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October 26, 2009

6 months down, 3 more to go until we can hold him in our arms ...

I finally got the chance to scan the latest ultrasound pictures and wanted to share them with you. It has been a flurry of activity here. The movers arrive on Wednesday and I am NOWHERE near ready, but somehow I always manage to make it. We leave next Wednesday and from there will be heading to see our family! We are so excited to see everyone. Making an agenda keeps me from going insane with so many to visit, and now that the preganancy brain is fully activated, my dayplanner has become the Holy Grail! Hopefully we can fit everyone in.

The ultrasound was Oct. 15 and Baby Jamie weighed in at 1 lb. 5 oz. (though I'm sure he's sailed passed that now!) He was nearly 11 inches long, so he's getting bigger (though I am maintaining!) All the test came back fine and despite my risk factors for gestational diabetes, I am nowhere near that diagnosis (thanks to my love of fresh fruit!) His heartbeat is about 150 beats per minute and sounds strong! About three weeks ago he reached the point where he can now taste what I am eating, so that means that he's getting a little variety and has a better chance of favoring foods I eat during this period, so I'm still munching on fruits and veggies, and hoping that we don't have food wars about eating his veggies later on! His kicks are much stronger now, some reach the point of stopping me in my tracks and we are excited that soon George will be able to feel him.


Look at that precious little face!



Record of his heartbeat ...



The tech thought I'd like a picture of him kicking ... no picture needed, I feel like a trampoline!



He's very proud of his "ahem" toy!


Until our next cup of tea ...

October 25, 2009

Enjoying a Flury of Halloween Activites ...

O.k. so I know that I haven't been blogging mcuh lately. Actually I have about 4-5 half-written posts waiting to be finished, but there is so much going on around here. However, I currently have the hubby occupied with a XBox game and the pup has fallen back to sleep, so I thought I'd take a moment to sit down and shower you some of the "fun" stuff we'd been doing amid all of the "work" of moving.

Not many know that as a child my Family did not celebrate amny holidays. Even Christmas was something that my brother and I old celebrated when we visited my mom and her Family. There were a variety of reasons from too many kids to not part of my father and step-mother's religious beliefs. Even Chritmas had limited a activities, strictly food and gift-exchange.

I had decided that when I grew up and had children I wanted to celebrate the "spirit of the season", whether it was a 4th of July picnic or huge Christmas blow-out! Well, I had the fortunate luck of arrying a husband who LOVES Halloween, the one holiday that eluded me as a child. Even as an adult, I didn't really know what to do, but he has slowly introduced me to the "spirit of the season" (at least those two that he was home for!)

So many of my longtime readers may remember, photos of my first pumpkin carving experience and the final products October 2005. I really enjoyed it, but in 2006 and 2007, hubby was deployed, and in 2008 his father was in the final stages of cancer and we nearly lived at the hospital. (We did hand out candy later while watching "The Search for the Next Elvira" that night when we came home, so we did have some fun!)

This year we decided to do it again, and invited another couple from George's class to join us. It was so much fun. While their dog, Harley and Sgt. Major ran each other ragged we gathered around the kitchen table and let the cleaning, cutting, and chhopping run free. Pretty soon we had all completed "masterpieces." Actually Sarah and I chose more "classic" designs, while George and Rob chose more "artistic" designs. The pictures aren't that great, but here they are ...


(Sarah's is on the left and mine is on the right)



(Rob's is on the left and George's is on the right)


As much fun s it was, that wasn't the only thing we did this weekend. On Friday night we decided to check out the local Haunted House. Other than working at Six Flags in Houston and participating in their haunted house, I'd never actually been to one so I was really excited. So after meeting another couple for dinner, the four of us headed off to face our fears at Plantation Blood.



It was great! We went though a smaller house (there were people actually living in the actual plantation house), then you walked through the graveyard, next you went into a smaller outbuilding with an actually boiler room and lastly through the woods. It took about 45 minutes to complete and Sarah and I screamed the whole time ... through there was a lot of laughing as well. We pushed the boys along in front of us, but we still got the "boo" scared out of us! Thak goodness we had our Soldiers there to protect us! At one point a zombie chased Sarah in circles with a chainsaw and when I lost my flip flop in the woods another chairsaw wielding creature honed in on us when I stopped to get it. At one point, I think Sarah (who was walking behind me) tried to crawl into my belly with the baby! It was great ... and oddly enough it didn't seem to disrupt the baby at all. We kicked and squirmed as usual after a meal while we stood in line, but had fallen asleep by the time we started. I think Sarah adn I knew we were in trouble, when we tried to use the port-a-potties in the dark while waiting and the person coming out scared the "boo" out of us!

