Hey guys!
Just checking in. Things have been grrr-eat. I got a new job as a Marketing Specialist when I wasn't even looking for a job, and now we have a one year old. Ca-razy I tell you.

I should be through training soon, and then I hope to share pictures from her Birthday, and the vacation we are about to go on. It will be pretty epic, and we will be hitting Asheville, Nashville, Wadsworth, Ohio, and Williamsburg, Virginia all in TEN days. Speaking of which, do any of you know good hikes with waterfalls in Asheville (preferably nearish to downtown Asheville), or what to do in Nashville? I think I'm most excited about Nashville because I've never been, so any advice would be super helpful. Thank you!

Mom Paranoia

Hi. Remember me?
I'm still me, only different.
I'm a mom, but I still don't feel right using the title. Sure, I keep a fifteen pound bundle of joy alive and well, but I always assumed moms knew everything and could handle 'it all'. As the military say... "You don't know what you don't know," but now I am well aware of a LOT of things that I didn't know. We only survived because of family, friends that are nurses (thankfully on call 24/7), and Google. Dear, sweet, Google.

That's partially why I took an unplanned blog sabbatical, and then when you throw in a PCS (military move), deciding to buy another house, a renovation, and mom paranoia I'm sure it's obvious. I guess the mom paranoia isn't necessarily obvious, but that's where I am stuck. I've always felt a freedom in sharing our life story, and even when we were told to censor ourselves because of terrorists I felt compelled to continue on living our normal life and blogging about it. Now, however, I have become very protective over Miss Charlie and her online presence. It's the real reason that I stopped blogging, and went so far as to start a private Instagram account. I know it's completely normal to share our kiddos over social media since I've been enjoying other peoples children online for years, but for some reason I've been very reserved. I figured it was better to err on the side of caution than to regret it later, so I've been waiting to see if the feeling passes. Unfortunately, it's only gotten stronger.

She's been the center of our world for almost three hundred days, and I don't even think I've posted that many pictures via Facebook and Instagram combined in nine months. But don't worry, I've probably taken 9,000 PLUS for our own enjoyment, haha. In the end, I guess that's all that matters. She is a perfectly healthy and happy baby that has turned our world upside down, and she has most definitely become my favorite photo subject. Will is still a close second (don't tell him I said that), but I just can't help documenting every adorable thing she does.

So am I crazy? Am I just being paranoid? Please tell me this is just a phase, because I think I'm ready to start blogging again. I have soooooo much to tell you all, and I need to catch up on all of your lives too! I think of you all often, and I hope I haven't missed anything too important. Let me know if I have and send me links for fun stuff I missed.

In The Headlines, And An Anouncement

33 Best Burgers In America

I'm sad to say I haven't had a SINGLE one of these burgers, because we happen to LOVE any burger we can get our hands on. However, there's a good chance we will be heading to Fort Bragg, NC in about a month, so we can visit Johnson's Drive In located just outside of Fayetville! In case you are wondering, that's the announcement. More on that below.

Kraft Recalls 36,000 Cases of Cheese

So let me get this straight...some people didn't take off all of the plastic before eating their over processed fake individually wrapped cheese, and now there's a recall on the whole product? Seems a tad bit excessive, and I don't even support Kraft. #nogmo

Shackled Children

If you can't handle 8 and 9 year olds, you probably shouldn't be on the force. Plus it's against the law to use handcuffs on children in that state specifically, so there's that.

Ronda Rousey Body Shaming

No doubt she's awesome and the fact that people are body shaming her is ludicrous, but I think the fact that she's calling out other women in her response is just as bad. I personally think her comeback would have been more powerful if she wasn't shaming someone else in the process.

Gwen and Gavin Split

The shit is bananas. B-A-N-A-N-A-S. I happen to think that celebrities have a small dating pool because they tend to date within the industry. As such, if you limit yourself to a specific pool, there is no guarantee Mr. Right is going to be in there. Hopefully they will find love in the future! At least they made beautiful babies!

Cecil The Lion

I'm from a family of hunters, but they hunt to eat and for population control. In fact, the only antlers my dad has is from a deer that they tried to rescue after it broke it's back jumping a fence. Hunting these gorgeous creatures is just greedy and I'm glad Delta isn't allowing Big Game Trophies on their planes.

Civilians Protecting The Military

I don't want to go too in depth about the threats to our military and families stateside, because it really gives me anxiety. It's way too close to home, and brings up so many hot button questions about soldiers that can't protect themselves, and it's a problem that I can't believe we have in this country. On a positive note, the support from the community has been inspiring to watch. I know it's not safe or realistic to have vigilantes running around trying to protect the soldiers, but I would be lying if I didn't tell you that I wanted to be out there with them to prove that something needs to be done. We live in fear while our soldiers are deployed, but we don't get hazard pay to worry about them stateside. What happened America?

Okay, so as I mentioned up there, we are 90% sure that we will be heading to North Carolina in a month or so! I've already been picking Lindsey and Carrie's brain, but if any of you have insight into Fort Bragg or the Fayeteville area please send it my way! It's hard to figure out where to live when you've never set foot in a town, and yet we do it to ourselves every time. 

We Have A One Month Old!

A month ago, the nurse told me that each day would get easier even if I couldn't see it day by day, and I am thankful to admit she was right. I've cried more days than not, and felt like I must be doing everything wrong more than I'd like to admit, but I feel like we've come so far since then that I'm slowly forgetting the root of all of the fears and 'baby blues'. As my love for her grows, everything seems to have begun falling into place and I can now have more of a sense of humor about all the ups and downs. Yep, love, a sense of humor, and savoring the little things seem to be the key. Here are some of the little things:

+ Her eyes have begun to lighten.

+ Loves to sleep on us, but especially Daddy.

+ I love that I can calm her by simply putting my hand on her chest. It's funny that I've been doing that to her daddy for years. Proof that he's trained me for motherhood well.

+ Tried to get her on a schedule, but she showed us who's boss. For now, we are just thankful she can sleep up to 5-6 hours at a time at night. Doc said let her sleep, so that's what we are doing even if it does mean changing the sheets.

+ She is strong, which she showed by almost ejecting herself out of the bucket during the newborn photos, and she's only gotten stronger since. Every time she holds her head up it blows my mind, and we love tummy time for more practice...even if sometimes her strength is fueled because she is mad I woke her up for tummy time. Sorry Charlie! Pun intended.

+ We can't believe she's already grown out of the Newborn Swaddles, hats, socks, and is even too long for some of the onesies. Speaking of the swaddles, she's also an escape artist and can get out of them no matter how good we swaddle her. This kind of defeats the purpose when she spends all night fighting them, but it still seems to be better than her flailing her arms around. I'd love any insight on this from other parents of escape artists.

I had actually posted a one month photo last week because I was going by weeks, but as Will kindly pointed out- we now have to go by months. Even worse...eventually we have to go by years. I know this is common sense, but I'm beginning to realize how fast time is going to fly and I don't like it one bit. Sure, there are days when I look forward to taking her to Disney World, school recitals, and getting to re-experience life with her, but I know that when those days come I'll be desperate for the memories of late night snuggles during feedings, her little fingers wrapped around mine, and yes...even the laughter caused when diaper changes go wrong. Charleston Quinn...you are a pretty cool chick so far. Keep it up.