What's The Date Again?....

So I can't believe how fast these months are flying by. Catch up time:
So these last two months a bunch of my friends have been popping out their gorgeous little babies left and right. I am sooo excited for each and every one of them. Some are expanding their families while others are just starting theirs. At the same time it has given me baby fever, worse than ever before. But I am torn. Part of me wants to have another baby or start trying for another baby while another part of me (i think the sane part of me) wants to go back to school to finish my RN and work for a while before adding another little one to the mix. For now I am trying to focus on getting my health issues under control and loving on my two kiddos.

My sister-in-law got married last week so we made the trek out to Austin for the week for the big event and to spend some time with family. The house is still not near to being completely unpacked. I have been working a lot and the hubs is now on a different shift so he's only home part of the day. We make little dents in it weekly, but I am excited for the day when I am not looking at stacks of boxes in the house.

Abby at the wedding Thomas trying on his tux

As this month starts to wind down (where the heck did it go?!?!?!?) our family is preparing for yet another deployment. The hubs will be gone until Marchish which means he will be missing quite a lot. I know the kiddos will have a tough time with this deployment, especially him not being home for the holidays. But these are the things you deal with when your married to someone in the military. So even though I hate it, he knows I support him in everything he does.
So while he is gone I have started on some projects around the house to make time pass quicker. One of my major goals will to be getting the house completely unpacked, the garage all organized and use able again. Once I get everything unpacked I am treating myself to a weekend in California shopping at Ikea!! Let me know if you wanna come along.

Tonight was another milestone in our house. Abby is currently sleeping in her big girl bed!!! Kyle transitioned her crib to the toddler bed today after the kids went to school. He got all the boxes out of her room and I put the last few things in her closet so that her room was completely safe and she couldn't get into anything. After I picked the kiddos up from school we went to Target to pick out a pillow and toddler bedding for her bed. She chose some really cute Tinkerbell bedding and kept getting in and out of her bed while I was making it. She was very excited about her big girl bed, so much so she didn't want to come down for dinner! So after her bath and rocking for a few minutes I asked her if she was ready for night night. She jumped off my lap and walked to her room and she got in bed. I tucked her in like I always do and then walked out of the room, closed the door and put the baby gate up outside. Hahaha, i should have known better. While I was reading Thomas his bed time story all I heard was her screaming for mommy at the door. So after I put Thomas down I went back in her room, climbed over the gate, put Abby back in bed and sat beside her while I pat her back. After about 5 minutes and her rubbing her eyes and settling down I left. She got up and cried for another 10 minutes. Now it is quiet. I'll check in on her when I go to bed, but I think tonight was a success. Hopefully it will get a little easier each night.

I will try and post a bunch of pics once I get everything downloaded to the computer. Hopefully my next post wont be 2 months away. Time for me to call it a night.

I hope this finds everyone well.

Till next time my friends....

Time For An Update!!

So a lot has happened since the last time I blogged. We ended up getting the keys to our new house 2 days after we signed and I promptly moved deliveries and estimates for work back to original days. Our first delivery was of our appliances, and I was like a little kid on Christmas. We had been waiting since May to finally get them and enjoy them. NO MORE SQUEAKY DRYER!! We then had the couches delivered. We weren't told that one of the end pieces on back order, so we just got that on Tuesday (August 3!). We celebrated Thomas' 4th birthday on the 19th and went to Disneyland to celebrate later in the week. It was such a great break from the heat! While we were gone the painters took over the house and did such a fabulous job. I couldn't be happier. Since the hubby had almost an entire week off, I figured what a better time for us to move! So we moved and are still getting settled into the house, unpacking slowly, but we have made a dent.

We have also currently had a new addition to our family. We have a new puppy in the house and once she finally settled down and started warming up to us it has been mostly joy. We are still working on the potty training. I think once the yard gets completed it will go a lot more smoothly. The name of the new puppy is Penny. She is a Pearl Piebald Rat Terrier. She was the runt of her littler and is a lot smaller than even the breeder expected. They are known as "tiny tots" because once she matures she will be 5 lbs or under. Now before I get harped on about buying a dog rather than adopt one, i'll give you the reason for that choice. After doing a lot of research on dog breeds that are good with other pets and children I came across the rat terrier breed. While doing more research on the breed I learned that they are very hearty dogs, love to please their owners and are easy to train. The only main issue I found with the breed is that they carry a genetic disease call PLL ( Primary Lens Luxation). This can cause the dog severe eye pain, blindness and even possible loss of the eye. A genetic test came out last year and breeders are testing all of their breeding dogs. If the parents both test clear, then their litters will be "clear" by parentage. Both of Penny's parents tested clear so I will not have to worry about this devastating disease. If we were to adopt a rat terrier we ran the risk of the dog possibly having this disease. So that is why we went thru a breeder.

Ok, so we are finally getting the yard started tomorrow. Then I will be calling out a pest company. I saw 2 black widow spiders in the backyard while letting the dogs out and promptly sprayed them with the pest killer I had near by. I hate spiders!!

