time hanging out with my family. Having someone to eat dinner with every night. Not going to sleep in an empty house.

Charlie had a lot of fun too...sometimes I think he likes it there better. But then I realize he is probably just as lonely as I am when we are at our own house! He wasn't happy to be home today, he decided he would take himself on a walk down the street and not come back when I called, but he did keep looking over his shoulder, he definitely knew he was being bad. I had to chase him down and sneak up on him and grab him, by the tail.

I finally got the car registered! That was a fun trip to the MVD (that is the DMV in Arizona, I think the people who made the acronym are slightly lysdexic...I mean dyslexic) No more South Carolina plates for us...the car and the truck officially match now!

Eeeww I came home to some lovely smells in the house today. The trash in the kitchen I forgot to take out was not as bad as the smell that hit me in the garage! It smelled (still smells!) like something died. Then I open the truck which hasn't been driven in 3 weeks and find...a taco.

Yep. A Taco.

Leave a Taco Bell taco in a vehicle with the windows rolled up for 3 weeks and you have a great science experiment. Let's just hope the smell goes away before Ronnie gets home...or I will be driving his smelly truck!

He is coming home very soon...I think. So tomorrow I am going to clean the house, and make it look like it did before he packed to go on this underway!

I know I've said this before, but I have big plans for the design of my blog! I just need to get going on them, and maybe actually post something a little more often? I have a plan to fix that too! It's coming...eventually!
-Kristin

Silence

It's a pretty big deal.

For a word that means absence of sound, it can be pretty loud. It can be relaxing, or it can be terrifying. I am starting to fully understand why they call the submarine force "The Silent Service". Yes, I know the one of the main reasons is OPSEC, and another is because most of the time, they don't even know where they are going or what they are going to do. Also, silence is a big deal when an enemy is near. I'm getting my first taste of the silence as a submariner's wife, and it is good preparation for what's coming next. I have not heard Ronnie's voice in well over a week, and it will be much longer than that until I get the phone call from him saying they are home. I have not opened my inbox and had a new email from him since Sunday, but with the delay in the service, it could have been written days before that.

Silence has a whole new meaning to me now. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining, I'm just reflecting. I'm remembering the days when I freaked out if I didn't get to have a 5 minute phone conversation with him. This is taking some getting used to, and I know I am going to have to go even longer amounts of time without hearing from him. So far, the longest we have gone without speaking was bootcamp. The longest I went without a letter from him was maybe a week and a half, and that was also during bootcamp. But this is SO much different! It's a different silence.

This underway has been pretty eventful, but not at all! I went, by myself for the first time, to the baby appointment.  I came home from that to find the garage door, which I made sure I watched it close before I pulled away, standing wide open. That was interesting! Now that I think about it, what I did was probably stupid. I went in with my pepper spray ready to spray, got the gun we keep down stairs and went through every room AND closet in the house. Nobody was there (probably good, if I was a burglar, a pregnant lady with a 45 pointed at me would make me poop my pants and never want to even steal the covers) and nothing was missing, but it was so creepy! I literally just wanted to sit down and cry, but I didn't because that would have solved nothing. It would have been so different if Ronnie would have been coming home from work in a few hours, that first night was rough.

I have been hanging out with our friends, and swimming laps! I went to the FRG meeting last night too, I was pretty hesitant about getting involved, but I have met some really amazing women and I'm glad I have them to go through this with. There are so many young children and new babies on our boat too, so now I have that source of support also! Last night the power went out, again, more silence. I have never been alone during a power outage before, it happens pretty often in out neighborhood, so I'm sure it wont be the last. The last time it went out Ronnie and I went to bed early and listened to the radio and just talked. I was really missing him last night! Tomorrow I'm heading home for a few days, I am so happy I can do that! I get to register the car while I'm there, yay Arizona MVD. Hopefully, it helps the days pass a little faster.

Right now I'm going to enjoy the silence...and get some sleep.
-Kristin

Another Day.

Yep! Two posts in Two days! I must have a lot of time on my hands...