We are looking to see what other adventures there are locally for next weekend. So far we've heard of a corn maze and haunted woods, so I'll keep you posted ...

Until our next cup of tea ...

October 16, 2009

What I've learned abour Grandparents ...

My grandmother sent this to me and I thought it was too cute not to share ...

1. She was in the bathroom, putting on her makeup, under the watchful eyes of her young granddaughter, as she'd done many times before. After she applied her lipstick and started to leave, the little one said, "But Gramma, you forgot to kiss the toilet paper good-bye!" I will probably never put lipstick on again without thinking about kissing the toilet paper good-bye...

2. My young grandson called the other day to wish me Happy Birthday. He asked me how old I was, and I told him, 62. My grandson was quiet for a moment, and then he asked, "Did you start at 1?"

3. After putting her grandchildren to bed, a grandmother changed into old slacks and a droopy blouse and proceeded to wash her hair. As she heard the children getting more and more rambunctious, her patience grew thin. Finally, she threw a towel around her head and stormed into their room, putting them back to bed with stern warnings. As she left the room, she heard the three-year-old say with a trembling voice, "Who was THAT?"

4. A grandmother was telling her little granddaughter what her own childhood was like: "We used to skate outside on a pond I had a swing made from a tire; it hung from a tree in our front yard. We rode our pony. We picked wild raspberries in the woods." The little girl was wide-eyed, taking this all in. At last she said, "I sure wish I'd gotten to know you sooner!"

5. My grandson was visiting one day when he asked, "Grandma, do you know how you and God are alike?" I mentally polished my halo and I said, "No, how are we alike?'' "You're both old," he replied.

6. A little girl was diligently pounding away on her grandfather's word processor. She told him she was writing a story. "What's it about?" he asked. "I don't know," she replied. "I can't read."

7. I didn't know if my granddaughter had learned her colors yet, so I decided to test her. I would point out something and ask what color it was. She would tell me and was always correct. It was fun for me, so I continued. At last, she headed for the door, saying, "Grandma, I think you should try to figure out some of these, yourself!"

8... When my grandson Billy and I entered our vacation cabin, we kept the lights off until we were inside to keep from attracting pesky insects. Still, a few fireflies followed us in. Noticing them before I did, Billy whispered, "It's no use Grandpa. Now the mosquitoes are coming after us with flashlights."

9. When my grandson asked me how old I was, I teasingly replied, "I'm not sure." "Look in your underwear, Grandpa," he advised, "mine says I'm 4 to 6."

10. A second grader came home from school and said to her grandmother, "Grandma, guess what? We learned how to make babies today." The grandmother, more than a little surprised, tried to keep her cool. "That's interesting," she said, "how do you make babies?" "It's simple," replied the girl. "You just change 'y' to 'i' and add 'es'."

11. Children's Logic: "Give me a sentence about a public servant," said a teacher. The small boy wrote: "The fireman came down the ladder pregnant." The teacher took the lad aside to correct him. "Don't you know what pregnant means?" she asked. "Sure," said the young boy confidently. 'It means carrying a child."

12. A grandfather was delivering his grandchildren to their home one day when a fire truck zoomed past. Sitting in the front seat of the fire truck was a Dalmatian dog. The children started discussing the dog's duties. "They use him to keep crowds back," said one child. "No," said another. "He's just for good luck." A third child brought the argument to a close."They use the dogs," she said firmly, "to find the fire hydrants."

13. A 6-year-old was asked where his grandma lived. "Oh," he said, "she lives at the airport, and when we want her, we just go get her. Then, when we're done having her visit, we take her back to the airport."

October 1, 2009

Silly puppy, you make us laugh!

So I know that its been a while since Sgt. Major's fans have gotten an update on him, so here are just some of his antics from yesterday ...



At the announcement of "bath-time" Sgt. Major plopped down "dead" ... his form of a non-violent protest I guess.



Sgt. Major got a new toy ... a battery operated ball that rolls around like crazy ...



It took him a while to get used to cornering the toy so he could chew on it.



As a parent I was told sometimes you have to get down to "their" level when dealing with kids ... so George is practicing on Sgt. Major ...



but it soon becomes naptime ... I'd like to practice that one!

September 30, 2009

Trying to get ahead, before I get behind!

So much to do and so little time. Everytime I realize that we will be moving again soon (we are down to 5 weeks) I start to panic. November is going to be C-R-A-Z-Y busy! I'm actually stressed right now, which I'm sure if not good for the baby, so I thought blogging would help ... a little.