On other news, they hubby has had to go to Virginia for a TDY (temporary duty assignment) until the end of august. Hopefully by the time he gets home I will have most if not all of the house unpacked and find a place for everything. As well as have the backyard done and enjoying it. It is going to be a busy next few weeks with him gone. Between doctors appointments, working out (2 months till Carolyn's wedding!), getting Thomas fitted for his tux (he's the ring bearer) and finding Abby a stunning dress to match her personality, we will be plenty busy. I am also signing the kids up for pre-school and daycare next week. I got hired on with an immunization clinic for the flu season, giving shots at flu clinics from september thru novemberish.
But I need to get to sleep, the landscapers will be here bright and early and I already have 2 snoring dogs on the bed. Time for me to sleep so I'll have enough energy for the long month ahead.

I hope this finds everyone well. I miss everyone!

Until Next Time...

Tick, Tick, Tick, Tick...

Lately I feel like there is a clock constantly ticking away the time. So Today is Tuesday the 13 of July. We have finally signed the papers for the house, Yesterday. We were supposed to sign on Friday, but someone did not follow thru with their job and actually ended up not being in the office on Friday, knowing that what they said would be at the title company by Thursday afternoon was not going to be at the title company Thursday really pissed me off. So Monday ended up being signing day. Unfortunately out here the same day you sign is not the same day you get keys. So surprise surprise, we left the title company with no keys to our new home :-( I am hoping we have the keys by Friday. All the things that I had scheduled for delivery for today and tomorrow I have had to cancel and reschedule for Monday. So Monday will be a big ball of chaos! AND....
MONDAY THOMAS WILL BE 4!!! When the heck did that happen? My little man (LM as we lovingly call him) will be 4 years old. He will be starting pre-school once we get settled in the new house. Then it is only one more year till he starts school! WHERE IS THE PAUSE BUTTON???? Time is flying by so quickly!
The next few weeks I will have to remember to BREATH!

So tonight I went to my first spouse social out here. They call it "coffee's" that are held on a monthly basis. I got to meet a lot of women and some that have just recently moved out here like us. I know/hope that I am able to form bonds with them the same way I bonded with my Abilene spouses! There are a lot of things in the works and I can't wait to experience it all with these women.

Well, the hubby is at work, the kids are in bed and the dog has gone on his final walk of the night. I think it is almost time for me to hit the bed myself. I am really hoping that we get a call tomorrow saying we can come get the keys!! That would totally make my day! I can't wait to be moved in so that we can start having company. I am really missing all my family and friends being this far west. I've heard there are some pretty good deals flying to Vegas! I miss everyone!! I hope everyone is doing well.

Until Next Time My Friends...

Are The Days Getting Longer?...

Now that we are in the final days before closing on the house it seems like the days are getting longer and longer. They are changing the work schedule at Kyle's job and are now working a 6day on 2 day off schedule. The only good part is that on their 6th work day if they do not have any appointments or things that need to be done it is like another day off. So with the potential of him being off 3 days in a row is nice. But he also switches to the night shift next week which I think is one of the worst rotations. Can't wait for the month to be over with (yes, I know it is just beginning!). So as we get ready to close on the house our plans have changed yet again. We are no longer going to put down hardwood floors downstairs. It just isn't in the budget or the time frame we are trying to accomplish before moving. We are now planning on doing some of the painting ourselves. So all that leaves is the landscaping. I am excited to get that project started and over with so we can start enjoying the backyard. Well, when I started this blog both kiddos were sleeping, now they are both up, so I will have to finish this posting at another time :-)
Until Later My Friends....

And the count down begins....

Sooo, I can't believe we are already coming up on the end of June! Where has all of this time gone to? We have 16 days until we close on our house and become home owners again. I have been soooo excited I just want to jump out of my skin!! There has been a lot going on in my life these past 6 months that seem like just a blink of an eye. We sold our beloved house in Abilene, we moved to Las Vegas and have been surviving in this apartment. A lot of strong women that I hold very dear to my heart are pregnant and have been popping out babies or will be giving birth within the next few months. It must be the year of babies!!! And NO, I am not one of the women who are pregnant. As much as I have had baby fever lately, I am content with my two munchkins for the time being.

