Heck Yes!

I have something great to write about since the last time I wrote...two days ago.

It all started with a little phone call from Jason today! Guess who is now part of the troop draw down! YES, YES, YES! I don't want to give exact dates, and obviously, things will change...but the one thing that won't change...the FOB that Jason is on will be shut down and deactivated soon, very soon. By July, he will be back at a big base, just hanging out...waiting to come home! Waiting! That's it! They don't expect to start heading home until the middle of August and his battalion is going to be coming home in cycles. They all won't be coming home at once. So at this point, we are hoping for September, because they all will be gone by October. (That's over a month earlier than originally plan they were supposed to be home at the end of November, early December...so either way...he's coming home early!). Of course, this is the military and things will change but Jason has talked to his Lt. Col and his CO and everyone is telling him the same things. Talk about a shocker! After everything we have been through the past two years...it is such a GREAT FEELING to get good news! So in terms of his deployment, instead of 7+ months (since he was the advanced party), we are looking at 5...6 months top! I'll take whatever I can get! Soooo....for everyone that is sending packages...he only needs food and wipes for the next month, nothing else after the first two weeks of June, since he will be going back to the large base. He will have everything he needs there...showers, food, a PX and chow hall and INTERNET!  He said that his guys are all disappointed and upset that they are shutting down their FOB and going back to the big base...all the youngins are loving their first deployment, Jason on the other hand...his 5th deployment and today he was on cloud 9! So, for the next 3 months...we all just need to hope and pray that they stay on the new schedule and he will be home SOON!

Ava typing a MotoMail to Daddy.

Layla pressing a bunch of letter trying to write to Daddy! So cute! 

Her first time EVER using the computer!

And finally, Mabel had her 12 week check-up yesterday and she is a monster...37 pounds! She is now almost half the size of Stella...Stella is 82 pounds! Mabel is going to pass her by the time Jason is home!

Wanted y'all to see Mabel's size against Stella!

Today was a great day...no one mess that up for me with comments about how things change with the military...let me have my moment of hope, that for once...something will go our way! ha ha! (That wasn't supposed to sound mean!)

Gross, Icky and Yuck!

I have started to write so many times in the past two weeks but have never been able to finish. On top of being insanely busy, something I'm not used to, both girls have been sick...and at different times.

This is what sick girls do...Make beds in the playroom, with a "nightstand" between them and watch movies all day! 

Layla had a Dr. appt last Thursday, it was a follow up to check her weight. My little one is only 32 pounds and will be 5 in 2 months. But according to her Dr...I am doing everything right, her only suggestion was adding more peanut butter to her snacks, since she loves it. That's easy enough. She is growing like a weed, just not weight wise. Anyways, at that appt, Ava started crying, I knew she didn't feel well but just figured it was allergies. The Dr checked her, even though it wasn't her appt...turns out she had a double ear infection and an upper respiratory infection. Well, good thing we were there. The antibiotics really did her good...but then on Sunday (Mother's Day), Layla started running a fever. It was brief, but she had this mucous ickiness coming out of her eyes. I thought it was pink eye, but my neighbor said no...it would look different. She didn't go to school on Monday and Tuesday, her eyes were worse. I took her in and she had the allergy conjunctivas. So it wasn't the pink eye that you get from other people and is contagious...it was just a reaction to her allergies and her sinuses were draining out of her eyes. Fun times in this house! So fast forward to today...my neighbor was taking the girls to school...I was meeting Ava at school this morning to go on her field trip with her. I was about to walk out of the house when Jana called in a panic and said Ava threw up in her car as they were pulling into the school...NNNNNNOOOOOOO! For one, I knew she didn't have a bug, she is still really congested and when she doesn't eat and has that ickiness in her belly, she throws it up. Guess who refused to eat breakfast this morning because she was so ready to leave to go on her field trip? Yeah! So Jana gets home with Ava, I clean the backseat of her jeep as best as I can...I refused to let her clean up my child's puke. And it was awful because she only had milk and icky congestion in her belly. After Ava got out of the shower, I decided she wasn't going to school. Like I said, I knew she wasn't sick, sick...but her eyes just looked tired and exhausted...she still has not recovered from her infections fully. So I broke the news to her and all hell broke loose. For an hour and a half I listened to her sob and scream. My heart broke for her, I know how badly she wanted to go on her field trip...but I knew she would throw up again, as soon as she got on the bus...and then they would have sent her home anyway. I am just so ready for all sickness to be out of my house! Between heating pads, kleenexes, medicine, snot, mucous pouring out of the eyes, peeling Layla's eyes open in the morning and puke...I am done! DONE! Natalie...aren't you looking forward to being a Mom!