It's amazing what you can accomplish (or in my case NOT accomplish) while you are alone. I did load the dishwasher and clean the kitchen up tonight! Tomorrow I'm going to think about cleaning up the mess Ronnie made while we were packing his sea bag the other night, and going through and unpacking my last box of art supplies that I made sure he carried in from the garage before he left!
This morning I woke up to an email from Ronnie (and not his alarm clock, which I finally figured out how to shut off!) which was great! It was short, but it was so good to hear from him! I'm pretty sure he told me the day they will be home, AND that he LOVED the surprise I snuck into his sea bag after he was finished packing. I spritzed some of my perfume onto a plain white pillow case and sealed it up in a ziplock baggie. His last underway he had such a hard time sleeping, which is understandable since they are floating around under the ocean and he was in a new environment. I figured it would be nice to smell home when he laid his head down instead of boat smell, and he said it works! I'm so happy it helped! :]

Hello Baby!!!

Last Thursday we found out what kind of baby we are having...
I was VERY happy to see that it is most definitely the human kind, and not the fluffy yellow feathered kind I saw in the last ultrasound!

But even more importantly, we found out that this beautiful baby is a GIRL!!!! And she is definitely looking like her daddy! If you were to hold up a baby picture of him next to this one, they have the same profile!

We are both so excited! As much as Ronnie joked about "putting it back until it was a boy" if baby turned out to be a girl, he is very excited about having a little girl!

Now for the hard part...finding a name! We have a couple in mind that we are trying out right now, but I don't really want to share them, I don't really want everyone to know her name until she is born actually! I've had people ask me early on, and I gave them names that I was considering, but Ronnie and I hadn't talked about it yet, and it was like they got attached to the names I'd mentioned! OR I had people telling me how much they hated the names! SO I've decided I just don't really want to tell people her name until she is here and it's on her birth certificate, then they REALLY can't complain or try to get me to change it to what they think would be better!

It's hard enough to pick a name without other people weighing in. There are so many things to think about, like will the name we choose fit her? Your name is so much of your identity, it just seems weird to me that I have that much authority that I can choose another person's identity. I'm just glad we have the freedom to choose to name her what we want, and I guess that's okay because parents have been naming their children for just about forever.

Speaking of parents...my mom came and stayed last week! It was a lot of fun having her here, we went to the beach, and she helped me unpack the last few boxes and organize the house a little better! We also hung my curtains in the living room! I'm happy to say that our house now looks like people live in it instead of looking like storage! Unfortunately she had to go home, because she needed to go to back to school meetings since school is about to start up again, and she is a teacher.

Now it's just the Charlie and I for a few weeks, yep, another underway. Back to checking my email on my phone every time I go to see the time, cooking for myself, and sleeping alone in the middle of the bed at night! This time I think Charlie misses Ronnie A LOT! He acts very depressed, and just wants to sleep all day, I have to wake him up to go on walks! I've been staying semi-busy though. Today I started swimming again with my friend Nicole, and tomorrow I go in for the next baby appointment/pregnant people group. I'm not looking forward to going without Ronnie, but it's one of those things I knew was going to happen eventually! I hope he will be able to make the next couple of appointments before the deployment, and I'm so happy he was here for the ultrasound last week!

Well I have been up pretty late...it's time to sleep!
-Kristin

I can't sleep, so I will be "productive"!

It's partly because I'm just not tired, well I was when I got in bed, but I've been up to pee like every 6 seconds and I just can't get comfy! I can't believe so much time has gone by between posts! Ugh! I really wanted to stick with it, but life got in the way. (Haha "life" I'm quickly re-adapting to the San Diegan version of life...it's summer, I've been going to the beach as much a possible!)

I am almost 19 weeks pregnant now, and I STILL can't believe that! We find out what kind of baby we are having in one week! (I mean like the boy kind or the girl kind!) I honestly will be happy either way, but there is a little part of me that hopes it's a boy this time. Only because the husband (really wants a boy) has mentioned that the amount of radiation he is exposed to being a Nuke can affect his ability to make boys...but who really knows? I mean I doubt there has been any real research done on it!