I have finally made up my mind to go back to school and finish my RN. I have struggled with this decision because I know it is not going to be easy. With both kids, a husband with such a crazy schedule and a possible deployment looming in our life I know it will be a struggle. I have made this decision because I can't just sit around while he is gone and wait for him to come home. I will go insane! So I am starting to get all of my transcripts together and I plan on meeting with a counselor sometime in the next few weeks to see if there are any classes that I need to update before being accepted into the program. If all goes well I hope to start in January 2011 and Graduate in December 2011 then take and PASS my National Boards in January or February to become a Registered Nurse. It has always been a dream of mine that got interrupted when I got married and started having kiddos. So I'm going to force myself to get back on track and fulfill one of my major dreams. I've already married the man of my dreams, and we have created two wonderfully, amazing children. Well, now the baby factory will be shut down for the next two years. I want a year to finish my degree and a year of working before we have anymore kids. I figure the Abby Monster will be 3 or 4 when she becomes a big sister. Hopefully by then one if not both of my sisters will be hitched by then and hopefully have a baby or two. Who knows. So, sorry for the rant, I just had to get that out.
So, back to the house. We close in 16 days, July 9. Then the restoration of the property will begin. Wood floors will replace the carpet and tile that is downstairs and the carpet will remain upstairs. We don't know who went in and cleaned the house after we found out someone was squatting in it, but it looks great and we appreciated the surprise greatly! We are taking everything out from the back yard and a leaning tree that was planted too close to the foundation and roof line from the front yard and starting from scratch. I am hoping that we can just reseed the yard instead of laying down sod. We will have kid and pet friendly plants and shrubs in the yard so that I won't have to worry about the kids getting poked by the dangerous plants back there now, or worry about the several leaning trees falling or pulling down the concrete wall in the backyard. I will cherish the sound of Charlie and the kids running around in the backyard and the smell of BBQ on the grill. Can you tell I'm anxious?!?!?!? Adding to the new yard and wood floors we will be painting just about the entire inside of the house. Right now the entire house is one plain beige color which I can't stand. We never painted our last house, except for the bed rooms, and I will NOT put up with that again. Color will grace the walls through-out this beautiful house. And no, we will not be painting all of this ourselves, I am looking into hiring a painter and letting his crew do all the work.
This past weekend my sister-in-law came into town with a small group of her friends for her bachelorette party. I never had one so I was going to live vicariously thru her. I can now say, I AM TOO OLD TO BE DOING ALL OF THAT!! Saturday Night is when all of the festivities were and it took me 3 days to recover from it! Our first stop of the night was Dicks Last Resort. Rude waiters, obscene sayings on large paper hats and ok food kicked off our evening. Then we headed back to the hotel to get the real party started. Chippendale's was the first stop of the night. 4th row from the front and dead center with great music, dance routines and who can forget the amazing hard bodies of the men of Chippendale? After we cooled off from our hot flashes we took a quick cab ride over to the Palms to hit up Moon, Ghost Bar, Playboy Club and Rain VIP Style! We made it back to Aria around 4:30 in the morning. I haven't done that in ages and my body definately felt it for the next few days. I hope all the ladies had a great time and are looking forward to Pete and Carolyn's wedding in October in Austin.
Well, I think this blog has gone on long enough. I hope all my friends who read this are doing well know that once everything is settled in the house...PLEASE COME OUT AND VISIT!!! WE WILL HAVE PLENTY OF ROOM AND WOULD LOVE TO SEE EVERYONE!

Until Next Time My Friends...

Memorial Day...

First off, let me say thank you to the men and women of this great nation that have paid the ultimate price and made the ultimate sacrifice so that we can continue to live in a free world. I hope everyone who has enjoyed a bar-b-que, a day off from work and extra time with their loved ones has taken a moment to remember the meaning behind memorial day.

Now onto some news....we have finally started to get things together for the house. All the utilities are turned on this week and we start the process of inspection and appraisal. I am hoping that we can close before the 4th of July and enjoy a cook out in our new house. Unfortunately we went over there a few weeks ago to show my mother-in-law the house when she was in town, and we found out that someone had been squatting at the house. So now we plan on ripping up the carpets and hopefully putting hardwood floors downstairs and upstairs will be carpet again. The whole place was just disgusting and I felt like someone just violated where our family was going to live. It's just a feeling that i can't really describe. So once we close on the house the locks are getting changed that first day. We signed our last lease on the apartment today for only 2 months. I am planning on us being out of here by August 22. This way we have time to take up the carpets, paint and put the new floors down. I am hoping to get it all done within 3 weeks. I am starting to get more and more excited.
Don't really have much more to talk about right now. So I hope this finds everyone well!

Until Next Time...

The Excitement Is Killing Me!!!

I think I am starting a trend of blogging only like once or twice a month. I'll try to keep people more current, I promise. (although I don't know how many people read this thing anyways). So to catch everyone up to speed. We finally heard back from the bank and the sellers on the house that we put an offer on back on March 12. We finally have a house!!! And if you ask me, I think it is the best one that we looked at/put an offer on. I'll post pictures once all the paperwork is signed and we start to get everything underway :-) Now I'm getting even more excited and anxious to get out of this apartment! And tonight was even more exciting. We found and bought our fridge, washer and dryer tonight. I can't wait to get them into the house and start enjoying them!!
I have finally finished taking my course on IV certification. I am now certified to draw blood and start IV lines and do IV therapy on patients. Sooo excited!! Its just another step in my career. Hopefully the next major step will be to go back to school and finish my RN!!
In the soccer world my team finally won their first game last week. It only took us 7 weeks, and with only 3 games left I think it came in the nick of time. Hopefully we can win the last few games and call it a great season. We have all had a great time and gotten out and expanded our lungs this season. I've met a bunch of great people and can't wait for next season.
The headaches have not gotten any better. I actually think that with the physical therapy they have gotten worse! I have a follow up with my neurologist in 2 weeks so we shall see what he says. I think the thyroid medication has finally kicked in. I haven't felt as tired as I used to. I feel like I have gained back some energy. Now if only there was something to do about these darn headaches!
I don't think there's much else to fill people in on. Hope everyone is doing well!

Until Next Time My Friends...