Happy Mother's Day...they look well...but oh boy can they fool you. They were sick, sick, sick! 

With all the sickness...I have had to cancel and reschedule several appts. BUT...I was able to register Layla for KINDERGARTEN on Tuesday! KINDERGARTEN! She is so excited. I am still wary about it and if she is ready. Our plan was to hold her back one more year so that she was not one of the youngest, especially with her hearing loss. But, her Pre-K teacher said she thought she was ready and thinks Layla will really surprise us. I'm still not sold, but Jason and I decided that if she has to be held back...she may as well spend two years in Kindergarten instead of Pre-K...so that's when we decided she would go! I'm cautiously optimistic...I just don't want her to "slide" by and then get lost in the mix of all the politics of public school. I want her to succeed and excel. So I'm going to really work with her this summer and prepare her for what is to come. I have my flashcards and dry erase board ready.

Jason is doing really well. He finally is sounding normal as opposed to sounding down every time we get to talk. He has a satellite phone like last time, but this time, I can't call him...he can only call out. So it's a little different and we can't talk as often...so we set days that he will call to make sure I'm not busy. Last week he called at 830 in the morning and I was at the gym...on the elliptical...I literally fell off of it trying to run out of the room...my phone only works on speaker since I dropped it in the pool last summer! I talked to him Monday...and our next call is scheduled for Sunday! Funny how we have to schedule calls.

Tomorrow night...I'm rocking an 80's prom dress and hair! Bunco is 80's theme...and instead of doing the tight mini skirts, aerobic get up or madonna look alikes...I went to the thrift store and bought a 10 dollar prom dress. ha ha ha ha ha ha! It is absolutely hideous! Hideous...it is complete with a big bow in the front and puff shoulders! No shoulder pads, though! I even bought some 50 cent big weird 80's earings to go with it. Oh...tomorrow night is going to be a lot of fun...and embarrassing! We even have a crimper!

Ok, so now me again! I joined a gym 11 days ago. I absolutely love it. I don't care for the treadmill or the elliptical...the only reason I was on it before was because I was waiting for my class to start! I LOVE PILATES! Any class that has to do with Pilates. They have great mixes that add cardio and strength to Pilates. Love those classes, too! Tabalates, PiYo and Pilates Strength. I never thought I would enjoy working out, again. For the last 4 years, anytime I tried to do anything that remotely resembled working out...my stomach would start spasming and I would have to stop. I didn't have high hopes for the surgery...but by golly...detaching my colon from all those things really worked. I have had no spasms...no pain, well, yes...I have had a lot of pain from being sore...but that's good pain. I gained 20 pounds in the past 4 years and I will lose it all before Jason comes home...and at this rate, it won't take long. I started out on day 1 of the gym at 138...as of yesterday, day 10...I weighed in at 131. 7 pounds in 10 days...this weight really wants to come off! I have realized though, it's just not the weight, just knowing I am finally doing something, I feel better...I feel better about myself and I actually like getting ready for the day after I workout. Weird. But I love it and I am really proud of myself.

Alright, I'm done...here's a Mabel update...well not really...because I had to cancel her appt on Tuesday because of all the ickiness...but she is going in tomorrow, so I will finally have a weight check for my big ass baby! She is 12 weeks old now and still just as great as she has always been!

Here is hoping all ickiness, mucous and puke is gone from my house! Cause if it comes back...I'm checking out.

Awesome Day!

