The Best Father's Day I Ever Had

Will was hoping to have Charlie make her appearance on Father's Day, so we started celebrating last Sunday. I was determined that Father's Day wouldn't be forgotten if I did go into labor, therefore he got his presents last Sunday and then the real fun kicked off Friday with a couples massage. It was his first spa massage and a first couples massage for both, which made it extra special. He had a check ride that morning and got his stress worked out, and the only pain I've had this pregnancy was my piriformis muscle, ergo my masseuse spent over half of it on my bootay and I couldn't have been more happy about it as strange as that sounds.

Saturday, we went to Dothan to play at our friend's pool/clubhouse and it was a blast. We had fun in the sun, grilled some amazing food, and played a few rounds of the most intense 'Timber Tower' Jenga you've ever seen. Yours truly even won once or twice, which never happens when I'm playing against Will for anything. I guess my balance exercises have paid off along with a new found level of patience I recently acquired.

Then come Sunday, Will and one of our sweet friends (that wants to remain nameless) surprised me with plans to have a cleaning party to get the house spotless for Charlie! I mean, can I be any luckier? Oh wait...I can...Will also made his famous ribs for us on top of it. I'm still in shock that these two came up with the plan to have a cleaning party, and I'm just so thankful for the wonderful people in my life. I almost feel bad that Will's first Father's Day weekend turned into something that was just as much for me, but I guess that just proves how great of a dad he already is. I wouldn't want to go "halfsies on a daughter" with anyone but him!

I Don't Want To 'Adult' Anymore This Week

It's not like this week has been a bad week and I actually feel very accomplished, buuuuut it's been a doozy. Let me break it down for ya: I had to call Direct TV to get our bill lowered when it went up $40 bucks at the year mark. Sure, I knew it was coming, but you know stuff like that doesn't fly with me. Our bill is now $20 cheaper and we have free movie channels. I had to call our insurance and every Medical Supply around to find out how and where to get a breast pump now that Tricare is covering them. I almost think it's too generous of them, but I'm not about to pass it up- you know me and 'free'. Then I discovered that our water usage had doubled and I crawled around in the dirt checking the meter to find we had a pipe leak in the yard. I think I'm most proud of the fact that I've been tracking our water usage and even though the bill only went up slightly, I knew something was wrong and probably saved our landlord a lot of money if that hole was never discovered or the pipe eventually burst. To top it all off, I paid bills, worked on paperwork, and tried to get some things done on our rental property so that if I go into labor it all won't be forgotten. Like I said...I feel pretty dern accomplished.

Luckily, my wonderful hubby did the part that I didn't want to do and that's backup/activate/setup/restore my new iPhone! My Lifeproof case finally came in, so I am now allowed to play with my new toy. I was pretty disappointed with the new Lifeproof colors, but then I stumbled upon The Skin Dudes and am way happier with a waterproof vinyl skin than just getting another colorful case. I guess I'm happy with the phone in general even though I haven't tested it out much. All I know is that the zoom setting is amazing, because I was getting too blind to read the tiny screen on the 5S. Will did get to upgrade to my 5S until his upgrade, and bonus: I sold his old 5 for almost what I paid for the new phone. Oh, and in case you've never thought about getting a Lifeproof case, we have saved $1,000+ by not having insurance on our phones for the last four years, and you can't beat that.

Now I just hope Charlie doesn't make her appearance this weekend...we have Father's Day activities scheduled, a pool party with friends, a trip to Dothan, and another surprise happening for me on Sunday. I guess we will be finishing this pregnancy with a bang either way. Cheers to all the fathers and baby daddies out there. It's your weekend!

Here Comes Peter Cottontail...

If you are on baby watch, we've made it another week without any indication that miss thang will make her appearance. Technically, my doctor was supposed to begin checking me for dilation two weeks ago, but a) I'm not ready for that process {they have to get all up in your cervix and that is just as uncomfortable as it sounds}, and b) he has seen no indication that I've been remotely close to starting this labor.

I'm happy to say we have crossed all the must haves off the list to bring her home, so if I can make it through this next week I have no doubt in my mind the rest will fall into place. However, I still haven't made it to that 'cleaning phase' that everyone talks about, so we will see how that goes. I told Will that worst case scenario, if I go into labor the first thing he needs to do is call someone to clean. I know we will have family in town and the last thing I want to worry about is them showing up to a messy house. I know most relatives would understand, but you don't know how much of a cleaning nazi my grandmother is. Oy vey.