We have set up the appointment with transportation to pack and ship our houshold goods (HHG). However, without an address to send it too, our HHG will go into storage and we will have to coordinate to get them delivered at a later date. Since we are not going to an active duty installation and there is no on-post housing we HAVE to live off-post and the storage facility is over 30 minutes away, on the other side of Miami. I assume it will be a black hole once our HHG go into storage because it is as a Coast Guard facility and they don't really deal with that sort of thing on a daily basis.

So we went to Miami over the Labor Day holiday to look at housing areas and the different types of houses that were available. We narrowed down the housing community and the realtor began sending us a list of homes available. She also told us that we should look into buying in that neighborhood since it was one with high interest and would continue to gain interest since it was one of the few gated communities near the base and outside the congestion of Miami. Since a new hosiptal was recently built at the need of the community, it also make it a prime location for medical professionals. After research we realized that there would be a growing interest since the City of Miami has decided to start raising its city property taxes.

So now we are in the home-stretch. We have 5 weeks to find a house, the packers and movers are scheduled, then its a fury to unpack and get "necessities" and furniture in place before we head out on a whilwhind trip to Houston for baby shower and Family bonding. Then it's back to Army life while George gets settled in as commander, I get to figure out where verything will go in the house and what we need before the baby arrives. Whew! I'm tired just thinking about it!

Well, I'mm off to spend time with the pup. I do have some funny picture of Sgt. major that I will try to post in the next day or so.

Until our next cup of tea ...

September 10, 2009

Feeling conflicted ...

O.k. so I'm pretty sure I can vent on here because NO ONE from my family actually reads my blog. (And to think that used to bug me!)

O.k. I'm feeling pretty conflicted about some things right now and to really explain it would take a novel, but I will try to keep it short.

Many of you know that I grew up with 11 siblings and for the most part I always felt "alone is a roomful of strangers" kind of thing, not really connecting with any of them. Despite what many of you who know me in real life must see, I was a very shy child and stayed to myself (still am shy but overcompensate with learned social behavior from ettiquette classes.)

Even when it was just me and my biological brother (a year older) with my mom's family I always felt like (and still do) an afterthought. Like a side note. Maybe that's why I diverted my energy and attention into school and education. It was a method to justify the loneliness.

I remember this one time in my teens, we were at my mom's for Christmas dinner and my uncle asked my brother how school was. After his answer he turned and asked me, but before I could answer, my uncle turned to my aunt and started a conversation with her. I don't know why that sticks out in my mind so much.

Anyway, George and I were very excited about getting pregnant and I called everyone to share the news. But since then it has been a very quiet. No calls, other than a few from my mom when she's not busy, and no answers on the monthly baby updates. But this week, my brother and his wife announced she was pregnant and I feel like our family will once again take a back burner for him.

I am very excited for them, I know that they will be great parents, I was just hoping that since we didn't get the big fanfare wedding and stuff like they did that this would be my chance to finally be in the limelight. {Sigh} It's not that I don't mind sharing but just like a child giving its parents a crayon drawing I was expecting some excitement, but instead it's like my brother just proved he was a 7-year-old Michaelangelo or something and my little drawing looks like crap!

I know that it's just something I will have to work through, and it's not like George's Family and our friends and Army Family haven't been extremely supportive. I know a large part of it is because we are a military Family and that takes us a long way from our Family and while I wouldn't say "out of sight, out of mind" it does feel that way at times.

Well, I'm off to cheer myself up by finishing some stitching projects for Baby Boy and as well as for another milspouse who is expecting 6-weeks before me (Ahh, we are partners in crime but you'll never catch us because we can look so innocent!). Back to baby on the brain! I do have some cute stuff to post later on, as well as an update on our crazy fun Miami trip!

Until our next cup of tea ...

August 31, 2009

A promise to be better ...

O.k. This is my promise to be a better blogger friend! With the move, finishing my masters and then getting pregnant, I admit that I have not had as much time as I'd like to read other blogs or blog myself, but I promise to be better.

Now that I am in "mommy" mode I think I have come up with a system to accomplish this. Each time I post on one of my blogs (this one or The Teacup Collector's Cottage (Craft, Collection and Home Blog) I will put a colored star on my calendar (a different color for each blog.) My goal is also to visit the blogs on my sidebar weekly. Each week I visit each blog I'll put a different colored start on my calendar. (If I missed you, please let me know. As I get comments I will check to make sure you are on the list.)

