Confession Friday -- 9-30!

I confess that my daughter is 4 and 1/2 months old and she has hurt me twice already: first my shoulder and now I have tendonitis in my elbow!  Gah! 

I confess that I really was sad that I couldn't work out last night after my elbow really started hurting.

I confess that Clara has a total of 25 diapers: 20 are getting washed, she is wearing one, one is dirty, so that leaves three more until the other diapers get done and dried.  Will we make it?

I confess that Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are? by Dr. Seuss is hilarious to me!  Is it just me or do others think that, too?

I confess that my upstairs toilet was running non-stop about a month ago, so a VERY nice maintenance man came and fixed it.  Then, a week later, it started running again.  It is driving. me. CRAZY!  I told housing, but a VERY rude maintenance man came out (and it wasn't running at the time), and pretty much made me feel this big.  He said that the reason it was running was because the diaper sprayer was on it.  Um, nope buddy, that has been on there for about 5 months now and it has only been the past month that we have been having a problem.  I can hear it right now!  UGH!!

I hope a Swarovski crystal toilet wouldn't continuously run!!

I confess that I CANNOT WAIT until the post wide yard sale tomorrow!!  It will be SO much fun!  I am not looking forward to the traffic though.

Welp, I'm off to print off the list of yard sales to figure out which ones I want to go to, get Clara up from her nap, and take Caleb lunch.  I hope you all have a great weekend!

Meet my Dog: Sookie

SOOKIE!!

Sookie is my first born daughter... with brown fur.  She is a 2.5 year old lab mix (and we have been married for about a month less than we have had her).  She has a great story on how she came to be in our family.

While I was in college, I took a companion animals class.  In this class, we had to do so many hours of volunteer work.  I volunteered at the Central Missouri Humane Society (CMHS) every Saturday.  The last Saturday that I volunteered, there was a litter of puppies that I was able to go into the cage and play with.  There were 9 puppies in the litter, and the shelter said that they were a Labrador and Yorkshire Terrier mix.  Caleb and I had been talking about getting a dog when we got married and got to our first Army post, so I knew that getting a dog was something that Caleb was okay with.  After playing with the puppies for a while, the CMHS staff kicked me out of the kennel saying that the puppies were only six weeks old and not eight weeks.  So, I spent the rest of the day walking and playing with other dogs.

Right before it was time for me to leave, there were a few rescue groups that came to split up the litter.  There was a mother and daughter that were a part of one rescue group, and I told the daughter that if they picked the dog that I wanted, I would adopt it.  She agreed, and I picked out the dog that I wanted.  Her name was Angela Lansbury.  They also got a puppy from a different litter that day.  (They were told by the CMHS staff that doing this would increase the probability of one or both of them becoming sick, and "Angela" already had kennel cough.)  I was unable to take Sookie home with me because I was living in a place that did not allow pets, so I let the mother and daughter take her to their house but I could come visit whenever I wanted to.

I told Caleb what I had done.  He was stunned that I had adopted a dog, but couldn't wait to meet her.  We had to name her.  We were texting that night and trying to figure out names.  We were THISCLOSE to naming her Nova, but I thought that if we did that, whenever we said her name she would think that we were telling her "no."  After texting a few more names, we decided on Sookie.  Of course, he thought that it would be pronounced like Sookie on True Blood, but I thought that it would be pronounced like Sookie (Sue-key) on Gilmore Girls.  Luckily, my pronunciation won because I had the dog nearby to visit.  Haha!    

The first week I had her!!

Playing while wearing her first collar.

Being sick with kennel cough mad her very sleepy.

After about a week and many visits to Sookie, I decided that I wanted to move her somewhere else.  The house she was currently staying at was CRAZY!  The daughter had three dogs of her own (on top of having the other puppy that they had taken that day), four cats, two little kids, and her husband was deployed.  I asked my friend Miranda to take her.  I think this was about two weeks until I was going to be married, so she would only have to keep Sookie for two weeks.  She agreed to keep her, and that is where she stayed until I was ready to take her to Fort Riley.

Living the life at Miranda's now!

