New Stress

Joe and I were out walking Ty and the pups, and we were chatting more about our upcoming move.  We'e been trying to plan how to get the dogs back to the states. It's quite a headache.  Most airlines implement a heat restriction policy when trying to fly pets back during the summer.  If temps are over 85 degrees, they won't fly your pet. Well, we're flying out in July and it will be well above 85 degrees in Okinawa by then. So we need to send them back early.

We didn't think much about what we would do after we left AL (we're going there for SOS) and I'll be staying with my parents a few hours away. So Joe has about 1 week inbetween SOS and reporting to training in NM. We had planned to go to a wedding. That cuts out 2 days. So 5 days to drive from AL to NM with two dogs and an 18 month old. Yikes, cutting it close. Okay, we could handle that. THEN what we do when we get to NM? Check into a TLF? Joe will be in training all day long during the week. Just how am I supposed to juggle two hyper dogs and an 18 month old? Won't happen. They need a yard so I don't get yanked around when they're on their leashes (and walking them with a stroller is impossible).

My original plan was to travel to see my best friend who is a few hours away. Well scratch that, can't do that with two dogs in tow. I also wanted to head to Las Vegas to house hunt. Well, what do I do with two dogs?  If Joe was with me and wasn't in training, we could easily do it.

What to do? I suppose I could always stay with my parents while Joe is in training. It would be a lot easier. But they went from having an empty nest, then to having both kids at home, a grandbaby, and two extra dogs. Talk about a full house and big changes!

I posted an ad to see if we could find any good homes for our dogs. It's heartbreaking, but I figure I don't have to commit to anyone if we decide to keep them. Is it fair to them to be bounced around with no home for 6 months? Will we be able to juggle them, the baby, and flying across the world, and then driving across country?

Time will tell... and now just a whole new can of worms to handle!

13 months

Another month has gone by and Ty is really a toddler now, not a baby. :(

At 13 months Ty is still a happy go lucky kid. He's been having some difficulty switching from formula to whole milk.  He was running fevers and having awful diarrhea (TMI I know), so the docs had me switch to soy. He was still having trouble with soy, so I switched him to Lactaid whole milk. He seems to be doing well with this and even enjoys drinking it cold.

He's been enjoying lots of new foods - he had his first tastes of peanut butter, scrambled eggs, grilled cheese sandwiches, and tangerines and can't get enough of them!  He is such a good eater and I always serve him some type of fruit or veggie with his meals and he eats those up too!

He's so active. He decided to take his first little steps this last weekend! Joe had just gotten back from being gone for almost a month, and he must have been very excited to see his Dada and took a few steps toward him. He can crawl SO fast and can furniture cruise almost at a jogging speed!

He's constantly learning new skills and it's so much fun to see him interacting on a deeper level. We have fun at night before he gets really sleepy, he loves to cuddle and roll on his belly and get tickled. He gives the BEST hugs and when you pick him up to carry him, he latches on so tight! I love it!

He's working on several new teeth. He has one top molar poking through and his bottom incisors are poking through too. Poor guy, 3-4 new teeth at one time can't be much fun! But he is still in pretty good spirits. Waking up a few times during the night though due to that darn teething monster. We can't wait for the day he goes away!

Lately, it's been a big struggle leaving him. All I want to do is stay at home with him all day long and play and cuddle. I keep telling myself I only have 3 months left and I get to be a stay at home mommy until I decide to go back to work. It's going to be the longest 3 months ever I think!

He is a bundle of joy and I love every moment I spend with him. He's learning so many new things and I am excited for all the fun things we can do together. I love my big boy SO much!

13 months old - furniture cruising like a champ!

Walking around with Dada!

Playing in his pop-up tent! "Hi!"

Loves to play!!!

Precious. I love him SO much!

Proud

My friend posted this quote on Facebook and it got me thinking:

"Look back at yourself five years ago. Where were you? What were you doing? And did you think you'd be where you are today? Imagine what another 5 years will be.  Life is full of the unknown and that's what makes it beautiful."