Speaking of husband's job...we officially survived our first underway ever! I know it wasn't that long, and the one coming up will be even longer...it's just nice to know that I CAN do this! I can function on my own, with only email, I can get things I need to take care of taken care of (except Verizon, they anger me. "power of attorney isn't good enough, is there a phone number we can reach your husband at?" "no, he is somewhere under water in a STINKIN submarine, which is why I have power of attorney with me, and the reason I'M talking to you in the first place!") The other day they came home early by a couple days! I didn't know they were home, but I did see on Facebook that couple other wives were getting phone calls, so I was hoping for one maybe, even though I figured he wouldn't get to call since he isn't qualified yet. I just happened to have the front door open, and just happened to look out through the screen as he was walking up, it didn't seem real, I literally jumped back and said "Oh my gosh!" My little brother is here for awhile was like "what?! Oh! Ronnie's HOME?!" It was a great surprise! Of course the first thing out of his mouth while he was hugging me was "we're leaving again (sometime in the near future)" but I didn't care! Honestly I was a little disappointed because I didn't have the house all unpacked, put together and clean like I'd planned, but I got over THAT fast ;]

So, I am happy he's home! Even though today sucked because he had duty. I have now officially learned about boat smell! I did experience this in Charleston while he was on the prototype, but it was never this bad. I washed his stuff twice, and it still hasn't come out yet, but two washes did make a difference! I've also been preparing stuff to send with the boat for him for during deployment, we get a little tiny box to fill, for a halfway box. I'm talking 4x4x3 inches! TINY. I'll post a picture when I have it filled (which won't take long) It makes me a little bit jealous of those surface wives I've seen with their posts about these awesome packages they get to send! But I am excited to do it either way!

Well, I am actually yawning now! So I'm going to try and get a little sleep before I wake up hungry...oh wait...I'm already hungry. Well, I guess I'm going to get a snack, then sleep, I have to come up with something really exciting for a 9 year old tomorrow, I'm thinking Balboa Park! I feel bad because he's been here all week and we haven't really done anything but go to the beach today, and watch movies on Netflix!

I WILL post again soon, I pinky promise it won't be a month before you hear from me again! :D

-Kristin

Oh yeah...I have a blog!

Honestly I cannot believe it has been this long since I've been on here! It's probably because we have gotten into this routine where we are in bed by 9 every night. Here are some things I've learned from experience in the last few weeks...in no particular order...

1. 5 AM comes REALLY fast
2. People with perfect driving records can and will get in into an accident, most likely when they are on their way to pick up their spouse who just got done selling the only other vehicle they own.
3. There are some student loan servicing companies who are willing to actually work with you.
4. Soon to be dads like miniature baby things of what they have, just as much as the soon to be moms.

5. No matter where you are, there will always be that one weird person who asks way to many obvious questions and gets on everyone's nerves.
6.Your favorite "reality" TV shows, aren't always what they seem.
7. Sometimes it's good to just go for a drive, you might end up down a random dirt road shooting gophers.

8. Dropping your husband off at work takes on a whole new meaning when work is a giant metal whale that submerges in the ocean for weeks at a time.
9. Your first FRG (Family Readiness Group) meeting can be a little overwhelming, it's similar to rushing a sorority.
10. Baby bellies pop up out of nowhere.

 

11. If you aren't on the cell phone account, you can't do anything involving the account.

My week of sisterly bonding!

Last week we had my two younger sisters and Ronnie's sister come stay with us for the week! It was a lot of fun! Monday we actually had Ronnie's dad with us for the day before he had to go fly out to work. We went and showed everyone the base, and then went to the Cabrillo National Monument at the tip of Point Loma. On the way there is the Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery

http://wn.com/Fort_Rosecrans_National_Cemetery

http://doles.org/index.php?module=htmlpages&func=display&pid=9

Since it was Memorial Day there were flags at every grave, and so many people there remembering the lives of all the people who sacrificed so much for this country. Visiting places like this, and seeing thousands of white headstones, really puts a visual to the number, even though it's only a fraction of the number, of people who have served this country in the military.

Tuesday, we slept pretty late, went to the commissary for food for the week, then to the beach for a little while. It was pretty cold, so we went home and made dinner!

Wednesday we went back to the beach for a few hours and the weather was so nice! It was nice and warm and we all got some sun. I went boogie boarding with my sister Mallory, that was a lot of fun since I haven't gone on the West coast in over a year. The beaches in Charleston were nice and warm, but there weren't very big waves there. I'm hoping the water will warm up a little more before Ronnie has to leave because we have so much fun boogie boarding together!

