Tight Knit Community

One of the things I love about the military community is how close knit it is.  Even if you’ve never met, you’re still a brother/sister to one who is also wearing the uniform.  It’s the same with Milspouses.  I’ve been blessed to become friends with some incredible women, most of whom I’ve never met.  Even though I’ve never met most of them in real life, I know details about them that goes beyond a casual acquaintance.  I read their blogs, tweet with them on Twitter and are friends with some of them on Facebook.  I talk about them to The Man as if I know them.  I do know them.  We share laughter and tears.  We celebrate and mourn together.  When one of them hurts, we all hurt.   

Several bloggers have been receiving emails (not one but several) about casting for a new reality TV show.  This show is going to be about war widows who are starting to date again.  To many of us in the milspouse community this is disrespectful and in bad taste.  My friend Erika, who blogs at Chambanachik has written a much more eloquent post.  I would appreciate if you would read her words about this situation.  Several of us would like to see a stop to these email and ultimately to the TV show.  You can join us by blogging about it and sharing it on your blog.  Erika created the image above and is allowing people to use to share this story.  You can also tweet with us using the hashtag #istandwithmilwidows.  Taylor, another milspouse blogger has drafted a letter that you can use to send to CBS to protest.  You can find her post here.  At the end of her post is a linky with other posts on this subject.  The more noise we make the more people will know about it and will stand with us. 

Thank you!

Curve Ball Part 2

If you missed part 1, you can read it here.

I was right. They only call if you fail. I failed. At that point it was all I could do to keep from crying. I managed to write down the phone number to the nutritionist so I could make an appointment. We also made an appointment for me to meet with a nurse next and was told that I need to pick up my supplies at the pharmacy before that meeting. At the end of the call The Man came home. I started balling the second I hung up that phone.

I hadn’t read much on Gestational Diabetes (GD) because I didn’t want to worry.  So when I was told that I have it, the only two things I could remember was that it causes babies to be large and that women with GD often end up with c-section.  This is what bothers me most.  I don’t mind having to follow a special diet or exercise program.  If giving up cake/ice cream/pasta for the next 80ish days is best for munchkin than I’ll do it!  It’s the complications of GD that upset me.

I am upset by the fact that I might not be able to go past 40 weeks.  The reason this upsets me is because I’ve been preparing for and planning to have a natural, unmedicated childbirth.  So the idea of being induced and quite possibly ending up with a c-section is really upsetting.  For the first 24 hours I couldn’t even think about having GD without crying.  Forget talking about it.  I’ve been in a fog because I was not expecting this.  Even though I don’t want to be induced or a c-section, if they are necessary for the health of munchkin than I will.  Her health, and mine, are most important. 

I’m feeling better after talking with @NavySweetie and Steph.  I have an appointment with a nutritionist on Wednesday.  Later that day I’ll be meeting with a nurse to go over monitoring my blood and learn more about GD. 

I’m learning once again to leave this in God’s hands.  I realize that I need to let go of what I want and go with what God wants.  None of this surprised him and he knew it was coming.  Sometimes I hold on to things I want too tightly.  I need to learn to let go and let God work.  Even if it doesn’t seem like it to me, his way is better than mine.  Always.

Anyone have advice for living with GD? Tips, tricks, things that worked for you? Favorite recipes would be great too!

Curve Ball, Part 1

I mentioned in my last post that I failed my 1 hour glucose test and had to take the 3 hour one.  These two tests are used to see if you have Gestational Diabetes.  All you ladies who have taken it know how NOT FUN it is.  For those of you have have not had to take it, let me fill you in.

I had to arrive at the hospital at 8am after fasting for 12 hours.  They took my blood to get a base line.  It takes about 45 minutes to process and once they make sure it looks ok, you get to drink the glucose drink.  It’s nasty but I was able to drink it pretty fast (I had the orange and it tasted like Kool-Aid to me.  I’ve heard the lime tastes like flat sprite and the fruit punch just sounds nasty to me.)  Then the waiting game begins.  You get your blood drawn one hour after you drank it.  And again at two hours.  And again at three hours.  So I finished mine at 8:50.  I had my blood drawn at 9:50, 10:50 and 11:50.  If you’re counting that 4 blood draws. Four times getting stuck with a needle.  I’m thankful that the lab techs are good at their jobs but that didn’t stop the inside of my elbows from being sore.  I really hate needles so this was probably the worst part of it.

