Rory is 2!

I did mean to post this on her actual birthday. But this new baby is making my life very hard. I am still very sick with morning sickness, though the meds do help a bit. We are praying that things will be better very soon, but so far it is just coping with the symptoms. :o)

Rory turned 2 on the September 2nd! We had a little cake for her and it was super fun to sing to her and have her "get" what was going on. Best moment of the night?

(after Rory blew out the candles...)

Cady: "Rory what did you wish for?"

Rory: "Cake!"

Oh the simple things!

We have been so lucky to have Brady's parents come and visit us this past week! We have done some very fun things (no pictures on my end...sorry just not feeling up to all that) and I was very proud of myself for going out and braving the world despite the fact that I still want to toss my cookies most of the time. It was fun. Brady and I even got to go out on a movie date! We haven't done that in a long while!

I do want to say that my mom-in-law is wonderful! She pretty much cooked and cleaned the whole time she was here. It was very nice for me and I am soooo very glad that she was more than willing to help out. She is totally awesome and we love her so much!

We also took Rory in for her 2 year check up. She is getting taller! She was 93% for height!!!! Sadly she was only 3% for weight which was a HUGE difference. This is the first time she has been seen at the base clinic here and so I brought up my concerns. I'm not sure if I have ever posted about this here, so I will be cover everything now. Rory has had chronic diarrhea since she was about 11 months old. I'm not sure if she had some before that since she was still having the soft baby stools. In the last year she has only had THREE solid stools. Three. None of this seems to bother her, though she does get more rashes than Cady ever did (for obvious reasons). She also eats like crazy. She eats more than I do most days and we often joke that she eats like a 400 pound man. I spent a day calculating her calories a couple of months ago and she was getting close to 3000 calories in a day. 3000!!! And yet she only gained 3 pounds this year.

Her old Dr would just tell me it was toddler diarrhea and that it would go away. It's not. So I brought it up to her new Dr at her appointment. He was concerned, especially with how far apart her height and weight were. She is developing just fine in every other way (above average for a lot of things) and she doesn't show any signs of malnourishment, but we are thinking that is because of how much and how often she eats. The Dr decided to start with some screening and stool tests that would help us eliminate or focus in on one problem or another. He was very honest that this could be something very simple or it could be something very serious or it could be nothing at all. I am just glad to be looking into it and hopefully be getting some kind of answer.

So we have another appointment in two weeks for results. We were sent to the lab to have her blood drawn. Er...yeah. I was NOT looking forward to this. Then the lab tech tells me that she will have to come back a couple more times. HUH? Because she only weighs 22 pounds they can only take 10 milliliters of blood at a time. So the poor girl was going to have to get poked more than once so they can get enough for all the tests! Well it turns out I was worried for nothing. Rory is totally not bothered by having blood drawn. She has great veins like daddy, and despite her size they were able to find a "juciy one" (tech's words not mine!) right away. I bear hugged her and there was another tech to hold her arm straight and Rory just watched as they poked her and drew the blood. No crying. No fear. Just sat and watched. Crazy kid. :o) So at least I don't have to worry about the future blood draws! lol. As we were getting her taped up the Techs hand me a brown bag with all the tools for collecting her stool samples. I have to collect three stools in three different cups, I have to collect stool for a vial, and then I have to collect three different smears for the smear cards. Yeah. Thats like 7 different samples. Thankfully I was told the smears could come from the three cup stools (thank heavens). My problem now is how to collect these from her diaper since it's DIARRHEA and just absorbs. Saran-wrap is going to get me some, but I'm thinking that could be really leaky...ugg. They are just going to have to deal with what I can get I guess.

And I'm totally sorry that I pretty much just talked about poop for a whole paragraph.

Once those results come back we should know something! I hope anyway.

On to more interesting things. We are flying home to visit family and to have Rory's Birthday party this week! YAY! I can't wait. It will be so nice to see everyone again and catch up!

Thats pretty much all thats going on with us! I did put up a girl/boy poll for the new baby, so be sure to vote! We should be finding out sometime in October!! YAY!

We are still here...

Update time! I am still pretty sick but I have been given medication to help. It does for the most part. I am still very sensitive to smells and that has been a bit of a problem for everyone. There is a limited group of things that I can cook myself with out being sick about it. So far everyone is handling it pretty well though I know we are all ready for me to feel better so that life can be normal again. I really want to be a wife and mother again. Right now it is hit and miss, but I am happy to say that my family is taking very good care of me, especially Brady. He has been amazing through all of this. I can see how tired he is too, but he doesn't complain and he just keeps right on going. Just makes me love him even more than I already do.