One of the main reasons I wanted to at least make it this far was that our friend Jo's baby shower was this weekend, and I was kinda in charge of decor. I had it all ready for them in case I did go into labor, but luckily I was able to attend the event and stuff my face. The theme was Peter Cottontail, which I happen to think turned out beautifully with help from Hannah's bomb.com diaper cake, and in an unrelated note...Karie made me Jo a watermelon cake again!

It's funny, when Jo told me she was pregnant, I was super happy for her but thanked my lucky stars that we were still child free. Little did I know...I was not only pregnant, but three weeks ahead of her. Whoops. Well, at least we got to go through this together and now we are both in the home stretch. The gang is actually taking bets to see which of us will pop first since she's already having contractions, so I'm just gonna guess we go into labor together. Women 'cycle' together, so maybe we've synced up our pregnancies too. Man what a great story that would be if our betrothed children are also born together.

I'm A Sucker For...

I like to think that I make pretty rational decisions most of the time, but I guess I will always be a sucker for some things. Aaaand it doesn't help to be in the home stretch of pregnancy where my will power is slightly diminishing. Don't judge me.

Anything 'Cake Batter', and if you want to know what heaven is:

Donuts on National Donut Day and taking Will to Krispy Kreme for the first time. He's had a Krispy Kreme donut, but we all know that unless you have them hot off the line it's not the same. Although, he still didn't even want one, so that meant more for me! Seriously though, I don't know how you can watch the freshly glazed jewels come down the line and say no.

A good deal, and even better, a good deal on an iPhone. Yeeaaaahhhh, I know I wanted to break up with Apple, but most of you told me you were happy with the 6's and I already knew I liked the camera from trying a friend's. What sealed the deal, though, was the sale that Sam's had last week. I got the 64GB for a whopping $197, which is unheard of. That's a HUNDRED BUCKS off, and I can get minimum $115 for our old phone. We also save money by using Lifeproof cases instead of buying insurance, but since it's not here yet I've had the phone since Friday and it's just sitting on my dresser. I'm telling you, Will gets on to me if I even look at it longingly. Hurry up Mr. Postman! Oh, and anyone need an iPhone 5?

Tubing down the river against my doctors advice. Technically, he never said "don't tube down the river", but I'm pretty sure it was implied when he gave me a long speech about not traveling at this point, staying near the hospital, taking it easy, etc, etc. Sorry doc...we had to get one trip in this year, because we probably won't be here next summer.

As usual, it was an absolute blast to leisurely float down a river on a warm Alabama day with some of our best friends. It's sad that we've got the whole trip down to a science now that it's probably the last time we will go, but oh well. We will most definitely end up stationed here in the future, and it will be a whole new adventure we can share with Charlie. Perhaps a little more G-Rated when she comes, but fun nonetheless.

Okay, So Maybe I Splurged A LITTLE...

Before I was pregnant, if I knew I had to wear a bikini all weekend, there is NO way I would be eating sodium, processed foods, anything not home cooked, or heaven forbid anything fried. Now, the only reason I don't eat those things is for Charlie, which means as long as I have it in moderation I can indulge without worry because it has NO effect on this bikini line.

Here's what I 'indulged on' this weekend:

Watermelon Cake, Blackened Fish Sandwich, Hush Puppies, BBQ Pork Nachos, Gelato, and then the in laws came in town and whipped us up a pancake breakfast to top it all off. Have you ever had watermelon flavored cake? Let me tell you, I wasn't all about it when I saw chocolate chips on top, but you can't judge a book by it's cover. Watermelon and chocolate now go HAND IN HAND in my mind, and I want more in my life asap. Luckily, my friend Karie is our resident baker, so I will be requesting it. I think Will is getting tired of hearing about it, but too bad, so sad. Watermelon, watermelon, WATERMELON CAKE!

We had actually cancelled plans this weekend trying to take it easy, but once again we reminded ourselves that we must seize the day, er...weekend. We all hopped in the truck and down to Destin we went. We ignored weather and Riptide warnings to soak up our last time at the beach before my doctor said I can't travel. I actually thought it was a terrible idea for Memorial Day Weekend what with traffic and whatnot, but boy was I wrong. It was pure perfection and just what we all needed. Bye bye beach...I'll miss you for awhile!

Hope you all had a great Memorial Day! Remember- all gave some, and some gave all.