Thankfully I wasn’t the only one there for the 3 hour test.  There were two other ladies there and it was nice to have people to talk to.  I walked around the hospital a bit with one of them.  She told me about giving birth 9 years ago out in town Italy.  It made me very thankful to be giving birth in a country where I speak the language!

During the test I felt nauseous and exhausted from the drink.  I was very happy when I was done.  I was able to eat a 12 inch sub from subway (double toasted so no worries about listeria!)  cause you can’t eat during the test either.  After eating I crashed and slept for a good 2 1/2 hours.

Than the phone rang.  It was in the other room and I didn’t want to get up so I let it go to voicemail.  However, I had a feeling that it was a nurse calling with my results.  I know that they would only call if the results were positive.  I tried laying there but just couldn’t do it.  When I checked the voicemail it was the nurse asking me to call back.  So I did.

Wondering what the nurse said? Call back tomorrow! And Twitter friends, no spilling the beans, please!

Another Week Down…

I’m so thankful that another week has gone by! I’m 28 weeks and doing well.  I had an ultrasound today and Munchkin is still a girl! I was a little nervous since at the last ultrasound they took a while to decide that she was a she.  There was no mistaking it today!  I would have been really upset if she was really a he.  I’ve become quite attached to my daughter.  We’ve been calling her by her name and it would have been difficult to change it.  We got the see her heart beating and it looks like she has some hair growing already! I hope so…with all the heartburn I’ve been having she should have hair!  The tech also said her legs are long…since The Man and I are both short we weren’t expecting this.  There is height on each side so at least we know where it comes from! 

The whole reason for the ultrasound today was to see if the placenta had moved away from my cervix.  The good news is that it has but maybe not enough.  So they want to do another ultrasound in 4 weeks.  I’m not upset about this at all…I love seeing munchkin!

If you’re on Twitter than you might have seen that I failed my 1 hour glucose test last week. BOO!  So I get to take the three hour tomorrow and spend 4 hours at the hospital tomorrow morning.  Fun times friends, fun times. 

I have some photos for your viewing enjoyment:

My belly.  I’m FINALLY looking pregnant and I’m loving it. I’m not loving frequent trips to the bathroom in the middle of the night!

Another shot.  Gotta love how EVERYTHING grows when you’re pregnant!

Most of the boys in my life.  Aren’t they cute?

Joey feeling left out of the above picture.  He loves that pillow.

Molly and her ball collection.  She does her best to keep them away from Joey because he’ll chew them to pieces!

How’s your week going?

Chocolate Lava Cake

This was our dessert last night.  Doesn’t this look good?

It’s delicious!  I inhaled it like it was going out of style.  The best part is that I made it at home and it was super easy.  Would you believe it took about 15-20 minutes with prep and cooking?!?! I can’t take credit for this recipe thought.  I was told about it by another Pampered Chef consultant and decided to try it.  It’s a keeper!
You’ll need:
Chocolate cake mix, plus ingredients needed to make it (for my cake mix it was 3 eggs, 1 cup water and 1/3 cup veggie oil)
Chocolate frosting
Vanilla Ice Cream (optional)
A microwavable bowl with cover (The Pampered Chef Rice cooker or the new Round Baker (stoneware) both work well)
Directions:
1.  Mix cake according to directions
2. Pour about 1/2 of the cake mix into the microwavable bowl (I used the Pampered Chef new round stoneware baker)
3.  In the middle put 1/2 to 3/4 of the frosting

4. Cover with remaining cake mix.  It’s ok if you don’t use all the cake mix.  When I did my cake went over the side a little.  It tastes better when you make a mess, right?

5. Cover and microwave for 10 minutes
6.  Remove from microwave.  Be careful, the dish will be hot!

7.  Carefully cut and place in bowls or on plates.  The frosting will be all melted so be careful…it can be hard to get the slices out!  I used a ladle to put some the melted frosting on top of the cake in each bowl.

