The self proclaimed (and probably proclaimed by others, too) worst blogger in the world is giving it one more shot. I've not been able to stick with any other blogs I've started, so why is this one different? Well, truthfully, it probably isn't. Ha! But I've had enough life changes going on that deserve to be remembered and between the lack of sleep and the wine, unless I write them down I won't be able to. Kidding, kidding.
I truthfully had the best of intentions to document my pregnancy in some way but things never settled down enough for that to come to fruition. I enjoy reading about others' pregnancies but I mostly love the idea since it is a way to look back, years later, and remember all the details that time will most likely take away.
As I write this, I've been a mom for five weeks. And there is so much that has gone on in these five weeks alone that I have no idea how I'll remember a thing about the past by the time she's four. So I don't care if anyone ever reads this, I just want to remember this experience and be able to share it with the rest of my family.
Some of these life happenings may get their own post, but knowing how dedicated I am to blogging, they probably won't. This may never even get published, who knows! But let's give it a whirl.
When I last left off, I was sharing my shoe drama with the world. Lots more dramz occurred when planning the wedding but for your sake, I'll spare you. (They were all along the same level of importance as Badgley Mischka-Gate so you're not missing much.)
The wedding went off without a hitch on April 30, 2011...we both showed up (which is always a good start), both said yes (another win), and we both got just intoxicated enough to have a good time but still remain (slightly) classy.
We had an awesome honeymoon...
And then came back to Texas to settle in what was supposed to be a pretty relaxing couple of months before Justin would graduate from Residency and we would move to Clarksville, TN.
Until the end of May, when we found out that this little homegirl wanted to join the party...
(Spoiler alert: she isn't born looking like the stegosaurus she resembles in this picture.)Thankfully we found out our family would be expanding just in time (as in twelve hours before we'd board our flight) for us to adjust our house-hunting plans in our new city. But that ended up not mattering because we didn't find a house anyway.
Our 1st picture after finding out we were going to be PARENTS. Of like, a human. At the beginning of June, the overachiever of the relationship (read: not me) graduated from the US Army's Pediatrics Residency Program and we surprised our parents with the news that they would be grandparents the same weekend.
At the end of June,
and moved it from Texas to Tennessee. And at the beginning of July, we packed up our cars and made the trip to Tennessee to join our crap. When we pulled into town at 11pm on a Thursday to find that our temporary housing plans had gone down the [rhymes with Twitter], we were forced to shack up in some luxury accommodations while we found a permanent place to reside.
As if getting married and becoming parents didn't make us grown up enough, we decided to buy a house! The first time home buying process, though annoying at times, was made relatively simple thanks to the help of my parents who combined have over, like, 100 years in the real estate industry. (Okay, maybe not 100. More like 90.)
We closed in August. And yes, we've since mowed our lawn. So after a sometimes tumultous past three years of residency combined with the whirlwind of the past five months, we were ready to relax and get settled in to our new military life. Kinda put life on Auto Pilot for a little bit. Enjoy some peace and quiet and each other before our little one was to join us in the New Year. Sounds pretty good, right?
Enter September 8th.
My husband arrived home from work on that Thursday and had to deliver the heartbreaking news that he was being deployed to Afghanistan. In November. For seven months.
This is not news that any wife would take well. But if you do the math, or look at a calendar, this is news that especially would not be well taken by a pregnant wife. Due in four months.
Once again, the joke was on us and we were put in our place, quickly being reminded that life is going to take the twists and turns it wants and your only job is to hold on tight and not fall off the ride.
This being our first deployment, we had no idea there was so much to do to prepare. Weeklong training courses, daylong training sessions, paperwork, paperwork, paperwork, meetings, meetings, meetings, etc. etc. etc. As if that weren't bad enough, my husband still had to see patients all day on most days and to throw some more salt on the wound, he was set to take his Pediatric Boards in October. But, as I've learned with being a new mom, when things happen and you have to get through them, you just do it. You get through them.
We got everything set for him to leave, he studied his butt off and PASSED(!!) his Boards and we spent as much time together as possible before he left from Fort Benning for his first deployment on November 11, 2011. Veteran's Day, ironically.
Our last picture together as a family of three! (Cut me some slack, it was 4am.)So, aside from the fun of Christmas and a sober New Year's Eve where I was in bed before the ball dropped, you're caught up on 2011. 2012 has started off to be rather interesting so it's deserving of its own posts. Thus, aside from a hopefully-to-come Pregnancy Post, you're all caught up!