I think this way I will be able to see at a glance how I'm doing. Isn't it a bit sad though that I have to revert to the system parents use to get their kids to do chores? I promise it's not a chore, my days seems to run together now that we prepare for ANOTHER move and the baby. I've already done two posts in two day on this blog, so the system must be working!

I hope everyone has a great week!

Until our next cup of tea ...

August 30, 2009

I have a fever ... baby fever ...

Well, you all knew it was coming, so don't act surprised! I tried to hold off as long as possible, but once we learned it was a boy, could you really blame me!?!

I haven't gone too crazy. We still have to move before setting up the baby's room plus the baby shower in Houston, after which we get to figure out how we will tote everything back to Florida (cross country trip with 7-mo pregnant wife, dog who's acting out and a truck full of stuff to be unload alongside all of out household goods ... I really feel bad for my hubby but he's been a good sport about it so I'll have to get him a good Christmas present!)

We have allowed ourselves one plastic tote of stuff to be collected by us while we are here. I'm sure we may get some gifts and such by then, especially from my dad's side of the Family who is not hosting the shower, but there's not point in going crazy now. The key to adding a baby is BUDGETING ... or at least that's what people tell me!

Anyway I'd been looking for a "Johnny Jumper" but couldn't find one at Babies R Us where we'd registered. I remember my younger siblings having so much fun in them, though they were also entertained by the many (12) siblings as well. So George suggested Toys R Us which actually had more baby toys than the Babies R Us, which was mostly supplies and accessories.

While we were there we noticed I couldn't help but walk through the clothes now that I knew what we were having. When we went to register after the results I was looking more at blankets, onsies, bath towels and such, since we aren't registering for clothes (just items such as carseats, bed, bedding, accessories for organization). We want our friends and family to have fun not feel like they are being told what to buy.

Anyway, we went to the clothes and their summer stuff was on sale, and a lot on clearance. I am a bit surprised by how much restraint I did have considering I am a sucker for a baby boy in the little polos and shorts or the button shirts. So cute! Not that some of the play outfits weren't adorable! So I restricted myself to one full price outfit (which turned out to be on sale anyway) and two clearance items. George was concerned since I'd just had a soda (caffine free!) and the clothes were next to the bathroom, but I maintained control.

So here are the outfits I got ...



My brother and uncle are firefighters/medics so I couldn't pass up the jumper with the firetruck on it and what little boy doesn't dream of being a pirate at some point. That one was also too cute to pass up. Both are 6-9 months since I'm sure we'll get most clothes in the smaller sizes.



This one was too cute to pass up too! So adorable for church or a unit activity. I did get this in the 3-6 months, but the next size was 12 months. George picked this shirt over the plaid button up one that was also an option.

In addition to these cute outfits for Father's Day I had gotten a Harley-Davidson blanket, shoes/slippers for the baby for George. He and his dad really bonded over motorcycles and as you may remember he'd rebuilt the HD 1964 Panhead that his dad had started on for a ride in his honor over Easter. We also have a HD 1935 Flathead that he dad had in parts that will be a project for the future.



(Click on the picture to read the bibs!) The weekend before we found out it was a boy George took a leap and bought the onsie when he was out for a ride while I rested. After we found out it was a boy we stopped by the HD store locally and picked up these bibs as well. I think the baby is set for his HD pride, though there was a cute onsie we saw when at the last duty station that said "My grandpa/dad rides a Harley." Since it was only in pink or blue and I wasn't even pregnant yet, we didn't get it and now can't find it. (Not that I've stopped looking!)

It's definately been fun preparing for the baby and I'm sure it'll be even more fun when he gets here (though I've promised George not to play dress-up with him!) I'm sure they'll be more to come ...

Until our next cup of tea ...

August 24, 2009

*Ahem* I have an announcement to make ...

On Friday George and I went to a non-military clinic for a gender determination test. Would you like to know what the results were????

IT'S A BOY!!!


Yeah! George was so happy! It was really amazing. They did the normal 2-D ultrasound and gave us about 8 different pictures (I'll post a few at the end.) They also did a 3-D version in sepia or "color" (also will post) and 2 others in black and white. We also got a video of the nearly 20 minute session. (Will try to attach later!)

The newest addition will be named George James Lindsey III, but called Jamie which is the same nickname of his much missed grandpa. He will be the 4th George Lindsey. George's grandfather had a different middle name. There are other George Lindseys in the lineage, but he's the 4th generation in a row (does that make sense?) We are sure that this bundle of joy (and energy from the appointment) is a gift from his much-loved and missed grandfather after a very hard year.