Thank goodness, the rest of my week has been pretty uneventful. I got worked up so much on Tuesday to last a month!

Let me start with Ava, today. When I picked her up from school, she was carrying a trophy...her VERY FIRST EVER trophy! She got 2nd place in a coloring contest sponsored by the local Piggly Wiggly! (It's a hillbilly grocery store! But in their defense...all their produce is local and fresh...and they have a great selection of meat cuts.) Anyways, I didn't even know they were doing a contest at the school...but she got 2nd place! She was so proud and excited! So was I...even though I haven't even seen the picture!

Happy Girl! We are keeping this trophy forever!

Layla wanted her picture taken, too.

Today I had my post op follow up appointment and I finally found out what they found on my insides! It was completely different than what was dictated to me after the surgery. Although it is highly plausible that I was so doped up on pain meds that I made up things from the 3 big words they told me...colon, ovary and fallopian tube. ha ha.

So my surgery was an exploratory laparoscopy to look for endometriosis. For 4 years now I have been being treated for it. I did a drug induced menopause and have tried handfuls of hormone therapy (even though I had a tubal ligation, I have tried every birth control under the sun and finally started Aygestin two months ago. It's a progesterone pill) to stop me from ovulating to reduce the pain I have constantly. Anyways...so what they found.

I have no signs of endometriosis. He said that that didn't mean I don't have it, it could be so imbedded in tissue that he can't see...BUT what HAS been causing my pain...my colon attached itself to my abdominal wall and my left ovary and fallopian tube. He thinks this happened after my c-section with Layla. That makes complete sense since this is when all my pain started, my pain has always been on my left side and I constantly get spasms there.

So he detached my colon from my abdominal wall, ovary and fallopian tube and removed the scar tissue that had formed as a result. Bad news is, now that this has happened, odds are, it will happen again.

But I COULD CARE LESS! After 4 long years of hurting all the time and a lot of guesses and treatments that took me no where...I HAVE AN ANSWER! The sense of relief I felt when I was walking out of his office was obvious...I hugged him! And I felt like I was walking on a cloud! I was so used to being in pain, I didn't think I would ever be "normal" again.

He wants me to stay on the Ajgestin I'm on now because he still isn't convinced that I don't have endometriosis... I won't complain. Other than a little water weight, I have been responding really well to it.

So today was a GREAT day! I feel a sense of relief and this weird type of peace...like a peace of mind that I'm fixed when I thought I was doomed to always be in pain! I just can't wait to tell Jason. He has been so great the past 4 years with all my problems and pain and so supportive of every treatment I have tried. I will tell you, it's not easy living with a menopausal woman who was only 26!

Tomorrow Jana and I are taking the kids to the Cherry Point Air Show. I'm so excited for the girls to watch all the planes doing their craziness. I love air shows! Even if we will be torturing ourselves in 90 degree heat and humidity. Sunblock! Sunblock! Sunblock! (That's for you, Dina!)

Alright, I'm going to leave it there...but add a few pictures of Miss Mabel. She is starting to take on the demeanor of a Great Dane...the stature. Every day she is starting to look more like Stella did as a puppy. Other than color of course!

OH! And if you didn't get Jason's address and you would like it, please let me know! Love you all! It was a GREAT day! If I haven't already expressed that enough!

I love her black and gray patched eyes! 

She is starting to look like a Great Dane!

Look at those paws! They are already as big as Stella's!

If I get up, she steals my spot on the couch. Stella is next door playing, she always goes over when the girls do. She can't stand to be away from them when they are close enough to hear. She is such a great protector! 

Murphy Came Knocking Today.

Anytime a deployment is looming, we are always warned, "watch out, Murphy will come a knocking!" Well, for the first time, in all our deployments, he came to visit today and at the worst time possible.