The baby is doing just fine. My Doctor is excellent and I am very happy that I was assigned to him. He has just returned from deployment so I don't have to worry about him getting shipped off right in the middle of my pregnancy, and he is very nice and did everything to make me comfortable (well as comfortable as things can be...I'm sure that all you women who have yearly check-ups know how that goes). We got to see the baby and everything looks good. Good strong heart beat and was wiggling around like crazy. The baby was measuring a bit smaller than my dates (a week to be exact) but the Doctor decided to leave my due date as is since I am 100% sure of when my last period was. And a week really isn't that big of a deal since due dates are give or take two weeks anyway. He said we will re-evaluate at my my big ultrasound. I am really looking forward to getting well into my second trimester since that is usually when I feel better. Then I might really enjoy this miracle. :o) I would have picture of the baby to show you but the Doctor couldn't get the machine to print so we will have to wait till next time.

Other than that stuff things have been pretty boring here. Mostly I try really hard to keep the house from getting out of control and the kids busy and happy while I try to feel better. We are looking forward to a visit from grandma and grandpa in a couple of weeks and then a visit to Vegas after that!

Yuck.

Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I have been having the worst morning sickness I have ever had in my life. It is horribly debilitating and I am exhausted on top of that. I am trying to still be a mom to my girls and hoping that everything is fine with the baby. I don't know anything yet because I have yet to see a doctor because the Military is exceptionally slow. I am really hoping that there is only ONE in there. I do have appointments scheduled finally and I am looking forward to getting some relief from these horrible symptoms. If you have been on facebook at all then you know that I have been trying everything under the sun and nothing seems to help for very long. I feel the worst for Brady though. He has been working long days and then picking up the slack at home as well. I know he is exhausted but he hasn't complained once and I am so grateful for him. He has made or picked up dinner every night for the last three weeks. He does laundry, changes sheets, gives baths, plays games, and brings me anything I ask for. I am so very lucky to have him but I really want to get back to doing my job!

Anyway, other than my all day sickness, things here are going well. We have planned a trip home at the end of September to celebrate Rory and Aidric's birthday's together again. I am really looking forward to seeing everyone and staying for a week. As of right now I am flying alone with both girls which could be interesting. They are excellent flyers which is very good. They both love planes and get beyond excited for take offs and landings, but I still have to get all of us in the airport, checked in, through security, and then on the plane by myself. All while getting dirty looks and snide remarks from other passengers for daring to bring two children on a plane with me. Should be super fun. :o)

Well thats all for now. I hope that everyone is having a great summer!

I traded dry heat for...

...flies. I have never seen more flies than I have in the two-ish weeks we have lived here. It is ridiculous. Every. Time. I open a door they invade and despite searching Walmart from top to bottom I haven't been able to find a fly swatter.

Thank goodness for Bonnie the Wonder Dog. By the end of every day, BTWD has found and annihilated every fly that has invaded my house. Not joking! She is fast and relentless. It's like cats with and a laser pointer! She stalks them and takes them out. It is for this reason alone that I can forgive her for peeing on the carpet a few times since we moved in. :o)

Other than the flies things are good. The girls and I are gradually adjusting to the time change (2 hours ahead of Vegas) and I am slowly unpacking the rest of our stuff as I go. Thankfully I haven't been sick with this pregnancy yet and I am holding out hope that I will get lucky and not be sick at all. It would be very nice.

So...PICTURES! I took some of the house and I am finally now getting them up. So here you go! (Please ignore the insane mess that is my house. #1 We just moved in, and #2 I have small children and a husband which make it always look like we just moved in.)

Below: Our living room with our new TV Stand/entertainment center (because our old one was broken in the move). It's beautiful. I know.

Our new couch. We left our old, broken down couch behind.

The rest of the living room including Cady and our insanely old recliner that still works like a dream. There is a powder/half bath to the right there and a under the stairs storage closet to the left.

My craft/brady's computer room and the dining room. Still lots of unpacking to do.

The Dining room and the door to the back yard. We had to get a new kitchen table. Our old one was round and it was impossible to get around it and open the door to the back or get to the kitchen...it was just crazy so my mom hauled the table and chairs back with her and we found this beauty at the Nebraska Furniture Mart. More on that later.

One half of the kitchen...

...and the other half.

The laundry room, which houses my furnace, ducting, and other stuff that I have no clue about...

...and it also houses my washer and dryer that we had to buy the day we moved in...cause the house didn't come with them...my mom and I put in the shelves on our own as well.

Upstairs we find the master bed room. This is easily the BIGGEST room in the house. It is insane how big it is. There is a closet with shelves in the room, a postage stamp of a bathroom and then a walk-in closet as well. Plenty of room for the new little one to share with us for a bit though.