So without further ado ... I will not be the crazy parent who pulls out a flipbook of picures ... (click on each picture to enlarge)

Thats his bum and little legs on each side of the "ahem" proof ... he apparently likes to flash his booty.


Here he is again ... in a more modest manner ...


Here is the 3-D ultrasound


Until our next cup of tea ...

August 22, 2009

A busy week with surprises and accomplishments ...

Last week was definately a very busy week for us, but filled with great things. First my youngest brother Stephen completed basic training at Fort Jackson, SC. SInce it was only an hour away it meant that we would have a houseful for the weekend.

On Tuesday my step-sister Catherine and her husband Randall showed up. After Randall helped us unload some furniture at the Consignment Shop on post and donations for the Thift Store, we took a short tour of post as we headed to the Mexican Restaurnat with George for lunch. Then we just hung out at the house for the afternoon. They had driven through the night and were pretty tired. Being pregnant, I wasn't going to turn down an chance to rest either!

Before leaving for post Catherine surprised me with a tea set! It had a beautiful pink and purple pattern to it.



The next morning my dad arrived. He too had driven all night arriving just after 8 a.m. After getting ready for the day and helping dad unload we headed for a more exploration. We headed for the Signal Museaum on post (my dad is a BIG museum guy). Interestingly, though I'd been to the museum a few time while waiting for George to meet me for lunch at the cafe next door, I'd failed to notice one painting inparticular, one of a carrier pigeon named Cher Amie. Now for those who don't know, my maiden name is "Cheramie" meaning "my dear friend."

The pigeon, Cher Amie, was named a hero in World War I who helped save the Lost Battalion of the 77th Division in the battle of the Argonne, October 1918.

On October 3, 1918, Charles Whittlesey and more than 500 men were trapped in a small depression on the side of the hill behind enemy lines without food or ammunition. They were also beginning to receive friendly fire from allied troops who did not know their location. Surrounded by the Germans, many were killed and wounded in the first day and by the second day, only a little more than 200 men were still alive. Whittlesey dispatched messages by pigeon. The pigeon carrying the first message ("Many wounded. We cannot evacuate.") was shot down. A second bird was sent with the message, "Men are suffering. Can support be sent?" That pigeon also was shot down. Only one homing pigeon was left: 'Cher Ami'. He was dispatched with a note in a canister on his left leg,

We are along the road parallel to 276.4. Our own artillery is dropping a barrage directly on us. For heaven's sake, stop it!

As Cher Ami tried to fly back home, the Germans saw him rising out of the brush and opened fire and for several minutes, bullets zipped through the air all around him. The men of the Lost Battalion saw Cher Ami shot down, but he was soon airborne again. He managed to arrive back at his loft at division headquarters 25 miles to the rear in just 25 minutes, helping to save the lives of the 194 survivors. In this last mission, Cher Ami had delivered the message despite having been shot through the breast, blinded in one eye, covered in blood, and with a leg hanging only by a tendon.

Cher Ami had become the hero of the 77th Infantry Division, so army medics worked long and hard to save his life. They were unable to save his leg, so they carved a small wooden one for him. When he recovered enough to travel, the little one-legged hero was put on a boat to the United States, with General John J. Pershing personally seeing Cher Ami off as he departed France.


It was defintely a great story to share with my dad, especially with such a unique connection to our Family.

The next day, my dad, Catherine and Randall drove to Fort Jackson, SC, where we met my youngest brother, Stepehn, (10th of 12 siblings) for Family Day. He's spent his last summer of high school at Army Basic Training. We were so proud of him. We spent the day exploring post and running him around to do errands on his first day of freedom.



The next day (Friday) we were joined by George as we attended his graduation. It was a great experience to watch him and his fellow recruits as they started on this long journey of personal growth and pride in his country. I was bummed thought that I missed seeing him salute George for the first time, since George has put me in the air-conditioned Tahoe and then went to find them. It had been a long two days and I was starting to get tired.

On the way home we stopped by Fuddruckers where we had our fill of amazing hamburgers ... well most of us, I think Stephen has to get used to eating really food again!

Dad and Stephen stayed through Sunday and Dad and George had a great time working on fixing the motorcycle on Saturday. I was very happy to see them puttering about together, especially since the bike, a 1964 Harley Davidson, belonged to George's father. I wasn't sure how he'd react to my dad helping, but Dad was very understanding about it. They were both dirty and covered in oil when they finished, but happy to hear it roar to life.



Stephen even jumped in a little and George took him for a ride.



It was a busy week and I was happy for the chance to rest this week ... but it ended it with its own little surprise. More on that in the next post ...

Until our next cup of tea ...