Layla and I were leaving the house this afternoon to go pick up Ava and our next door neighbor, Joseph. Jana, Joseph's mom was out having a fun shopping day and I told her I would pick him up so she didn't have to be home at a certain time. Well, almost every time I walk out the door, I make sure I have my keys. Our stupid rental house doesn't even have a deadbolt on the front door. So in a normal house, you walk out the door, close the door, turn around and then lock the door. Not here...and today, I freakin locked myself out of the house. And of course, my car key is on that key ring and of course, Jason's keys are in the house. Why wouldn't they be. 

Normally, I don't lock the back door when I leave to pick up the kids...I know I shouldn't be saying this ONLINE! But it's part of the story. Before I left, both dogs went outside and refused to come in, so I said, "fine, stay outside, it's hot and I have to leave NOW!" Yes, I talk to the dogs. So I walked back in, shut the door and locked it. I freakin locked the back door and I never do! (Other than at night and when I am gone for more than 15 minutes.) Again, too much information. 

I check all the windows. Locked. It's 5 minutes until school gets out. I am at least 10 minutes away. I call Jana, tell her what's happening in my panic and then we both panic together. You may say, easy...call the school and have them ride the bus, well this Mom...I have never given permission for Ava to ride the bus. I said no at the beginning of the year and have always dropped her off and picked her up! 

Next, I call our property manager. She lives 5 minutes away. I told her what happened, I was locked out of the house, my car keys are in the house and Jason is deployed and obviously can't help. Her response, yes, I do have a key, but my kids are sleeping, you are going to have to come and get the key. I reminded her that my car keys were locked in the house. She said "oh, I'm sorry, I have my car, but I don't have the kids carseats, so I can't bring the key." Wait, what...so I have a key, 5 minutes away and she can't bring it to me because her kids are sleeping and she "doesn't" have carseats. I'm sorry...I don't believe her for one minute. Her freakin brother lives with her...she could have helped me out somehow. So she told me to call a locksmith. 

First, I had to figure out the school situation. I called the school, in a panic...school was already out. Thank GOD, they worked with me and said they would put Ava on the bus with Joseph since he has rode the bus before and luckily, Jana was on the other phone and was calling to corroborate my "story". The stars aligned because the busses had not left yet and they were able to stop them and find Joseph and Ava and get them on the bus. Joseph actually told me that the principal told him that I locked myself out of the house and car...so I'm glad the message was passed, not matter how many people know. 

So, as I was looking up locksmiths to get back in the house, my property manager called and she said, "why don't you try a credit card before you call a locksmith." I guess I was naive, because I totally thought that she was calling to tell me she was on her way here with the key. ha. Silly me. 

But, the credit card worked and I got in, pissed off at the world and swearing up and down that I am moving out of this house as soon as we get home from Texas this summer, I don't care if I have to do it alone. 

The kids made it home and two hours later, Jana got here...bless her heart, she was just as stressed and panicked as I was! Her husband is gone as well, so we rely on each other for almost everything! Thank goodness the school knows her better than they know me...or I don't think they would have let Ava ride the bus from just a phone call. I think it's time for me to start volunteering up there more! 

But, I did spend the day making cookies, seriously...what perfect timing! 

So, to thank the office staff for letting paperwork slip through the cracks today and let Ava ride the bus anyway, I made a cookie basket for them. They are sticklers for sticking to the rules and I am still in shock that they allowed Ava to ride the bus home!

After all that...today is Mabel's 10 week birthday! She weighed in at 27 pounds yesterday and got her first ear piercing and black eye! My poor baby...but she so deserved it. 

Can you see her swollen eye! It's on her gray side.

Bruno came over to hang out, he's my adopted son...he's 12 years old. Mabel pushed him over the edge by chasing him under the bed and then following him under there. I'm pretty sure she learned her lesson...don't mess with the old fogies!

This is her hole, it's clean through to the other side. 

She is just fine...she was just being a puppy and Bruno was just being old. I say she learned her lesson...but really, she probably didn't. ha ha. She is out playing with the kids now...she doesn't even remember what happened. Although, I think Stella laughing at her saying "I told you so"...that probably makes her feel a little deflated. ha ha!

Alright...that's all...and I thought I didn't have anything to write for my next blog. I thought that this morning...and then Murphy came knocking!