Thursday we got to meet Ronnie for lunch at Panera Bread, since he had an appointment to see if he qualifies to get lasik eye surgery, it turns out he does and since he is a submariner he is already on a waiting list! After lunch I took the girls back up to the Cabrillo National Monument, since you get 5 days when you pay to go into the park the first time, we went down to see the tide pools. That was really neat, especially since we had Mallory, who wants to be a marine biologist, tell us all about the different animals, including some things I didn't even know were living! We then went up and toured the Old Point Loma lighthouse, it was really cool to see how the people who used to run the lighthouse lived.

Friday we had planned on going to Balboa Park in the morning, but didn't end up getting going in time, we were so exhausted and sunburned from hiking the day before that we decided to stay in and get ready to drive the girls home. I took them to lunch at Jersey Mike's, a really really really delicious sandwich place. (I have actually been craving it...which is really why we went, I try to talk
Ronnie into taking me there all the time!) After that, Ronnie got home from work early and we got the car loaded up and took everyone home.

Saturday Ronnie and I spent the day at the movies, literally, we saw 3 movies we have been wanting to see but haven't because it is SO expensive to see a movie in San Diego! It was a TON of fun! We really enjoyed having that time together.

Last week Ronnie started actually working for his sub, so we know when he leaves now, and it's sooner than we expected! There are other things that may be happening after they return from deployment, but I just want to focus on getting thru the deployment and having the duckling before I even think about getting stressed out about things that may or may not happen.

That's basically what I've been up to lately!
-Kristin

It's a...duckling?

Wow it has been awhile!
I've been meaning to post because LAST Friday was our second doctor's appointment...and we have pictures!!! It's all pretty exciting! Seeing there actually is a baby in there (I had some serious doubts the other day when my mom was talking about maternity clothes and stocking up on diapers!) and hearing the little heartbeats really got me excited about all of this! It's hard to believe I am already almost at 12 weeks!

So here are the pictures! They aren't very good since my dinosaur scanner isn't working and I had to take them with my iPhone!

You know you are a military wife when your midwife points out the hand up by the face and says "It looks like the baby is saluting!" instead of "It looks like the baby is waving!" :]

This is what the baby looked like the first time we saw it! It looks like our little one is just floating around kicking back with their hands behind the head. Hopefully this is an indication that this baby will have an easy going personality!

Now for the reason behind the title of this post...

Take a really close look at this picture. Do you see the duckling??!? It looks like a beak where the head meets the torso, and there is a round dark spot that almost looks like a big duck eye in the head!
My dad was looking at this when I went home last weekend and pointed and said "Look it's a boy!" even though it is still pretty early to tell, and then my mom takes it and stares at it for a minute and says "No...it's a duck!" It was pretty funny!
This would probably really concern me but the other pictures we have look like its a human baby in there, so now I can just laugh and appreciate my child's budding sense of humor!
We decided it is probably just an arm up by the face and the angle it was taken from.

I don't think Ronnie appreciates it when I call the baby our duckling, but I think he is pretty excited! I'm so glad he was able to come to the appointment and experience this with me!
This week has gone by really fast even though I haven't done much, except for a little cleaning.

Tomorrow I go back home again, it was supposed to be the husband and I, but he found out this morning he has to work security for the Submariner's Ball tomorrow evening. I guess it's a good thing we didn't plan on going! He doesn't feel comfortable going to events like that until he is qualified, it is the same reason we didn't attend the Navy ball last year while he was still in a student status, and I completely understand, it's something he feels he needs to earn before he'll feel like he belongs there.

But it's only one night without him and Sunday afternoon I am jumping back in the car with my two sisters, Caitlin and Mallory, and Ronnie's sister Meaghan and bringing them to our house for a fun filled first week of summer in San Diego! I am really excited to have them all stay with us next week! We decided we'd have them come this week because NEXT weekend I am taking Charlie back anyway because PetSmart called and asked if he would model! We get a discount on the grooming services so I said heck yes and signed him up! :]

Well there is my little update for the week! I'm really hoping to post more often, I just need to get back in the swing of things.

-Kristin

My KRAZY Morning...