After removing to large slices…see the melted frosting in the bottom?

The cake with the frosting poured over it.

8.  Add some vanilla ice cream if you’d like and enjoy!

It may take a time or two to figure out the exact amount of cake mix/frosting you like and what works in your dish.  Don’t be discouraged…try again!

What’s your favorite, easy dessert to make?

Linking up with:

WinCo

The Man’s newest favorite place is the grocery store WinCo.  He LOVES it there.  We went after my appointment last week and we was looking forward to going.  Is this how we know we’re adults?  That we love to go to certain grocery stores? (In case you’re wondering, my favorite is Trader Joe’s.  Love that place. LOVE IT!)

The prices are great! We were able to get a pound of strawberries for 98 cents the first time we went.  They were delicious! And the second time?  They were $1.98.  Not to bad!  The produce is great quality.  The meats are good quality and reasonably priced as well.

These aren’t the reasons The Man loves WinCo though.  He loves it because of the bulk food section.  He just walks around the area, enthralled by the options.  My favorite item at the moment is the dark chocolate covered cranberries.  The Man doesn’t have a favorite but his mind just goes on and on with the possibilities.  We kinda want to find a recipe with random spices just so we can go buy them in the bulk section!  You can get different kinds of pasta, flour, rice, candies, snack mixes, spices…the list goes on.  It’s a great area and I know I have to allow some time for exploration!

What’s your favorite grocery store?

What do you like about it?

3 on Thursday

 

Andrea over at My Chihuahua Bites hosts this meme every Thursday.  I’ve thought about linking up before but when I saw this week’s topic I knew I had to link up!  This week we’re talking about  books.  If you’ve been around for awhile, you know I love to read (The WYE? Challenge speaks to that!)

So the question is:

"What three books are most important to you/do you re-read most frequently?"

I think it goes without saying that the Bible is the most important book to me.  I’m not always digging into as I should but it has everything I need for life in there.  No matter how many times I read it, there is always something new for me.  So, since that one is obvious, I’m going to share three less obvious with you:

1.  Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

I didn’t read these books until I was an adult.  I was in Viet Nam and I came across them at my country director’s house.  English books can be scarce when you’re overseas and you take what you can get! I got hooked.  My second year in Nam I brought the whole series with me and I read them about once a month.  I just fell in love with Anne Shirley.  How can you not love her? (Picture Source)

2.  The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

I love, love, love this series.  All of them.  My favorite book of the series in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader with The Magician’s Nephew being a close second.  The only one in the series I don’t care for is The Silver Chair.  The Man loves these books as well and we often talk about them.  We have a book that has 365 reading from all 7 books and we read one each night.  We will probably fight at bedtime to be the one who’s reading these to Munchkin.  She will be read them from an early age! (Picture Source)

3. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I’ve read this series about 6 or 7 times.  There’s just something about them that keep pulling me in.  I’m sure I’ll be reading them a few more times this year!

Others that I enjoy and reread often:

Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling. 

Every Storm by Lori Wick

The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory

What are your favorite books?

My BFF

Sleep and I, we’re close.  Like BFF close.  Wondering how I spent a warm, sunny PNW afternoon?  Well, I just woke up from a glorious 3 hour nap.  Well, it was about three hours though I did have to get up for a potty break (sorry if that’s TMI but how lame is it that my bladder wakes me up from a NAP?!? I cringe thinking about the next 3 months…) The time might have been better spent outside but my pillow was calling me…

I can’t remember a time when I didn’t like to sleep.  Maybe I cried when it was naptime as a kid but I don’t remember it.  I do remember not needing a bedtime as a kid.  In high school, it was common for me to be in bed by 9:30.  I LOVED sleep.  In the spring (not the fall cause I would have practice) I would get home from school around 2:30 and I would nap from 3-5.  Then I would get up, eat dinner with my parents, do any homework I had and hang out.  Then I would be in bed around 9, 9:30.  Crazy right? 

In college I realized I was a night owl and I still indulged in naps.  I remember more than one spring afternoon where I opened the window and curled up under it with a blanket and slept.  You can ask anyone in my family and they’ll tell you how much I love to sleep! (As a side note, how cute is Joey?  This is how I found him this morning…he loves to sleep too!)