Cady's room.

The view of the back yard from the spare room. I'll take more of the back yard later.

The spare bedroom...or the "we don't know where to put this stuff yet" room.

The kids/guest bathroom.

Rory's room.

And now for the best room in the house. There is a linen closet in the upstairs area as well as a little computer nook/desk. Next to the master there is another door. We were confused at first, but it is a...closet...with it's own window. Yeah. Really. It is at least 10 feet deep and 5 feet wide. My sister named it "Harry Potter's Nook" and I think I will stick with that. All the kids toys that we don't want crowding their rooms and the rest of the house are in here.

And thats about it for the house. We really like it, though I think the downstairs could be a bit better in layout. It will certainly do for the next two years at least. You will notice that we had to pick up a few pieces of new furniture. Not everything survived the move but thankfully everything that was important did. We get reimbursed for the stuff they moved that didn't make it so we didn't feel to bad about having to replace it. We got the TV stand, bookshelf and table and chairs at the Nebraska Furniture Mart. The Nebraska Furniture Mart is INSANE. They claim to be the biggest furniture outlet in the USA and I believe them. I thought Ikea was big. This place is like five Ikea's. No I am not kidding. There are at least five HUGE warehouses filled with furniture, electronics, computers, etc. We got really good deals on everything as well. They are very organized and have one whole warehouse dedicated to pickup. It was awesome. You can check them out online too. It's totally an experience.

We are gradually getting our bearings in the city as well. It's very green here and we don't have a sprinkler system. We had to get hoses and sprinklers and I have to remember to water the lawns, tree and flowers everyday. Well except the days it rains. Trash comes once a week and we have one whole can that is dedicated to "yard waste only." We had to buy a lawn mower. It's pretty awesome. :o) It got pretty hot today (100 degrees with some pretty crazy humidity) but for the most part it has been in the low 90s and 80s which feels like heaven to me after many a summer in Las Vegas. I have a feeling that I will be pretty cranky come winter though. Me and snow aren't exactly on "friendly" terms. Winter is gonna suck for me.

We are supposed to be here for at least two years, per Brady's orders, but we recently found out that most people in Brady's job end up here for a lot longer. So this could be our home for a good many years if we are lucky. I'm not looking forward to moving again anytime soon.

So far we really like it here in Nebraska. Well, minus the flies. The flies could go to...somewhere else. :o) Hope this post finds everyone happy and healthy and enjoying your summer!

Due March 2011

Brady is Home!

I can't tell you what a difference it makes to have him home. My girls have been plastered to him all weekend and I couldn't be happier!

Brady graduated, after passing his tests, on Thursday. He was a favorite of his instructors (this doesn't surprise me) and he also was awarded Top Graduate (I think I got that right I will have to double check) which is an optional award. He also has lots of letters saying nice things about how awesome he is in his file. :o) There is nothing better than knowing that we made the right decision. Joining the Air Force was a tough sell for me and it took a lot of praying and comfort from the Lord for me to agree that it was the right thing to do. Getting Brady in was a long and rough process and part of me felt that maybe we were wrong, but the Lord kept saying we were in the right place. In the end Brady got the job he wanted and has been soaring through training and tech school. I can see how much he loves what he has learned. He is in the right place and will have a job that he enjoys. The Lord has truly blessed us and we are so grateful that his steady guidance got us here.

Now we are gearing up for our move. I already have a plan, because I can't not have a plan, but I am making myself wait to start packing. Mostly because once I start I will pack everything and then we will have to unpack stuff just to make it through the next two weeks. :o)

I'm not sure that I will get much up on the blog before we move. I will promise that once we are settled and we have internet again that I will post pictures of our new house and tell you all about the fun we had getting to our new house!

We will miss everyone here! There is a big part of me that is in denial about moving away from my home. I have never lived anywhere else and I know it will be hard for me, but I also know that so long as we are together as a family we will be fine where ever we go. I am looking forward to meeting new people and learning a new city, but I know that I am going to miss everyone here very much. I am really going to miss my family being so close. I am sure that my girls will adapt well to life without both grandma's, but I'm not sure how well I am going to adapt.

Anyway, enough of the mushy. We are hoping that you all will keep in touch! I know I will be blog stalking most of you so I can see everyone's kids growing up and where life takes you!

The good news...

I am finally feeling like myself again!

The bad news?

We are moving in little over a month. :o(

Don't get me wrong. I do want to move. I am really looking forward to having my husband back and living like a family again and having a new adventure with my three favorite people. I really am!

But the closer our move date gets the more I realize what I am leaving behind and how much I am going to miss all you wonderful people here in Vegas. We will visit of course, but it isn't the same.

I'm really going to miss you all.