Once upon a time there was a loan company who lent some money so a girl named Kristin could pay for college. Then she transferred schools a few times, and every time the schools' financial aid office sent in, or told Kristin to send in the correct paperwork to the loan company to straighten everything out so they knew she was still in school, so she wouldn't have to start paying them until she graduated.

Then Kristin transferred AGAIN to a school in Charleston. This school tries really hard, but being a new school, they still have A LOT of kinks to work out. Instead of traditional semesters this school breaks down it's year into 4 quarters Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer. Kristin attended this school for an entire year in 2010, and every quarter the financial aid office decided to send the correct paperwork to the loan company, except for her last quarter. Normally, a school would notify you when they stopped doing something for you, but not this one.

SO 3 months after Kristin leaves this school (without a graduation and the degree she had planned on getting, but that is a WHOLE different story) The loan company decides to call up Kristin, and her parents who cosigned this loan, and say "Hey your grace period was up a few weeks ago, and your payment is late!" (Kristin's father's worst nightmare! Which is MORE added stress to the situation.) After a double check on the actual date it was, and a few phone calls back and forth with the company, it is found out that the school in Charleston told the company her last day was in September, instead of December.

After a few more calls between the loan company, who is calling every day, and the school, Kristin fills out the paperwork and has the school send it in. BUT it still is not resolved.

Until this morning when I finally get in touch with the right person at the school. Sent in some more paperwork, only to find out it isn't the right form. Then another call back to the loan company, and I find out it IS the right paperwork. Now I am just waiting for the person at the school in Charleston to get back from lunch. AND HOPEFULLY HAVE THIS STRAIGHT BY THE END OF TODAY!

And the moral of the story is...I HATE owing people money.

I had big plans for this morning too. I woke up feeling pretty good compared to the past few days, I was going to CLEAN! Oh well, I can start that after this is figured out. It looks like the Charlie got into crackers and paper towels, YAY more stuff for me to clean!

-Kristin

Changes

This weekend has been pretty fun so far. Friday afternoon I went with Ronnie to get a new military ID...because dummy here put it in my back pocket after we went to the commissary and WHO KNOWS where it fell out! But I really did need a new one anyway. The old one was from when we first got married and it had the wrong rank on it.

Then Friday night we had our first Phil's BBQ (if you live in San Diego you need to go!) experience with our friends Mike and Nicole, Grady, and Marc! It was pretty good! Next time we will probably go earlier or not on a weekend, the line was wrapped around the building! We ended up just sitting in the bar and ordering there.

Today was a lazy day. It was AWESOME. We went to Lowe's to check prices so Husband could build a work bench in the garage. As soon as we got home I laid down on the couch and took a 2 hour nap! It was amazing.

When I woke up Ronnie, Grady, and Marc were playing xbox. Then we went out for Korean BBQ which was also really good! It's Grady's last night with us so they are all hanging out until we take him to the airport in the morning, where he will fly for hours and hours to a few other countries where people aren't fond of American's, and eventually meet his ship. I am most definitely praying for safe travels for him.

But I am also a little excited for it to just be Ronnie and I in our house again!

Tonight I am a little worried too. Because one day soon it will just be Charlie and I in our house. And I know that it will most likely just be an underway, but it will be our first. From what I've heard from Marc, who is also on a sub, there is very little communication, like next to none. And there are a ton of rules (one of them being no pictures in emails!)

I've been reading all of these blogs from Surface wives whose husbands are deployed and how hard it's been for them. And they have seemingly a good amount of communication.

I just second guess myself, I guess. I keep asking myself "Will I be able to do this?" I know I will be, since I will HAVE to do it. I guess it's just not something you can completely prepare yourself for until it's time.

I'm also worried about saying too much. Giving too much information about his sub on here. I haven't met any of the other wives yet, but Husband was telling me that they have already had to re-schedule underways and the deployment coming up because they found a lot of the schedule in one of the wives blogs!!! If that is true...I don't even know what to say to it. It makes me a little mad, and what's going to stop it from happening again? I just don't want to be someone who says too much! It's scary!

I am going to stop before I freak myself out too too much! And I need to go to sleep so I can make sure the guys are up in time for the airport run at 5 in the morning! (YUCK!!)

-Kristin