Ever since Munchkin arrived I’ve been trying to take advantage of every opportunity to sleep in and/or nap since I know my days are numbered.  In the beginning sleep was no problem.  Then around 13/14 weeks sleeping on my belly got uncomfortable.   Thankfully we had a body pillow and helped.  It’s been all downhill since.  I was able to sleep mostly on my belly for awhile that that’s been left in the dust.  I am now a dedicated side sleeper dreaming about when I can sleep on my belly again.  The Man is looking forward to it again too cause I think he’s tired of having the body pillow in bed with us.  He calls it “my other husband” cause I can’t sleep without it.  I must admit that I’m enjoying duty night when I have the bed to myself.  A pillow on each side and I don’t have to worry about waking him up when I turn over.

With three months left I know sleep is only going to get harder.  Naps are going to be a must.  I don’t even want to think about getting comfy…oh, the things we do for our kids!

I’m going to miss my BFF sleep.  Hopefully someday we’ll be BFFs again.

Do you have any sleeping tips for this first time mom?

Tricky Thing…

…Trimesters are.  No one breaks them down the same way.  It seems like it should be simple enough but it’s not.  So according to this site, I’m in my third trimester (YAY!) while this one says I still have another week to go (BOO!)  Since it’s my body I’m going to say I’m finally in my third trimester.  Since I’m really paying more attention to weeks, I’m 27 weeks today.  It’s fun watching that number get smaller.  Only 13-15ish weeks to go (I’m trying to prepare myself for going past my due date.)

I’m still not huge, which I’m ok with but I am getting bigger.  Getting out of bed at night can be pretty funny at night.  I almost always wake up The Man and get a sleepy “What’s wrong?”  I always answer nothing, I have to pee but one day he may be in for a surprise.  I wonder if I should do a practice run?  It would be fun to see how he reacts!

The heartburn got so bad that I finally got a prescription.  Let me tell you, I had forgotten what it was like to be heartburn free.  I shouldn’t have waited so long!

26 weeks 6 days

I Broke My Car

I was on my way to watch my friend’s little girl while she went to a doctor’s appointment.  I got in my car like always, turned it on and put it in reverse.  As I start to back up I hear this really loud scraping sound.  At first I thought it was just a rock but when it didn’t stop after 5 seconds I stopped and put the car in drive.  As I drove forward the scraping sound continued.  I was perplexed…what the heck was wrong with my car?  So I jumped out and this is what I saw:

Pretty huh?  Actually it was out more but I pushed the bumper back up so it wasn’t hanging so much.  Somehow I managed to pull my bumper off so it’s only attached in the middle part, right under the Nissan medallion thingie.  The best part is I have no idea how this happened.  I’m so thankful I was at home and not out.  I called my friend and she ended up bringing her daughter to me (which is a whole other story in and of itself since her 2 year old is scared of my beagle).

I called The Man at work.  Forget calling the cell phone cause I knew he wouldn’t answer…I called control on the boat.  They found him quickly (turns out he was on watch) and I know he was surprised to hear me.  I told him what happened and sent him a photo to his cell.  Then I started crying cause his show opens tonight and I have no way to get there to see him!  He has duty and doesn’t have time to come and pick me up or drop me off.  He’s ok that I can’t be there since I can go to tomorrow night. I’m the one that’s upset…it’s opening night!  I can’t believe I’m going to miss it!  Of course I was bawling and basically had a meltdown.  I’m blaming it on the hormones.  He calmed me down like only he can do and he told it would be fine.  After we hung up I then sent a picture to my mom and she called me.  She laughed at me.  Thanks mom.  At that point it was kinda funny.  Seriously, who breaks their bumper in their driveway? I think it might take a special kind of talent!

I also shared a photo on Facebook and Twitter.  Thank you to all of you how checked to make sure Munchkin and I were ok.  We are fine, just feeling silly!

The Man might not know it yet, but I’m going to let him deal with fixing it tomorrow.  I’m heading to see fields and fields of tulips with a friend and he’s staying home cause he doesn’t want to see beautiful flowers.  Fixing my bumper will be a good way to fill his time!