Five years ago brings me back to 2007. I was graduating college, newly married, and just moved to Columbus, MS with Joe while he was going through pilot training. After a year and a half there, we were off to Okinawa, Japan.

Now our tour here in Okinawa is coming to an end (4 months left), I look back to where we started when we first got here, and am really proud of our little family!

When we came to Okinawa, Joe was a 1st Lt., we were living pay check to pay check and had a few measly hundred dollars in our savings account {that we more than often dipped into}, two student loans, a credit card bill, and a car to still pay off.  We weren't necessarily struggling, but we were the typically newly married and fresh out of college couple still trying to get the house set up and things in order.

Three quick years later, we're so proud for having no credit card debt, one small student loan still left to pay off {we could easily pay it off, but it's considered "good debt" for now}, all cars are paid for, and an entire year of pay saved up in our savings account.  It's refreshing not living paycheck to paycheck, and ultimately we feel very blessed and secure knowing we can make all the purchases {and then some} we need to in order to provide for ourselves, Tyler, and two dogs.  We feel guilty when holidays like Christmas and birthdays roll around and people ask what we want, and we really have nothing major on our wishlists. We are fortunate enough to buy the things we want and can easily afford them.

Hard work pays off and we can live comfortably and have saved {and will continue to do so} for things in our upcoming future like a nice house, new car, and furniture for the house.  We plan to have another baby sometime in the future and want to continue to save for our children's college funds.

We've come a long way from 2009, and I can't wait to see what the future has in store for us!

A little bit of pampering goes a long way!

As mentioned, I scheduled a pedi and it was glorious.  The sitter came to watch Ty, and I went to the BX to pick up a few things, and then got my pedi.  I'm pretty sure it's my favorite design in the 3 years I've been here! Ty loves them too. He keeps petting my toes and trying to chase me around. It's pretty cute!

I fully enjoyed the hour and a half.  I fell asleep while they gave me my massage and did the painting!

Anyway, took a day off tomorrow since I have a doctor's appointment.  Normally I only take a 1/2 day, but I need to use up my leave before the end of the year since it's not like I can trade it in or anything.  I'm looking forward to sleeping in a bit and spending more time with Ty! :)

Today was Joe's birthday but he's still TDY. We'll have to celebrate when he gets back! Can't wait!

My pretty toes!

Autopilot

Joe's been gone for a little over two weeks and I'm definitely running on autopilot.  My daily routine is different, yet the same.

-I wake up at 5:15am, quietly get ready as to not wake Ty
-Speed drive to work to beat the crazy Okinawa traffic to get there by 6:30am
-Get my room cleaned up and ready for the day
-Juggle 21 6/7 year olds for 7 1/2 hours (while 5 out of 6 school days I get a prep period and then shovel food during my 40 minute lunch break which is more like 35 minutes by the time I walk my kids through the lunch line and walk back to class, which really is only like 5 minutes because I'm too busy grading papers or getting things prepped for something else)
-When 2:20 strikes and I walk my kids out the door (and I don't have any kids lingering behind with behavior problems or scheduled meetings (that we have far too many of in my opinion), I clean up and get  a few things ready for the next day and try to leave by 2:45 (when teachers are allowed to leave for the day)
-Drive home in terrible traffic where I deal with people who drive like incompetent morons 99% of the time
-Depending on how long it takes me to weave in and out of traffic on the way home, I try to stop by the post office to pick up the mail
-Get home, see if Ty is awake or asleep (if he's asleep - yay, a few minutes of peace and quiet time to myself - oh wait, I usually end up cleaning dishes, take out the trash, put away the never ending piles of junk, etc. - if he's awake - it's play time)
-Play, play, play - try to get dinner ready, change diapers, feed Ty dinner, inhale my dinner, play a bit more before bed
-Bath time/struggle to get Ty into a diaper and PJs
-Bedtime bottle and put him to bed - if all goes well he goes down for the entire night - but of course, luck would have it that he's teething again while Joe's gone - so it's not uncommon for him to wake up hysterical in the middle of the night, or 45 minutes before my alarm is set to go off... meaning I lose 45 minutes of precious, glorious sleep
-When he's finally settled in for the night, I tackle the kitchen (that's Joe's usual routine - he actually enjoys it!)
-Prep all of Ty's food for the next day
-Clean up all of Ty's toys that have taken over the living room
-Take a shower
-Collapse into bed - I haven't managed to make it to bed before 10pm while he's been gone (except for last night - I made it and fell asleep around 9:30... on a Friday!)

