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

My weekend, a few days late!

I think I may have accidentally trained Charlie to pose for pictures, look at the lower left corner!

Do you remember your Prom? Did you go to your Prom??
My little sister did this weekend.
My mom and I did her hair, and I took photos of her and her friends!
It was really neat to be there! Another reason I'm so happy we get to live so close to home!

 

  

These are just a few of the photos I took, I just wanted to share!

This last weekend was a great weekend. 

Which is why it's taken me until today to blog about it...I've been catching up on my sleep!

On Saturday, my sisters and I took my mom to lunch at one of her favorite restaurants, The Garden Cafe. It's only open a few months out of the year, the cooler ones, since it is outside in a historic garden. And it doesn't matter how much shade or misters you have...

eating outside in 115+ degree heat is NOT a good thing!

Lunch was delicious of course! 

It's been a long time since we've eaten there.

We used to go every Mother's Day for their brunch. 

And since Mother's Day is a crazy day to eat out anywhere, we went a day early!

After we got my sister ready and off to Prom, I jumped in the pool with my other sister.

It was SOOO nice! Charlie even jumped in and cooled off with us.

Sunday we went to church, and then to a Mother's Day lunch at Ronnie's church.

It's weird to think that next year I will actually have a child on Mother's Day!

-Kristin

I can't believe it's already THURSDAY!

I feel like I've been SO busy this week!

But I haven't actually been THAT busy...hmmm...

The doctors appointment went okay.
I filled out MORE paperwork...
Gave them ANOTHER urine sample...
OH and I almost forgot about the 8 tubes of blood they drained out of me!
(The girl taking my blood was like "It's a good thing you have fast blood!" WHAT does that mean?!?!)

I go back in a couple weeks to actually meet the doctor and do an ultrasound and stuff!

Yesterday I met one of my neighbors. She seems really nice.
Our other neighbors just moved out, so we never got to meet them.

I also stumbled across the show Extreme Couponing on TLC.
OMG
Those people are crazy! BUT SO SO SO AWESOME! 
I was watching it when Ronnie came home from work and he watched it with me.
Which is amazing because he does not normally like to watch shows like that.


He asked me "Are you going to start doing this and save us a bunch of money?!" 
I am really thinking about it.
Maybe not to the EXTREME they do but it would be neat to try it.

-Kristin

TOMORROW

we have our first doctor's appointment!

I have to say I am a little nervous but
REALLY EXCITED!

I feel like the last 2 1/2 weeks of my life have taken
FOR-EV-ER
But now it's finally here.
I hope everything is going okay in there!

Today I went to the school I am starting back at in August.
It was so good to be back on that BEAUTIFUL campus! 
And I'm not exaggerating when I make the type that big! 
That doesn't even BEGIN to describe it.

Let me just start with most of this campus has an ocean view;
this includes some classrooms, some dorm rooms, and the cafeteria.
I don't think I need to go into anymore detail than that :]


But this time around school here will be different.
I won't be living on campus.
Most of my friends here are graduating in a few days.
AND the big one...I'll be about 6 months pregnant when classes start!


That is what I'm most nervous about.


-Kristin