After coming to Fort Riley, I took her puppy classes, then obedience and advanced obedience classes, and finally agility and advanced agility classes.  She is a S.T.A.R. Puppy and a Canine Good Citizen.  She LOVES doing agility jumps.  She also loves snow, running, taking walks, playing with her doggy friends, sleeping, and getting petted.  And, even though she is now scared of wind (in Kansas that not very good), she has helped me through some of the toughest times I have been through: Caleb's deployment and my miscarriage.  I'm so glad that she is in our family.

I can't believe that she used to be so little.

The windows here are exactly the right height for her.

She loves to sleep this way.

Hearing a dog on TV.

Trying to fit into her puppy dog bed.

After running through her first snow.

Parents as Teachers -- FIRST VISIT!!

"Children come into this world ready for love and learning.  You are your child's first and most influential teacher.  But your baby was not born with directions!  Parents as Teachers informs, supports, and encourages parents like you in this important role.

Parents as Teachers has a vision: that all children will grow and develop to reach their full potential.  Isn't that what we all want for our children?  Through Parents as Teachers, you will partner with a parent educator focused on your child's healthy growth and development.

Your parent educator will personalize information to fit with your family's needs, concerns, and hopes.  Together you will discuss goals for you as a parent and for your child.  You will build on your strengths and skills."

Today my parent educator, Patty, came by for her first visit with Clara and I.  It was great!  I had been to a few play group meetings before today (unfortunately, there are not very many kids that go to that that are as young as Clara), but I had been on the wait list for a parent educator until now.  She brought over a few things for Clara to look at and play with: black, white, and red pictures of a duck and a zebra and a book with pictures of babies.

We also filled out quite a bit of paperwork... but isn't that true for every program or organization.  It was just a chance for her to get to know both Clara and I and for us to get to know her.  It seems like Clara is on track for development according to their literature... even though I was worried about her not being able to roll over yet. 

We meet with Patty again next month.  I can't wait to see what Clara can do by then and what activity she brings for us to do.  This program is nationwide, just visit http://www.parentsasteachers.org/location to find one near you! 

(I just checked because I know many of the people who read my blog live in Red Bud, IL and this program is not available through the Red Bud school district.  You could still look at the website and read more information to see if it would be something you would like to get in your area.  My parent educator told me that kids who are in the program usually do better in school!)

A Great Day and A Birthday

Yesterday was a really great and relaxing day.  In the morning, I worked out at King Field House (KFH) in the Parent Cardio Room.  Clara only allowed me to do 25 minutes on the elliptical instead of 30 minutes, but she came home and fell right to sleep.  I was able to get more crunches done and a shower before my friend, Amy, came by for the afternoon.  She stayed until Caleb came home, and then it was time for us to go to our Family Readiness Group (FRG) meeting.  I am SO excited that a Harry's (a GREAT restaurant in Manhattan) is giving a 20% discount to military card holders Monday-Thursday in October, November, and December!!  Then, we just relaxed and watched Monday Night Football until we went to bed.  It was a great day! 

Today, I went to Protestant Women of the Chapel (PWOC) for worship, fellowship, and Bible study.  The study I chose this year is called "Guarding Your Child's Heart" by Gary Smalley.  I am really enjoying it, and I recommend it to all!  Also, today I saw Danelle at PWOC, but I didn't realize until I got home that it is her birthday today!!  So, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you, friend!!!

I hope I have more to say tomorrow with the Parents as Teachers parent educator coming in the morning.  I can't wait to post about that!  Until then, have a great rest of your day... and I hope this picture makes you laugh!!

The infamous "poop face" at 6 weeks.

 

Wonderful Fall Weekend!!

Friday, I went shopping with my friend (and neighbor) Kaarin in Wichita and Newton.  We stopped by Healthy Baby Boutique, Goodwill, and Furniture Factory Outlet in Wichita.  Then we were briefly in the Wichita Ghetto looking for a furniture store!  We had lunch at KFC, and then went to the Carter's outlet in Newton before heading home.  We arrived home just seconds before my mom and dad pulled up... in fact, we passed them while on post by going a different route!

The Thinker

Did Clara just poop?

Sitting on her own.

Clara and Grammy

Fort Riley Apple Day Festival was on Saturday.  I knew my parents would like to go because my dad had always joked that he never saw anyone in uniform when he had visited before, so he would be able to see some uniforms that day.  He did really enjoy it.  We saw Army vehicles, helicopters, working dogs, color guard, and reenactments among many other things.  My dad also loved all of the expo booths with "free crap" and now he has many, many more coolie cups.