*Not to mention this last week was Dr. Seuss week which involved a lot of extra activities complete with a Dr. Seuss costume birthday celebration on Friday. I've had a little too much Seuss in my life the last few months!

Repeat the next day, give or take a few changes. Weekends consist of trying to sleep in as long as Ty and the dogs will let me. Relaxing in PJs all morning until Ty takes his morning nap and then get ready and run errands - commissary/BX are the normal places we go and sometimes go out to eat with a friend. I occasionally have time/energy to sit down and watch a movie or tv show.  Such a simple pleasure is now a luxury.  We hardly get to watch anything except Baby Einstein. It's sick how much Ty loves those videos and how Joe and I have them memorized. We limit his screen time to about 1 show a day, but with Joe being gone, sometimes those shows are the only way I can entertain him so I can cook a meal or fold the laundry.  He's getting to where he has to be by someone all the time or he cries - separation anxiety?! Not sure, but I hope he grows out of it, fast!

I have no idea when he's scheduled to get back, but I hope it's soon. I'm beyond exhausted and could really use some help.  Thankfully, our old nanny is coming to watch him for a few hours tomorrow while I run a few errands and get my pedicure (Christmas gift from Joe which is about to expire so I needed to squeeze it in).  I can't wait to have a few hours of me time! :)

News!

This week we finally got word on our upcoming assignment! We're headed to Creech AFB near Vegas, Nevada!  We are so very excited! This was Joe's first choice and we are so thankful his commander was able to get what he wanted!

Before we actually make it to our final destination, we will have many pit stops along the way. We are planning to do some circuitous traveling and possibly stopping in Thailand and Hawaii on the way back to the states. Joe will also be going to SOS (squadron officer school) en route for 8 weeks in Alabama. Thankfully, it's only a few hours away from my parents so I'll be staying with them. I also have two girlfriends going at the same time so it'll be fun to hang out together (out of Oki)! I also am in my friend's wedding which will be in SC in September.  We also have 3 other weddings this fall that we are hoping to make!

Then after SOS, he will have 4 months of training in New Mexico.  I'm excited since my best friend lives in NM and I'll be able to see her!!!  My plan is to do some house hunting and get settled in while Joe's in training and visit on weekends. I am SO excited to look for a house! I did a quick search and they seem to have really new and nice houses at decent listings. Not sure if we'll buy or rent yet though.

We have big plans coming up! I can't wait! Some of the big things include:

-Buy a new {used} car
-Get a house
-Get new phones
-Buy new couches
-Buy a new big screen TV
-Buy a new king sized bed

I am so excited and can't wait to get back to the states!  I have enjoyed our time here in Oki, but I am definitely ready for a change!  It's crazy to think we could have already moved but extended the 6 months to finish out the school year {was that a mistake?! Hmmmm...}.  July will be here before we know it and I JUST CAN'T WAIT!!! :)

It was a stay-at-home-all-day type of day!

Joe left for a month long TDY the other day.. boo. But, it's a 3-day weekend (hip hip hooray!). Ty and I stayed home all day. It was pretty yuck outside... dreary, cold... decided against bundling up and going anywhere [mind you when I say cold, it was probably low 60s, and here in Oki, that means winter jackets}.  We had lots of fun playing with all new his toys and I got some much needed cleaning done while he was napping.

One of the funny things Ty did was this:

Poor Ducky undergoing leg surgery... with a saw!

Joe thought it was pretty ingenious.  This kid amazes me more and more each day! It was fun to spend all day together and I got lots and lots of hugs from him... pretty much the best.thing.ever!!!

I hope everyone enjoys the long weekend! :)