Giggles and “stuff”

Can’t talk today. It’s gonna be a busy day (or at least it better be!).

Today is the day our “stuff” finally arrives from Ft. Benning.

Or at least it better.

Otherwise, I might have to show my ugly side. It’s been over a month, ya know. No place for the poor pregnant lady to sleep. They ought to be ashamed.

Speaking of ugly, here’s some photos that tend to crack me up. The Cap’n and I got really bored without that “stuff” of ours so we took some funny photos. I hope they make you giggle, too!

First, we created a comic book page-

Then, some silly settings were in order-

Oh, and I’ll give you one guess who thought this photo would be a good idea-

(Hint: It wasn’t me)

Anyway, I’m going to get back to my hoping-the-movers-show mentality. Wish us luck. Y’all come back tomorrow, mmkay? Otherwise, I’m sending these two your way…

The Walmart Meltdown of 2011

Nut-case. Basket-case. Kace.

All terms may be used interchangeably to describe me as of late. This pregnancy in conjunction with a forced move is driving me to the edge. Just below is a steep drop to insanity and let me tell ya- I’m holdin’ on with my heels. It’s not a pretty picture.

Yesterday, I had a meltdown. It all started because I wanted a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for dinner. Captain J suggested this wasn’t appropriate for a growing baby and mom (in different words) so I basically flipped my lid. There were so many other competing thoughts floating through my mind at the time so I inevitably just focused on the one: Mama wants food! And I got noticeably annoyed in Walmart to the point that J escorted me out to the car for some refreshing A.C. and a long, uncontrollable, ugly cry.

The real issue was that I had gone to the doctor earlier. He told me that I had gained 23 pounds and he would rather see me at about 20lbs at this point. He didn’t seem concerned, but this horribly self-conscious girl filed it away in her mind as a big, fat fail. Then when I arrived at Walmart (looking a hot mess in 100+ temperatures) it seemed as if everyone was starting at me. I don’t like the attention that being pregnant brings because I can’t decipher between negative attention and positive attention at this point. When a stranger stares, I automatically think it’s because I look grotesque.

It’s a problem, I know. Just call me nut-case.

Anyway, I cried and I cried. I cried for our lack of furniture, internet, PB&J’s and money. I cried for crying over ridiculous things. I just couldn’t stop. I felt so ridiculous.

I hate when I get stressed and adopt the belief that this is the worst possible thing that could happen. Because it never is.

Thank, God. He must really get tired of me acting so un-appreciatively. I know I’m incredibly blessed to have what I have. I just need to relax, sit back, and praise Him in this storm. Pretty soon the clouds will part and I’ll have a sweet baby boy to put to sleep in his espresso colored crib and the fact that his mommy was stressed over research papers and an achy body due to a lack of sitting options (and a PB&J) will no longer matter.

As always, thanks for listening!

Sincerely,

Basket-Kace, AKA- Mrs. K

Fair warning: most of this post is complainy

Oh, how I wish I had good news.

I don’t. I got nothin’.

Actually, that’s not entirely true, but I’ll leave that for last. Today, we were supposed to get our internet hooked up. After their “window” of time had closed shut, we called AT&T to ask why they never showed. Their response was that they didn’t provide internet in our area.

(Ok, so why did you allow us to make an appointment for that?)

Anyway, long story short…

AT&T says that they’ll be able to send someone out to survey the area and see if they could hook it up in our neck of the woods. Great. Perfect. But then they said they couldn’t send anyone for up to 10 more business days. And then there’s the chance that we would wait just to hear that it wasn’t an option.

This does not work for two graduate students attending online courses.

We don’t exactly trust AT&T after they neglected to actually call and cancel our appointment so now the only positive that was in my week is gone. I have no idea how I’m going to get these two research papers done without internet access at home. I can either spend time at the local library (with time restrictions on computer usage) or set up shop in a hotel again and use their internet.