Dear Sweet, Wonderful Hubby

I have to admit that my hormones definitely showed up this weekend. I mentioned that I wouldn't mind going to 'town' to run some errands on Sunday and Will was fine with it, but come Sunday...no Dothan. I had it in my head that we should go early with things closing early on a Sunday, but he had planned to organize the garage first {for me, I should add} and when the day got away from us and we ended up spending zero time together my hormones came out to play. Luckily, I just got weepy and mainly got in my own way while Will was being so sweet and accommodating, but there was no denying what was going on.

Cue to this morning and on a surprise Tuesday off, he asked me on a day date to go to Dothan for lunch and baby shopping! It was a gorgeous day, he participated in the decision making but didn't complain when I got lost in the clearance racks, and I ended up with the afternoon off, so it even turned into watching movies, napping, putting together baby furniture, and to close out the day I even got to watch him play softball with the gang. I had had a to-do list a mile long, but I'm glad I just let spontaneity take over while we still have the chance. 

Dear Will,

Some people wish they had someone to cook and clean for, take care of, do laundry for, someone to laugh at their jokes that aren't always funny{I'm referring to my jokes because yours are always funny}, and I hope to never take that for granted. Thank you for being on a healthy kick which is helping me make the right choices, for wanting to be healthy to live longer for her, not noticing the big belly in between us when you 'check me out', and simply the patience you have with me including spending hours baby shopping. You have helped more with the nursery than you know, and this creative side I've seen coming out in your ideas for her has been truly sexy inspiring. You keep holding me when I'm emotional, and I'll do my best to be mindful of anymore hormone swings so I don't take it out on you. We haven't had much of a learning curve, but I think we are doing good. About a month left, and WE'VE GOT THIS.

Baby Shower #2!

When you are pregnant it seems like everyone's knocked up. Seriously, Friends near and far, including my friend Amanda from the Spouse Club. Because we are both 'with child', some of the club ladies wanted to have a little dual shower for us, and it was Ahhh-mazing. Plus way less pressure with two four of us sharing the lime light.

{Thank goodness Amanda is having a boy because it made it so easy for them to nix the pink!}

They held it in one of our gorgeous Community Centers on Post, which was a treat since we don't get the privilege while living off post, On top of that, the best party planners of the group decorated and whipped up some bomb.com food and desserts. I may have taken home two strawberry cakes, four chocolate cupcakes with homemade cream cheese frosting, and a rather large piece of Pistachio cake...but who's counting? I promise I haven't even finished two cupcakes yet, so I am rationing.

I still can't believe we have made such amazing friends here at Fort Rucker, and all of these folks genuinely care about our family and our baby girl. I realized this Saturday that if we were stationed somewhere else right now it would be a completely different scenario, and I can't imagine having her anywhere but here. We don't have the option to live in our hometown and have all the family, but we truly have found a new family here, and I couldn't ask for more!
Thanks again to all the ladies from both showers!

She's Got Leeegs...She Knows How To Use Them!

Countless times, I've met bloggers and they've been surprise at how short I am. I'm {almost} 5'4, but for some reason I have come off tall through blogging. I'm not going to question it, but maybe it's because I've always had long legs, as you can see in the following picture.

I show you that picture first to prove that I was a somewhat cute kid. However, I will be the first to tell you that I was NOT a cute baby. Sure, you ask my mom and I was the cutest, but I was a toeheaded chunkamonk until at least my 1st birthday. Proof:

Leave it to my first babysitter to have the most incriminating photos for me. She's been tagging me in tons of throwbacks lately, and I really am loving it. She said she will make copies and send them to me, so then I really have to share some doozies. Many memories and people that I couldn't comprehend, but now I cherish. This is why I love pictures, people.

Now let's just hope Charlie gets my legs and blonde hair, but the rest can come from Will. I'd give her my Hazel eyes, but Will's blues will do. No matter what, she will be pure perfection in my eyes, and as long as she's healthy...we are blessed.

The Best Concert We Never Went To

You know, this weekend turned out nothing like I expected, and yet it's leaving me quite satisfied. The problems started when we almost had to cancel our dinner plans due to Will's flight schedule, but miraculously, he got off early. That meant that not only did we go to dinner, we also got to visit the kickoff Fourth Friday event downtown that we enjoyed on our anniversary last year. The weather was perfect, the food at our favorite restaurant was divine, and the company was the best in the world. Both my dates ;)

Saturday, was the big day for the Toadlick Music Festival, so we packed everyone up and took the gang to one of the biggest parties in Southern Alabama. We knew the weather might be a problem, but we were mentally prepared for gettin' muddy. We didn't expect the music to stop as soon as we got there, but that just meant we had an excuse to tailgate. Tailgating was NOT allowed, but there wasn't much they could do about it while the concert was on hold. 