Ultimate Blog Party 2012

Welcome Party People! I’m thrilled you stopped by!  I joined in the UBP last year and had a great time.  I’m looking forward to meeting new people and finding new blogs this year!

I’m Poekitten and I blog about stuff going on in life.  That means that there is a little bit of everything here.  I married my husband, The Man, in 2009.  We live in the Pacific Northwest thanks to the Navy.  We love it here, even with all the “rain.”  We have four furbabies…two cats, Edgar and Allen and two dogs, Molly and Joey.  I’ll admit I’m not the best housekeeper and animal fur is a common accessory for both of us. 

There are two big changes coming up for us this summer.  The first is that my husband is not reenlisting in the Navy.  It’s scary and exciting all at the same time.  We’re both looking forward to civilian life again. 

The second BIG change is that our little girl is due in July!  We can’t wait to meet our first munchkin.  We are so excited to be parents.  We know life if going to change a lot.  We also know that we have no idea how much!  There will be more pregnancy/mom related stuff popping up on here since Munchkin is about to take over our lives.

I hope you have some time to explore a bit.  You can find out more about me in the About Me and the  Our Story tabs up top.  You can find my popular posts listed in the left hand column.  If you have a Facebook page for your blog, I invite you to link it up to my Facebook Directory. 

I’d love it if you would come back and visit again!  You can follow Many Waters via Google Friend Connect (click over there on the left), Networked blogs, or Bloglovin.  I’m on Twitter more than I should be(@Poekitten) and you can also find me on Facebook.

Please don’t forget to leave me a comment letting me know you came by!  I’ll be visiting as soon as I can.

Also, a big thanks to 5 minutes for Mom for hosting this shing-ding!  If you haven’t joined the party yet, what are you waiting for?!?

Nappies

One of the things that The Man and I have decided to do for Munchkin is to put her in cloth diapers.  I have several friends, both in real life and online that cloth diaper.  After doing research and talking about it, we decided that this will work for us. 

We decided to go this route for a few reasons.  One is that we hope to have more children.  I’d love to be able to reuse diapers instead of having to keep buying them.  I like that there will be less chemicals against Munchkin’s sensitive skin.  While I’m not super crunchy (I like to say I’m crunchy around the edges) I like knowing that I’m not contributing thousands of diapers to landfills.  Now if you use disposables, awesome. I am well aware that cloth diapers are NOT for everyone.  I am not judging those who use disposables…when you’re mom (or dad) you do what you gotta do.  As long as  your little one’s bum is cleaned on a regular basis then I’m happy!

My Mom has been more supportive than I thought she would be.  She’s not sure how long it will actually last (I’ve had several people say that!)   While I was in MA we took a class at the local quilt shop on making nappies (nappies=diapers.)  It was fun though I don’t love following a pattern that you have to use to cut out the pieces.  Mom did much better with it since she used to sew clothes.  Maybe that’s why I don’t like sewing clothes…

Anyway I made one diaper and Mom made two.  I’m hoping she’ll make me a couple more in a few other sizes.  I need to start making more too!

I made a diaper using the purple as the inner layer and the green and purple squares at the outer (with PUL in the middle.)  Mom made one out of the red material.

Mom cutting out material

My finished diaper, size small.  It’s really a diaper cover.  I’m going to buy some inserts to use with it (or use some of the prefolds that I have.)

He is Risen!

He is Risen Indeed!

Happy Easter!

I hope you have a wonderful Resurrection Sunday.

I heard this song yesterday for the first time and wanted to share it with you.

It's perfect for today because I know that my God lives!

I love the chorus:


My God's not dead
He's surely alive
He's living on the inside
Roaring like a lion

First Friday

Can you believe it’s April already?  Where is 2012 going?  It’s the first Friday of April and that means it’s time for Milspouse Fill-In with Wife of a Sailor! 

1. What’s one thing in the past month you would have changed?

Um…this one is hard.  I didn’t love that my husband left on sea trails but it needed to happen.  It seems that it might actually have helped us too, in the long run.  So as yucky as it was I wouldn’t change it.  I don’t think there is anything I would change about the past month…

2. What was your favorite thing that happened in March?

I had a great time visiting family and friends in MA!  It was a great vacation.  I still have another post or two about the trip so keep an eye out for them.