I’ve been so annoyed recently. It’s just so expensive to pick up and move, especially after we just did it 8 months ago. Now, we’re wasting money on eating out (b/c we don’t have our pots/pans/etc), we’ll inevitably waste money on a hotel room b/c we need internet (b/c the Army will only pay for ten days), and then there are all the little expenses that add up.

We’re just completely broke at this point and that’s never an easy feeling when you’re getting ready to have another mouth to feed. I just pray that Baby K continues to get a healthy report. Heaven forbid they have to put me on bedrest or something because I DON’T HAVE A BED!

I have been really disappointed with this move because I don’t think waiting for a month on our furniture is the best they can do. We drove ten hours. It didn’t take us a month to get here. I know others are waiting on their belongings, too…but I can’t explain to you how much it sucks to be 8 months pregnant with nothing but the floor to sit on.

And that concludes my complaining for the day. Please forgive me.

The good news is- I talked to a midwife today who pulled strings, stepped on toes, and moved over some appointments just to fit me in. I love her soul. My appointment with the OB is tomorrow morning and I have an ultrasound appointment on July 7th! Woo hoo 🙂 Hoping for good news! *I would just like to add that Ft. Polk’s hospital staff has been very helpful. I’m definitely pleased with their service in helping me into the system so quickly and efficiently.

As promised, here are some photos of our new place-

He’s weird, but I love him.

Our backyard is huge. Drifter and Holly love it here. I have new pics of them, too but I’ll have to post those later. It’s Mrs. K’s bedtime.

hi, ho, hi, ho

Whew! The last few days have been interesting. The rest of our drive to Ft. Polk was terrifying. I know storms plagued most of us in the central and eastern states. It was no different for us. There were a couple of times I thought I was a goner. The storms came like curtains of rain. I would look out in front of me and see it waving around like the stage was being set and the curtains were about to close. I was sure it was the end of me.

But, then the skies parted and I realized I had at least a few more minutes left.

It continued to rain as we drove into LA. We hoped it wasn’t symbolic or anything.

As we began our search for housing, thus began the worry. The money that the Army allocates for housing off post here is inadequate, to say the least. The properties in our price range were pitiful. A ridiculous amount of money for rent was required for very dirty, very broken down houses in bad neighborhoods. It wasn’t looking good.

But I kept my happy face on (can’t say the same for my husband) and knew it would all work out. I’m sure J was wondering, “Who is this woman and what has she done with my wife?”

What can I say? I’m trying out this new glass half full thing and it looks good on me.

Anyway, I was almost prepared to get my cleaning boots on and deal with those icky houses that seemed like the norm around here. But J wasn’t having it. We decided we would spend a little more money so that we could be more comfortable and have a clean, safe place for Baby K to come home to.

We found a lovely home- 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, and a gigantic backyard for Drifter and Holly. It’s pretty awesome. The yard is about as big as the dog park back in Fairbanks that they loved so much. They’ll be happy there!

And I think we will be, too.

The downside?

Our furniture won’t be delivered until July 12th. Thanks, U.S. Army. Baby K and I really appreciate that. It’s back to the air mattress we go. Hi, ho, hi, ho.

(If you don’t hear from me, fear not. I might be without internet access for a few days.)

Mobile

Today has been so long. Tis why I’m only giving you a few meaningless sentences in hopes you’ll forgive me for not updating you more thoroughly.

All this is an assumption that you care where I’m at and what I’m doing.

Oh, well.

We’re in Mobile, Alabama. We found a glorious hotel. It’s nice AND they allow pets. The bed is tall and squishy with lots of pillows and I cannot wait to plop my big butt down on it and not move for at least 8 hours.

The drive wasn’t so bad. My back began to hurt after awhile, but other than that, I did pretty well. We stopped along the way so I could walk around.

And the pups! They needed some sporadic exercise, too.

When we arrived at our destination, Captain J and I found a tasty restaurant that served some good ole southern barbeque! This is one thing that I missed when we were stationed in AK. Coming back to the south and their BBQ and sweet tea is a good thing- a very good thing.