When the actual storm got close things did get a little hectic. We were ushered into a pavilion, and minutes after all hell broke loose with one of the worst storms we have seen since living here. We were cozy inside and had coolers full of goodies, but it definitely got intense for a bit. So intense that there was ZERO power in the surrounding counties when we came out. You'd think we'd all be pissed because we had yet to see a single artist and hadn't even made it into the festival through the mud, but we were enjoying each other's company. Eventually, a few of the artists played acoustically and we got an AMAZING sunset, so all in all...I call it a win.

The gang was a little boisterous this weekend, which I had no patience for, but I just focused on spending time with Will and it made for the perfect anniversary weekend. I love it...almost everything went wrong, but we were together and had the BEST time. 

That's what it's all about, folks.

Top Secret Dates

I can't tell you where we were, I can't tell you what we were doing, but I can tell you that Friday was one of the coolest date nights of all time. I guess you could say it was a bring your wife to work type thing that we were allowed to do, but we aren't always allowed to post pictures when it involves sensitive training equipment and we'd rather be safe than sorry. I promised Will I wouldn't share the other pictures, but I had to share this one because he looks so dreamy.

Not that the rest of the weekend could top it, but it did shape up to be fun-filled. I went to my first Maternity and Baby Expo where we got tons of free stuff, asked a lot of questions, and even booked our Maternity/Newborn photographer. I had no idea that events like this go on, but boy am I glad they do. Although, let's not get into Group B Strep.

After that, I tried to rest for a bit because we were hitting the town for Loni's Birthday, and by town I mean that we drove all the way to Dothan. Loni and I have been friends since we moved to Fort Rucker and we started out as the only two girls in the group. We will forever be Mama Loni and Mama Janna, so I was super stoked to plan birthday festivities for her. Who doesn't want to get all dressed up, eat fine dining Italian {let me tell ya...Bella's was worth every penny}, and play with baby Quincy the newest member of our clan.

I don't know if I've mentioned this, but I basically go through my closet and wear whatever I can manage to fit in to get one more wear out of it before it gets packed away. I was a little apprehensive to wear the little blue number, but I must say...it was pretty fun to wear. Will seemed to approve and when we got to the brewery it was funny to notice the comments as I walked by. Normally I would feel super uncomfortable about people being so vocal, but hey...when you've got a baby bump you flaunt it, and at least they were all along the lines of "I wish I looked like that pregnant." Music to a pregnant girl's ears.

Of course, everyone was hungover on Sunday {not I}, so we whipped up family breakfast and watched Disney movies all day. I may or may not have eaten four pieces of Red Velvet cake between Saturday and Sunday, but in my defense I cut small pieces and those just didn't cut it, which meant two more small pieces. Yep. I'm gonna round down to two pieces.

Now I need to save all my energy for this coming weekend. We've got an anniversary to celebrate and Will surprised me with tickets to Toadlick! I already know I'm going to need a break after two weeks of nonstop activities, but I guess I wanted to do as much as we could pre-baby and I got what I asked for. I think "Be careful what you wish for" applies here.

From Helicopter Crash To Family Day

A while back, I mentioned our friend Joel was in a helicopter crash. It had been his second day of training and really made us all question flight school. Well six months later, he made it through physical therapy, got his head right, and finished Primary. He had his Family Day on Friday, and I am extremely happy that I got to be there to support him.

He spent most of his time flying around to showcase his new skills doing things like 'Autorotational Descents' where they legit fall out of the sky {giving everyone watching a heart attack} and then come in for a landing, while we toured the airfield, played in the tower, and I got to sit in my FIRST helicopter!! Hard to believe, I know.

It was a heck of an afternoon, but I'm sooo happy the rest of the weekend was solely dedicated to hanging out with Will and enjoying some much needed relaxation. We did venture out to try a new Mexican restaurant, but my Chimichanga was meh, so I don't wanna go back. If you can't fry shredded chicken and tortillas correctly, then you can't call yourself Mexican. Such a waste of calories, and then I had to have a bowl of froyo when I got home to make myself feel better about that major letdown. I know this logic happens to be illogical, and yet I don't care.

I hope you all have a great week!