3. Check your phone… who was the last person you called and what is your favorite thing about them?

The last person I called was my mom.  It’s hard to pick just one favorite thing about her.  How about that she loves me unconditionally and supports me even when she doesn’t agree with me.  She’s also super excited to be a Nana and I’m enjoying her excitement! 

4. If you were a crayon, what color would you be and why?

I think I’d be red.  Brick red. Red is my favorite color and it has energy and passion.  I’d love to have more energy at this point! 

5. What are you looking forward to in April?

Spring weather! I can’t wait for all the tree to have their leaves back and for all the flowers.  I’m also hoping for more sunshine. 

Make sure you go link up and read what others have to say!  I hope you have a wonderful weekend and a blessed Easter.

Bump

I realized it’s been about 2 weeks since I posted a photo of my baby bump.  The Man wasn’t around so I took my own photo.  It’s not the best but it will give you an idea of how I look:

I’m feeling Munchkin move even more, which I’m loving.  I’m not loving the hungry horrors that I’ve been getting around 4pmish.  I’m feeling the need to stuff my face with whatever I can get my hands on.  Today it was Kalamata olives, cheese puffs and an apple. At this rate I’m going to be a balloon by the time little miss arrives!

I know I said this wasn’t going to turn into a pregnancy/mom blog but it’s headed that way.  Between stuffing my face, sleeping, and my part time jobs, there isn’t too much going on here.  Just life.  When I do manage to come up with something else to write about, I will.  Unless you have any ideas about what you’d like to read about…

Wednesday

It’s the middle of the week.  I’m glad that it’s downhill to the weekend from here, especially since we get a duty free weekend!  This will be the first year EVER that The Man and I get to spend Easter together.  I’m very excited!

The Man recently came home from an underway.  The puppies were super happy to see it.  They almost knocked him over trying to get some love from him:

Other than that, it’s a normal Wednesday here.

How’s your week going?

Blessed

While I was in MA my cousin and mom threw a baby shower for us.  It was a gorgeous Sunday afternoon.  I knew that the baby shower was happening and at what time but I knew nothing else.  Well, I knew some of the people who would be there but other than that, I didn’t know the theme or décor or the games or anything.
It was a wonderful time with family and friends.  My cousin knows how much I love to read so in the invites she requested that instead of cards they bring a book instead.  Just about everyone did and now we have a wonderful start to a library for Munchkin.  I can’t wait to to read to her! I’m very much looking forward to sharing my love of reading with her.  The monkey decorations were also adorable and I love them! The colors and the monkey fit right in with Munchkin’s nursery theme.
I felt very loved.  Not that I ever questioned it but when you live on the other side of the country and you don’t see everyone all the time, some relationships suffer.  I am so thankful to know that family and friends are excited about Munchkin and support us. 
Now for the picture overload!

The food

Yummy homemade cupcakes with cute picks.

Super cute bunting that I brought home and am hoping to have hanging in the nursery to welcome Munchkin home.

I know I have a funny face but I really was listening! My cousin put together a devotion based on Munchkin’s name.

We got books! Lots and lots of books!  This is one happy mama!

Munchkin’s first bank.  It’s a sheep (or a sheepie as I was calling it.)  I love sheep so it’s perfect! Nana did a great job picking it out!

A super cute jacket (the whole outfit is cute!) for Munchkin.  Summer in the PNW can be chilly so it’s perfect!

My 9 year old niece has started sewing and she made me a pillow case.  For Munchkin she made a little pillow and blanket. I’m thinking they will be perfect for her fist baby doll!

Mom and I.  She’s super excited to be Nana.  She’s a great mom and I know she’s going to be a great Nana!

Some of the books for Munchkin’s library

*All photos courtesy of Shelby.  Thanks for taking pictures!

Military Child

Did you know that April in the Month of the Military Child?  My friend, Wife of a Sailor, asked for guest bloggers and I answered the call.  You can visit her blog to read my post on being pregnant with a military child.  Please leave me some comment love while you’re there!  Thank you.