Apache helicopter

Blackhawk helicopter

Kiowa helicopter

My mom taking a picture of me taking a picture of her taking a picture.... with Clara.

A mortar tube, my dad, Caleb, and me taking a picture of my mom taking a picture of me taking a picture.... hehe.

Caleb by the Caiman like the ones he rode in while he was in Iraq.

The Caiman

A Bradley

Me inside the Bradley

A Paladin

My dad playing putt putt golf in drunk goggles

And again

Caleb and I also got to go on a date on Saturday.  My mom and dad watched Clara while we were gone.  It was nice for them to get some time with her, and it was nice for us to get away alone.  We went to Noodle and Company (yes, it is OPEN in Manhattan now), Hastings, and Cold Stone.  It was a GREAT date!  The Mizzou - Oklahoma game started at 7pm while we were still out on our date, so Caleb tracked it on his phone, we listened to it on the radio in the car, and Caleb tracked in online when we got home.  We ended up losing, but we play a WHOLE lot better than anyone thought we would against the number 1 team.  (Sorry about the blurry pictures below, my mom forgot to turn her flash back on.)

This is what my parents did while we were on our date.

Clara really enjoyed herself.

Tracking the game!

 On Sunday, we went to church at Crestview Christian Church.  It was the first time that my parents had been to church with us while they were here.  They especially wanted to attend with us on this Sunday because Clara got dedicated!  (For those of you who don't know, it is really bright on the church stage!)  Clara wanted to talk during the sermon, so I had to leave the sanctuary until the praise team started singing again.  And, after church, we went to eat lunch at McAlister's.

At church

While we were on stage with Pastor Devin for Clara's dedication.

It was such a great weekend!  Hopefully this week is just as great!

A few things going on this week:
- hanging out with my friend Amy
- PWOC
- workouts
- personal training sessions
- meeting with Clara's new Parent Educator (from Parents as Teachers)
- girls night with friends OR girls night with women from Caleb's unit


Can't wait to tell you all about it!

Confession Friday -- 9-23

I confess that I did not give my child a bath this week.  WHOOPS!!!  She's a baby, how dirty can she get?  And, I didn't realize that she hadn't gotten a bath this week until Caleb asked me about it (he was out in the field all week).  She will get one tonight!

I confess that Caleb wanted me to stop at a furniture store today while I was in Wichita, but I didn't go.  In my defense, it was in the middle of the ghetto, had paint over the windows (so no one could see in if something were to happen to me), I had Clara with me, and on the outside of the building there was a "Cash for Clunkers" sign.  NO WAY I was going to stop!

I confess that I forgot my mom's birthday on Wednesday.  Now, I didn't forget when her birthday was... I just forgot what the date was on Wednesday to know that it was that day!

I confess that I really didn't clean my house much before my parents came today for their visit this weekend.

I confess that I'm really excited about having some apple pie tomorrow for Apple Day!

I confess that I WILL be going back to the Carter's outlet in October just so I can use my 25% off coupon.

I confess that I forgot to call my pastor about getting Clara dedicated this Sunday until today... but I got a hold of him and she is getting dedicated!!  I'm SOOO excited!

Have a good weekend!  I will have a lot to post on Monday!

Clara meets cute little friends!

Last October, one of my VERY good friends, Danelle, moved to Georgia to live with her mom while her husband was deployed.  Back then, she had an almost 2 year old named Ava and she had only just found out that she was pregnant with another girl.  And, she has 2 wonderful dogs (BB and Pancake) who are also friends with Sookie.  Danelle had her baby girl in March and named her Raina.  Now, it is September, and she has been back at Fort Riley for just a little bit over a week.  It was great to get Sookie back together with her friends (it was like they never were apart... their personalities and quirks were still the same).  It was great to see Danelle and Ava and meet Raina for the first time, too.  One of the things I was most excited about with them moving back here, was that Clara and Raina are only 2 months apart and they would get to play together!  So, that is what we have done a few times.  Here are some very cute pictures!

Clara on the left and Raina on the right checking each other out.

Ava!

Raina can scoot around, roll over, and sit... Clara can't yet.

It is all fun and games until someone loses an eye!

"Mom, who is this baby?"

Such a sweet and cute little A.