When the Day is Gray

Woke up early thanks to Baby-A kicking my insides like crazy.  I am really looking forward to when this active little girl isn't in my belly anymore and my organs are MINE again!

Outside is cold, gray and rainy.  So I decided that this was the perfect day to do a little blogging and reading.  Prior to sitting my butt down in front of the computer with the awesome hot pink yoga ball that hubby bought me - as my chair...I cut up about 5 nectarines (ate 2) so I have something quick and easy to snack on later when I get the munchies, threw in a load of laundry that will take exactly 1 hr and 55 mins to complete (that is just for the wash portion), and poured myself a VERY large glass of ice cold water.

One of my recently favorite blogs is "The Art of Making a Baby."  This first time little momma is truly an inspiration to me on so many levels, but I will admit she does seem (to me) to go a bit overboard when it comes to preparation.  Maybe this blog will help me find a happy medium, seeing that I've done little to no preparation for Baby-A's coming.

Got the Itch

I've got the itch to go back to work BAD.  And it's not for lack of trying either.  Finding a decent job that doesn't include bagging groceries at the Commissary (base grocery store), is VERY difficult here.  First off, about 80% of all jobs go to the Italians.  Secondly, this place has a wonderful habit of bringing in outside contractors that already hold similiar government jobs in other parts of the country.  It's frustrating. 

Another thing about this place, it can take up to seven months between when someone is offered a job to when they actually start.  If I find a job in the next few months, I could have Baby-A and get back to Italy after this stretch of deployment, with plenty of time to spare before actually starting.  

So I keep on trudging forward, always looking, always asking, always putting my resume out there, always taking every interview that comes through.  

23 weeks - Prego Update

Mango - Baby's Approximate Size

Baby-A's development:

• Can sense gravitational changes and my movements
• 11 inches long and weighs a little over one pound
• Blood vessels in her lungs are developing
• All nerve cells are in place
• Moving around ALOT
• Common loud noises (horns, vaccums, etc.) are becoming familiar

How my life is changing:

• Clumsy (or should I say clumsier!)
• Crazy mood swings
• Braxton-Hicks contractions
• Heartburn
• Acne breakouts (I look like a 15 y/o teenager)
• Backpain
• Increasingly WILD dreams

As "fun" as pregnancy is (just a hint of sarcasm there), I am getting more excited about Baby-A as each day passes.  While her 4+ hour midnight karate escapades are not pleasant, I do enjoy feeling her kick and move. 

Hubby is back home (YEAH!!!!) and his enthusiasm is really catchy.  I absolutely love how excited he is.  We've been working hard at getting this place more organized and uncluttered, and hubby even put together a bookcase and desk over the weekend. 

Made a friend's spicey spaghetti sauce over the weekend and I only put about one-eighth of the red pepper flakes that it called for...and thank goodness!  It was like fire!  Hubby struggled to get a few bites down.  I just mixed my plate with sourcream to cut the heat and ended up having second helpings.  Spicey foods are one of the things I never use to like, but I've been craving spicey during pregnancy.   

I'm pissing the doctor's off by stalling with their anatomy scan.  Since we already had the gender scan and also saw that everything anatomy-wise is perfect, we aren't worried about getting the "real" anatomy scan done right when the docs say.  Of course the docs don't know about the scan we already had, but this is what they get for their actions a month ago.  To all you momma's out there...don't worry.  We are still going to get it done.  I'm just enjoying a little "upper hand" at the moment.

Happy Monday!

Happiness Is...

Alex - a Tactical Explosive Detection Dog,
enjoys playing with tennis balls

...a bucket of tennis balls.

This photo made me smile and I couldn't help but want to share it with you.

Taken by Capt. Allie Scott and posted on the U.S. Army Facebook site with the XVIII Airborne Corp's:

A dog handler with the 82nd Airborne Division, and his dog Alex, take a moment to enjoy an abundance of tennis balls.  The Tactical Explosive Detection Dogs (TEDDs) are calm and collected until they see a tennis ball. Nearly 3,000 tennis balls were donated to the TEDDs team by a family member and donations. 

So what is happiness to you?

Mine is chocolate pudding.  =o)

Great Appt!

Today's appointment was great.  ALOT better than last time, but considering I played the perfect patient and didn't ask for anything or ask any questions....who wouldn't like that.

Baby-A and I passed everything with flying colors.  My weight was perfect, blood pressure was optimum, and Baby-A's growth and heart rate were spot on.

Love it when good things happen!

Hold Your Nose!

Cow Poo Flinging Machine - Compliments of Pinterest

Driving thru one of the small towns here on my way back from volunteering, I nearly had a car accident as a very strong cow smell came blasting up to my nose.  Thankfully it only lasted for a few minutes.  Whew!

If the wind is blowing in a certain direction, if the air is damp, or for some other odd reason, the farms around here really put out a stench and I feel like I should have my boots on and be wading through cow poo or something.

With the strong smells, stairs everywhere, small parking spaces, long don't eat list, and wine EVERYWHERE...it's not the easiest thing being pregnant here.  On one good note, thankfully I don't have to worry about allergies!  It's another thing that most preggo's really struggle with here because of all the white fluffy stuff floating in the air.

But enough of all that.  I'm going to have some chocolate ice-cream and sit outside blasting AMERICAN country music.  It sort of goes along with the cow poo smell - don't you think?!

1st Day of May

Do you ever have one of those days where you wake up and want to crawl right back into bed?  Well...today was that day for me.  And I did crawl back into bed.  But when I finally decided my laziness was enough and got up a little later, I was not in the best mood.  Thankfully hubby wasn't here to get hit by my scow-ness.

So I got up and opened up all the shutters, and there was sunshine!  My silly phone said it was raining and cloudy.  The nice weather was a pleasant surprise on the first day of May.

After looking at pinterest to try and figure out what to eat, I finally resorted to a semi-healthy breakfast/lunch of instant oatmeal and orange juice.  I'm craving donuts BAD, but since Italy doesn't have donuts (that should sum up this country for you right there!) I resorted to pretending that I was eating a cinnamon roll by having cinnamon roll instant oatmeal.  It was good.  Flavored instant oatmeal has been a staple of mine lately.

Now I'm trying to talk myself into folding laundry.  It helps that nothing good is on TV (including Slingbox).  After laundry and maybe cleaning the bathrooms, I'm thinking a little nap on the porch in the sun sounds like the perfect idea.