Great, now I want a sweet tea…and I can’t have one for at least two more months.

I digress.

And I’ve got to jet. I have a wonderful REAL bed that is calling my name.

But here’s a photo that I took (while parked) in the car to symbolize our migration to Louisiana…

We’ll chat soon, mmkay?

Love,

Mrs. K

Yeah, I’m leaving GA

If you’re reading this in Real Time*, I am:

• rolling out of bed, mentally noting the long list of To Do’s we have left
• packing up the car, yet again, to hit the road
• scrambling around post getting my medical records
• returning Charter boxes
• getting my oil changed before the big trip
• picking up my doggie pals
• finally getting on the road to make our move to Ft. Polk
• jamming to old school boy bands in the privacy of my own car
• or contemplating what in the heck I forgot this time.

Isn’t moving fun? Ha! In all honesty, Captain J and I are happy about this change in our lives. We welcome a new state with open arms and can only hope that it welcomes us back. I just want to say goodbye to the storm alarm right outside our house, often notifying us of approaching tornados. I’m glad to distance myself from you and so are my nerves.

Peace out, cockroaches. I hope you aren’t overtaking our new home in LA, too. You won’t be missed, you’re not invited to visit, and you aren’t welcome to set up residency there.

Adios to thug-life (or the wanna-be culture) that living in Columbus often brings. Again, I’m none too sad in leaving you, either. My car break-in solidified my disdain for you.

Oh, we’ve had good times, too. I just can’t focus on those right now. Knowing I’m moving farther from my loved ones gets me sad enough- I can’t focus on happy memories right now. Perhaps tomorrow. Or the next day.

Anyway, we are very busy this week, but I’ll try to keep you posted on our PCSing adventures.

In the words of the Zac Brown Band:

“Adios and vaya con dios. Yeah, I’m leaving GA.”

(*Real Time is used to describe any moment on June 20th during the hours of 0700-2300)

The End.

In my recent studies, I came across this verse from Ecclesiastes that seems very fitting today-

“The end of a matter is better than the beginning, and patience is better than pride.” – Ecclesiastes 7:8

The end. Those can be bittersweet words, can’t they? In movies, it’s the point at which we finally feel that homeostasis returning to our bodies. The conflict has been resolved in some way and we can leave the movie in peace, knowing that all is right again in that little world. In our favorite books, we’re often glad to know what happened finally, but regretful that the story is no longer engrossing us.

‘The end’ can be happy or sad, but it is inevitable.

I look forward to so many ends and other beginnings. The end of this move is in sight. Don’t ask me how or why I can see the finish line, but I can. It looks relaxing there. The fact that once we arrive at Ft. Polk (find a doctor and find a house) I still won’t have time to sit down and put my feet up- matters very little. We’ll have a home again. The home that we’ll bring our son home from the hospital to. The home he’ll roll over for the first time. The end of our time here at Ft. Benning.

I’m excited.

I’m trying to have patience and enjoy every single day, but today was difficult for me. I won’t go into detail about all my pregnancy ailments because I know I can get complainy. But being 31 weeks pregnant in 98 degree weather with no furniture to relax on isn’t the only issue I’ve got going on. As I was laying in bed on the evil air mattress that has become my nemesis, I realized, “Mama K, while you were busy preparing to move and working on school work, you forgot about your other class.” That’s right. I signed up for three classes this summer, not two. A little word of advice: When an advisor tells you that you might not want to take on too much at first, LISTEN!

I got out of bed at 1am, hurried my pregnant self to Amazon.com, and frantically began my search for the books I would need for the additional class that starts in two weeks. After finding what I need and consequently spending a fortune to get the books here by Wednesday, you would think I would be able to rest. Not the case.

As you can plainly see, this end will be much better than the beginning. I’m keeping faith in that! The beginning started last Wednesday when all of our belongings were lovingly not so lovingly thrown into boxes and shipped to what will be our third home in the past year. Since then, I’ve endured a lot. No, really. 🙂 Okay, maybe I just feel as if I’ve been through the ringer.

The end of this move looks exciting to me.

Who cares if everyone says our next post is the armpit of the Army? Not this girl. This girl is just thankful for ends and new beginnings.

Lord, grant me patience (but not too much) 😉

Mrs. K and the calculated escape plan

Psstt…

Is this thing on?

I feel disconnected from the blogging world. School, family, moving- these are all taking me away from you momentarily. Still, I enjoy having a place to share our lives with all of you. It allows me to revisit many of my fondest memories, especially when I have little recollection of them. I have a terrible memory in case you didn’t know. Sometimes I like this about myself. For instance, I can watch a movie a handful of times and still not remember what happens in the end. It’s great! It’s new to me each time. Other times, this pesky memory problem isn’t so enjoyable.

I think I’m talking writing too much.

I signed into WordPress to tell you about this:

Whoa! That’s one big belly. People keep telling me that it’s only going to get bigger and that’s something that scares me to hear.

How? How can it get any bigger?

I’m going to pop.

You should see me try to execute an escape- from- the- air- mattress plan. It ain’t pretty. It usually involves a calculated roll with some preliminary swinging of the legs to roll me over. If all goes well, my knees end up on the floor while I use my hands to push me up. All the while, I’m breathing like I’m about 600 lbs. and just tried to hula hoop. My hair is usually a mess because I no longer care about brushing it. I’m just trying to get through the day (or the night, for that matter). When I finally make my way to a vertical position, I still have to cradle my huge belly as I high tail it to the bathroom because you know I have to pee every few minutes.

Long story short- I’m wondering how anyone can view pregnancy as an attractive time period in a woman’s life. Sometimes I feel sorry for Captain J to have to wake up to such a hot mess every morning, but then I remember that he can be thanked for this huge protruding belly of mine and I get over that pretty quickly.

65 more days to go!

Innovative

I love my husband for many reasons.

One of them should be mentioned here now- He’s innovative. Driven. Determined. Logistical.

You may be thinking, of course he is- He’s a U.S. Army Officer. Mmmkay, scratch that. You probably weren’t thinking that.

Anyway, the point is he provides for this little family in any way he can. This past week he has really stepped up to the plate in trying to make our home for the time being, a home. The other day he got this brilliant idea to make his own grill using materials around the house. I thought he was batty and was ready to simply check out some to-go menus when he proclaimed, “I’m going to pick up some steaks.”

Oh, gracious.

I thought, “There’s no tellin’ what I’m going to have to eat tonight”, but I said, “Okay, love you! I’m staying here” {in the air conditioning, thank you}.

By nightfall we had quite the feast.

We had steak, grilled onions and cucumbers, complete with a candlelit ambience. All eaten on paper plates and a large Army tote, it was perfect.

It doesn’t take much to have a nice evening with my husband, though. We enjoyed the rare breeze that a June night in Georgia offered us by sitting in camping chairs outside, watching the dogs play, and talking while the food cooked. Pretty soon, quiet evenings such as this will cease to exist with the arrival of Baby K. Better enjoy it while we can!

It’s days like these I like to store away in my memory forever.

tail, face, tail, face…

Some things in life just don’t mix. Ketchup and chocolate, for instance. Both great. Not together.

I have discovered a few more things in life (over the last twenty four hours)
that shouldn’t be mentioned in the same sentence and I think they deserve a warning for all of you:

1. 3rd trimester and blow-up mattress. ‘Nuff said.

2. Part- wolf dogs and no furniture.

Need an explanation? Well, let’s just say that it’s not even 9am and I’m completely tired of having a husky tail in my face, then a husky face, then a tail, then a face. If they don’t quit pacing, I might go insane.

3. Cereal and zero eating utinsils to speak of. That’s no good either.

That’s all I’ve got for you today. I must retire to the library and study. I’m hoping to get ahead so that I won’t be entirely stressed out during our drive to LA. Before we part, I would like to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my very first Army wife friend I made when I joined this military family journey. Nicole, I hope you have a fabulous day!